Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23
W hen Fortunato ushered her in through the back door and locked it behind her and Dammit George, Lark had never felt more empowered…or more scared shitless.
Tenley is sure he won’t shoot you. I trust Tenley. And Dammit George knows a bad guy when he sees one. So, if Dammit George so much as farts when he sees this guy, we’re making a run for it .
The inside of the old warehouse was no better than the outside.
At least twenty years of dirt and grime coated the concrete walls, and the cracked concrete floors were semi-covered in dead leaves that had blown in through one of the many broken windows that ringed the space.
The place was about half the size of a football field with soaring forty-foot ceilings, and right in the middle of the space sat Neal. Nico Fortunato moved to stand behind his captive’s chair, looking like he’d just escaped a high-end cologne ad.
Possibly in deference to their gross surroundings, Nico had traded in his expensive suit for a soft-looking gray sweater, a pair of dark wash jeans, and black work boots. Somehow, the bastard managed to look even hotter than he had in his designer clothes. Fucker.
Then there was her ex-fiancé.
Neal looked like he’d been crying and throwing up for the past twenty hours. She’d seen corpses on Criminal Minds who looked like they’d been through less trauma than Neal. She should feel bad for him, or at least guilty for her part in his ordeal. But she didn’t. And if she one day went to hell for her lack of empathy, well, she was OK with that.
Nico held up a small wand like the ones that TSA agents used at the airport. “You wouldn’t mind if I checked you for listening devices, would you?”
She raised a brow at him. “Would it matter if I did?”
His smile was so frosty it gave her a chill just contemplating it. “Not really. I’m a deeply distrustful man. Apologies.”
She held her hands up. “Have at it, I guess.”
When he was done with his sweep, he set the wand on a nearby steel worktable and smirked at her. “I appreciate your willingness to cooperate.”
Lark shrugged. “I wouldn’t get too used to it.”
She had no idea why she was antagonizing a hitman. But for some reason, she just couldn’t hold back her snark. It was like a raging river, and her last fuck had been the dam that was holding it back. Now that her last fuck had floated away, the snark was spewing forth with unstoppable strength.
Nico didn’t seem to mind. He merely smiled and said, “A potential wire—and you showing up at all, of course—was the only part of your compliance I couldn’t control. Even if you didn’t come alone, anyone trying to follow you in through the back door will find a very unpleasant surprise waiting for them.”
The way he tapped his phone when he said it made Lark think he rigged the door to blow or something, and his phone was the trigger. She fought back a gulp.
Maybe the planning of this meeting shouldn’t have been left up to her after all. Being a damsel in distress waiting on her handsome prince to rescue her suddenly didn’t feel that insulting.
Nico gestured to his chair as if they were about to have a nice coffee date. “Please, take a seat. I apologize for the conditions here, but I couldn’t risk taking our friend here anywhere public. You understand, yes?”
Such a polite mafia hitman. Her gaze shifted to Neal, who seemed to be begging her with his eyes to save him. “Yeah. I can see where that might’ve raised a few eyebrows. But if it’s all the same to you, I’ll stand.”
He nodded. “Of course.” Then his gaze flicked in Dammit George’s direction, then back up to Lark’s. He raised a brow. “You have your very own hellhound, bambina ?”
He had no idea. She looked to Dammit George for some sign they were in danger, but he was just staring at Nico, tongue lolling. So, obviously the dog shared Tenley and Ren’s opinion that Nico had no intentions of shooting her. Dammit George’s seal of approval made some of the tension melt out of her posture. “It’s not a good idea to leave your dog in the car on a hot day,” she said dryly.
Nico chuckled. It was a warm chuckle that was way more pleasant than it had any right to be, considering this man’s profession. “Yes, of course. Your hellhound is more than welcome here.”
Neal blubbered something that sounded a little like her name behind his gag. Lark ignored him. She was under enough pressure without having to look at his tear-stained face. “I’ll admit I don’t know the protocol here,” she admitted. “Would it be rude to get to the point and ask you why you wanted to talk to me?”
He gave her a crooked smile that painfully reminded her of Ren. “I would say we’re beyond protocol, aren’t we?”
She snorted. “Sure. I guess it’s true that having someone try to murder you does create a sense of violent intimacy.”
He pointed his index finger at her. “That is patently untrue, bambina . I have never tried to murder you. If I had, you’d be dead.”
