Mexican guy Marissa had almost brought over, yet something stopped her.
Drake turned, pinning her with a hard look. “Who?”
The coolness of his tone stung. “Some friend of Marissa’s.”
“Did you meet him?”
“Not personally.”
“What’d he look like?”
Kenna described him the best she could remember. Her voice faltered as Drake’s face remained blank as a statue.
“Did he have a spider tattoo on his left hand?”
The black and red image jumped into her mind’s eye. “Yes, now that you mention it, he did.”
He swore.
“What?”
“That was Tito Cortez. I’m assuming he’s the guy who’s having the party. His cousin Anson runs the Compadres. He’s about third in line of the Compadres command structure. Jerry told me about him and Tito is loosely connected to some people I deal with in Florida.”
She frowned. Where had Marissa dug Tito up? And why had her friend assumed she’d be willing to hang around with a thug?
“The Compadres have chapters across the country, including Florida, and are into everything from drugs to drag racing and strip malls to strippers,” Drake added.
“Terrific.”
He tilted his head from shoulder to shoulder. Crack crack . A grinding pop echoed and he groaned. “Move up front. Facing backward is giving me a serious pain in my neck.”
“This whole thing is a serious pain in my butt,” Kenna retorted.
“Too bad. Like it or not you’re in this up to your ass. Since we don’t know what’s going on, at least if you’re with me you’ll be safe.”
“Safe? Jesus! We just had people fricking shooting at us. How is that safe? Why am I even with you, March?” Dramatically, she smacked her forehead. “That’s right. If I don’t cooperate with you the IRS will come knocking. Or I’ll end up in the Meade County jail for solicitation.”
Drake brooded, forgoing his usual smart comment.
Her fingers clamped on the metal door handle, momentarily grounding her from this surreal scenario. She could leave if she really wanted to. Just jump out of the car and hide behind the potted palms in the Lawn and Garden Center until this all blew over.
Hah! And then what? If she’d didn’t cough up the cash for tuition she’d probably end up wearing a blue smock and working at Save-Mart.
Wasn’t like she could go home. Wasn’t like she had anywhere else to go. Her parents had worked themselves to death on the ranch before the bank had foreclosed on it. Shawnee and Marissa were her closest friends. For now, she was stuck with Agent March. Not only was the situation alarming, her immediate primitive sexual reaction to everything about him scared the living hell out of her.
She sighed defeat. “Fine. I’ll go with you. But after being shot at I’d almost rather take my chances with tax men than hit men.”
He grinned. A full out you-rock-my-world kind of grin.
Kenna’s heart did a slow somersault. God she was hopeless.
Dropping the duffle bag to the cargo area, she wormed her way up to the front seat and settled in.
Drake cupped her face in his hand. His thumb arced over her cheekbone in an effort to calm her. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, Kenna. You’ll be safe with me, I promise.”
When the man wasn’t annoying her he almost seemed like the type of guy she could count on.
She doubted it would last.
Chapter Six
Drake found a spot in the jam-packed lot across from the old fashioned “motor” motel. Cheap, a little shady, perfect for blending in with the Sturgis Rally crowd. Since most places had been booked nearly a year in advance they were damn lucky they’d even gotten rooms.
Keeping Kenna shielded, he knocked on Geo and Bobby’s room.
Through the chain, Bobby yawned, “Hey, boss, everything all right?”
“No.”
Immediately the red door shut, the safety chains rattled and the door swung back open. Drake pushed Kenna inside first, followed and fastened the lock behind them.
Geo rubbed his eyes. “What time is
Drake turned, pinning her with a hard look. “Who?”
The coolness of his tone stung. “Some friend of Marissa’s.”
“Did you meet him?”
“Not personally.”
“What’d he look like?”
Kenna described him the best she could remember. Her voice faltered as Drake’s face remained blank as a statue.
“Did he have a spider tattoo on his left hand?”
The black and red image jumped into her mind’s eye. “Yes, now that you mention it, he did.”
He swore.
“What?”
“That was Tito Cortez. I’m assuming he’s the guy who’s having the party. His cousin Anson runs the Compadres. He’s about third in line of the Compadres command structure. Jerry told me about him and Tito is loosely connected to some people I deal with in Florida.”
She frowned. Where had Marissa dug Tito up? And why had her friend assumed she’d be willing to hang around with a thug?
“The Compadres have chapters across the country, including Florida, and are into everything from drugs to drag racing and strip malls to strippers,” Drake added.
“Terrific.”
He tilted his head from shoulder to shoulder. Crack crack . A grinding pop echoed and he groaned. “Move up front. Facing backward is giving me a serious pain in my neck.”
“This whole thing is a serious pain in my butt,” Kenna retorted.
“Too bad. Like it or not you’re in this up to your ass. Since we don’t know what’s going on, at least if you’re with me you’ll be safe.”
“Safe? Jesus! We just had people fricking shooting at us. How is that safe? Why am I even with you, March?” Dramatically, she smacked her forehead. “That’s right. If I don’t cooperate with you the IRS will come knocking. Or I’ll end up in the Meade County jail for solicitation.”
Drake brooded, forgoing his usual smart comment.
Her fingers clamped on the metal door handle, momentarily grounding her from this surreal scenario. She could leave if she really wanted to. Just jump out of the car and hide behind the potted palms in the Lawn and Garden Center until this all blew over.
Hah! And then what? If she’d didn’t cough up the cash for tuition she’d probably end up wearing a blue smock and working at Save-Mart.
Wasn’t like she could go home. Wasn’t like she had anywhere else to go. Her parents had worked themselves to death on the ranch before the bank had foreclosed on it. Shawnee and Marissa were her closest friends. For now, she was stuck with Agent March. Not only was the situation alarming, her immediate primitive sexual reaction to everything about him scared the living hell out of her.
She sighed defeat. “Fine. I’ll go with you. But after being shot at I’d almost rather take my chances with tax men than hit men.”
He grinned. A full out you-rock-my-world kind of grin.
Kenna’s heart did a slow somersault. God she was hopeless.
Dropping the duffle bag to the cargo area, she wormed her way up to the front seat and settled in.
Drake cupped her face in his hand. His thumb arced over her cheekbone in an effort to calm her. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, Kenna. You’ll be safe with me, I promise.”
When the man wasn’t annoying her he almost seemed like the type of guy she could count on.
She doubted it would last.
Chapter Six
Drake found a spot in the jam-packed lot across from the old fashioned “motor” motel. Cheap, a little shady, perfect for blending in with the Sturgis Rally crowd. Since most places had been booked nearly a year in advance they were damn lucky they’d even gotten rooms.
Keeping Kenna shielded, he knocked on Geo and Bobby’s room.
Through the chain, Bobby yawned, “Hey, boss, everything all right?”
“No.”
Immediately the red door shut, the safety chains rattled and the door swung back open. Drake pushed Kenna inside first, followed and fastened the lock behind them.
Geo rubbed his eyes. “What time is
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