She didn’t want to antagonize the assassin. Truly, she didn’t. But, seriously…what the fuck? “Um, I distinctly remember a hail of gunfire.”
“That wasn’t me,” he said reasonably. So reasonably, in fact, that Lark started questioning her own memories of that day. “That was a young man with gang affiliations I paid to create a distraction.”
She blinked at him. “The disturbance was shooting at me and my boss! We could’ve died.”
He scoffed. “The shots were nowhere close to you. I made sure of it.”
Lark bit back a snarky retort. There was clearly no reason to argue about this. What could she possibly hope to gain by convincing him that he had indeed almost killed her, even if it wasn’t by his own hand? “Why did you need the disturbance? Why not just kill me right there in the shop and be done with it?”
“That’s not how I work. I like to get to know my targets. Decide if they actually deserve to die before I kill them.”
OK, that was…not what she’d expected to hear. “So, what, you’re a killer with a conscience?”
His smile was downright evil and so sexy it threw her totally off guard. “ Conscience is a strong word. More like I’m a killer with a highly developed since of justice.”
She swallowed hard. “What would you need to know about me to decide if I should live or die?”
Nico waved off her question. “Oh, I decided long ago you don’t deserve to die. You’re a florist who volunteers at the children’s hospital and the animal shelter, for fuck’s sake. No one deserves to have a hit on them less than you.”
Wow. This guy was full of surprises. “And the mafia is OK with you deciding who lives and dies after they’ve put a contract out on someone?”
He shook his head. “No, of course not. Everyone I’ve ever killed for the mafia definitely deserved it. But the mafia is not exactly like it is in the movies, bambina . People generally fall in line when threatened. I don’t have to kill for work that often.”
The implications of that statement made the bottom of her stomach fall out. “So…you kill for… fun then?”
“Everyone needs a hobby.” He rolled his eyes at her horrified expression. “I kid,” he said. “But I do take the occasional side contract, make my decision on if they deserve the hit, and go from there.”
“What happens if they don’t deserve it?”
“Most of the time, they never even learn of the contract. The person who took out the hit on an undeserving victim…well, they aren’t so lucky. But with you—” he had the audacity to boop the tip of her nose “—I couldn’t do my usual amount of research because you fell off the face of the earth.”
That gave her pause. If Ren hadn’t been watching her, she might’ve never even known about the contract that had been taken out on her. And without the hit, Ren never would’ve let her see him. What would her life have been if she never knew Ren was out there? Would she ever truly have dumped Neal? Dear God, would she have married Neal if Ren hadn’t stormed into her life, making her realize how much she hadn’t really been living without him?
“I guess I owe you a thank you then,” she said, her voice going a little raspy.
His eyes widened. “That’s…not a reaction I typically get.”
She shook her head, feeling a little dazed. “Short of being shot at, this whole thing has been the most fun I’ve ever had. I never realized how boring my life was until this happened—until you trying to kill me happened, that is.”
“I didn’t try to kill you,” he repeated.
She waved him off. None of that mattered. What mattered was that she was falling in love with a man who’d stalked her, protected her, made her feel more treasured than she’d ever felt in her life, and empowered her to take care of herself, all while positively dying inside because he wanted more than anything to keep taking care of her. Although falling was a bit of an understatement.
“Holy shit,” she said, much louder than she’d intended. “I love him!”
Nico looked disgusted as he gestured to Neal. “This blubbering idiot? Why? He is not nearly good enough for you.”
“Not him. Re…actually, no, I’m not going to tell you his name. But, yes, I love someone. And…I have no idea why I’m telling you any of this. I guess the point is that you brought us together. So…thanks.”
She’d never seen a man look as confused as Nico did in that moment. Until Ren popped up directly behind him, that is.
The scrimmage that followed was so brutal Lark could barely watch. The punches they threw at each other were so fast it looked like they’d been choreographed by Hollywood. Elbows flying, knuckles colliding with flesh, joints being manipulated and popped in ways that made Lark a little queasy…shit, she felt like she’d just stumbled into The Bourne Identity .
Ren had a size advantage (he was at least an inch taller than his opponent and probably forty pounds heavier) but Nico had speed and sheer brutality on his side. She winced when he caught Ren in the cheek with an elbow, then winced even harder when Ren responded with a headbutt that knocked Nico back several inches.
He kept punching, though. The body shot he hit Ren with was definitely hard enough to crack a few of his ribs. Which must’ve pissed Ren off, because with a feral growl that reminded Lark of a vicious Rottweiler she’d once fostered, he dodged a right hook Nico threw at his head and delivered a bone-crunching kick to the assassin’s thigh.
The thigh with the still-fresh bullet wound.
With a grunt of pain and a string of Italian that did not sound he was saying anything nice, Nico slumped back into his metal chair, glaring up at Ren. “That was fucking rude,” he hissed, pressing his palm to the wound that was now bleeding through his expensive-looking pants.
Ren straightened and twisted at the waist, grimacing. “Yeah, well, so was the kidney shot. I’ll probably be pissing blood for a week, you dick.” He pointed a stern index finger at him. “Stay down. If I have to fight you again, I’m breaking that fucking leg out of spite.”
Dammit George tugged against his leash to nose Ren’s palm. “I’m OK, buddy,” he told the dog, but turned his gaze immediately to Lark. “Did you mean what you said?”
His gruff voice did things to her heart and her libido. She swallowed hard. “I?—”
He cut her off with a quick, hard kiss.
Neal made a disgruntled sound behind his gag. They ignored him.
Lark pulled back to catch her breath and rested her forehead against Ren’s as Tenley waltzed in through the back door, heels clicking against the concrete floors.
“Don’t answer that question,” Ren whispered. “Not just yet. I want to hear what you have to say. More than you know. But not until all this is settled.”
She let out a disgruntled oof. Did he not realize how hard it was to hold an epiphany in? “Fine,” she eventually grumbled. “We can wait.”
Nico shook his head. “Suddenly I feel like I just stumbled into a fucking Hallmark channel movie.”
“That kiss was way too R-rated for Hallmark,” Tenley said. “More like Lifetime.”
He scowled at her. “How did the two of you even get in here? I rigged the back door with explosives and it was locked.”
“Those explosives were a joke,” Ren said at the same time Tenley said, “That lock was a joke.”
“That doesn’t explain how this Sasquatch was able to sneak up on me,” he grumbled. “Or how he heard anything we were talking about to begin with.” He turned accusing eyes to Lark. “I swept you for listening devices.”
She smirked at him. “You didn’t sweep the dog for listening devices.”
Dammit George wagged his little stub tail at lightning speed.
Nico frowned, but said, “I’m surprised. I thought you were more trusting than that.”
“I’m trusting, but I’m not stupid.”
“Damn straight,” Ren said.
Nico looked like he was going to ask another question, but Tenley snapped her fingers in his face. “Focus, man. Your lax security is not the point. Let’s figure out what we’re going to do now, yes? Because I want to go home.”
Lark never thought she’d see an assassin pout, but Nico was definitely pouting. “The least you can do is give me back my watch.”
Fishing it out of her hoodie’s pocket, Lark handed it back to him. “Sorry about that.”
Tenley frowned at her. “You’re a terrible criminal.”
“Which is why I wasn’t going to kill her,” Nico said, exasperated. “So that kick to my bullet wound was completely un-sportsman like.”
“No, you just had someone shoot at her, kidnapped her ex, and threatened to frame her for his murder, even if it was an empty threat,” Ren said, arms crossed over his chest. “But if I apologize for the kick, will you stop whining about it?”
He sniffed. “Maybe.”
“Sorry you’re a whiny asshole,” Ren deadpanned.
Lark giggled. Actually giggled . Had she ever giggled before? She didn’t think so. But she liked it. And judging by the look in Ren’s eyes, so did he.
Nico sighed. “Fine. So, what do we do now?”
“Well, you said you’re not going to kill me,” Lark said. “Doesn’t that mean we’re done now? It’s over?”
The look on Tenley’s face mirrored the one on Nico’s and Ren’s. It was pity. She’d never seen that look directed at her more in her life than she’d seen it in the past week. But it was Nico who finally found the balls to tell her, “When a hit fails or an assassin quits, the person who took out the contract on you will just hire someone else.”
“Someone who doesn’t have a problem killing an innocent woman,” Lark said quietly.
“Exactly, bambina .”
Ren gave him a light smack upside the head. “Don’t call her baby.”
Tenley rolled her eyes. “Sure, because his casual use of endearments is the problem here.”
Lark rubbed her suddenly aching temples and turned to Ren. “Any luck with the listening device in Neal’s office?”
He shook his head. “The box made its way to the dumpster behind the building.”
“That bitch! I told her those things would be important to Neal.” She pointed a finger at him. “When you can’t find the match to your gray and black chevron dress sock, blame Isla, not me.”
He said something unintelligible, and she felt a tiny little stab of guilt. “Sorry,” she mumbled, pulling the gag out of his mouth.
The coughing fit that followed (along with a few random sobs the gag had apparently been forcing him to hold in) was pathetic and made her feel even worse. Until she remembered that this was the guy who pissed all over her toilet seat without bothering to even pretend to clean it up and didn’t tell her he’d been using her loofa to scrub soap scum off the shower door until she wound up with a mysterious rash. Fucker.
“What the hell is going on?” he shouted when he finally found his voice again.
“ ‘Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up’,” Tenley said in a shockingly good impression of Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride . She followed that up with an abbreviated version of events in the most succinct way possible. Lark was impressed by her ability to boil down everything that had happened over the past few days so well. If she’d tried to do it herself, she was sure she wouldn’t have been able to do it justice.
It was all far too crazy to be believable.
When Tenley was finished with her version of events, Neal blinked up at her for a moment before saying, “I knew she didn’t leave me for him! I knew there had to be something else going on.”
Lark pinched the bridge of her nose. “Because of course that’s your takeaway. I left you because I don’t love you, you idiot! So, can we focus on who might want to kill me and has access to your computer?”
His brow furrowed. “I mean, my office isn’t usually locked. I guess anyone could get in.”
“Your password is your birthday, isn’t it?” Ren asked.
“How did you know?”
“Lucky guess,” he said dryly.
Lark sighed. “There’s a metaphor for our entire relationship in that, but I’m too tired to suss it out right now. What do we do now? The bug I planted is useless. Anyone who knows that Neal is a self-important dickwad has access to his computer.”
“Hey,” he said, aggrieved.
She threw her hands wide. “How are we supposed to find out who wants me dead now?”
“Does anyone want to know my idea?” Nico asked.
“No,” Tenley, Ren, and Lark said in stereo.
“You all are exhausting, and I’m bleeding,” the assassin muttered. “ Bambina , given how easily you fell off the grid, I’m guessing your Sasquatch is good with computers, yes?”
“The best,” she agreed.
Ren puffed up proudly, making Tenley snort and Neal frown mightily. Nico pulled a phone out of his inner jacket pocket and extended it to Ren. “The person who took out the contract paid me half the money up front. They wired it into my Swiss account and left me this phone—behind a dumpster on 5 th street, of all places. It was disgusting—for me to contact them when the job was done. Their number is pre-programmed. You can trace it, yes?”
“Probably not. I can check, but I’m guessing the whole point of this phone is that it’s untraceable. Probably bought and set up under an assumed identity, or it’s been scrubbed of anything that could identify the buyer.”
“What if you called it and demanded more money?” Lark asked. “Told the person that you had me, but that you wouldn’t kill me until they upped your payday.”
Nico frowned. “I accepted the contract. Asking for more now would be very unethical.”
Tenley gaped at him. “You accepted the contract and already decided not to kill her. And if I understood you correctly, you were going to potentially kill the person who took out the contract anyway. Is that any more ethical than asking for more money?”
“Huh.” He rubbed the scruff on his chin. “I guess I never thought of it like that.”
“Sweet Christ, what a shit show,” Ren muttered, handing the phone back to Nico. “Call them.”
“Alright,” he mumbled. “But if this damages my reputation in the industry, it’s your fault.”
“Sue me,” Lark said at the same time Ren said, “Suck my dick, asshole.”
Tenley flipped open a switchblade that she’d seemingly produced from her cleavage and held it to Neal’s throat as Nico made the call. “Keep your mouth shut or I’m turning you into a pincushion.”
He gulped, but stayed blessedly quiet.
Ren tagged Lark by the back of her neck and pulled her into a hug. “This will all be over soon, baby.”
She couldn’t tell if the way her stomach flipped over was nerves or excitement or the Chinese leftovers she’d eaten earlier.
Guess I’ll find out soon enough .