Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Gunnar watched the spitfire that was Jorja Buchanan in the rearview mirror.
He didn't believe for one second that she had settled down. Nope, she could fold her arms and glare holes into the back of his head all she wanted. It wasn’t going to change a damn thing.
There was no way he would believe that she was going to make this easy on them.
He had to hand it to her, bringing their mommas into it was one hell of a good idea.
It was just a shame for her that he wasn't the kind of man who was worried by his momma believing shit about it. His momma knew who he was, she’d never believed that of him.
But his ex-wife on the other hand—oh yeah, she'd believe it. Hell, even if she didn’t, she’d still make it her business to share that shit on Facebook like it was going out of style.
Making him look bad was something his ex-wife excelled at.
It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t give one flying shit about his reputation at home, but it was the reason he rarely went home.
Bumping into Gillian was never a fun experience.
I bet she’s not spiteful when she’s mad.
Don’t bother going there, dude. You have an ex-wife for a reason. You don’t need to add to the tally.
“Watch it, bro,” Levi warned just as a car behind them honked.
Shit. Gunnar turned the wheel hard, putting them back into the right lane. Damn it, when was the last time he’d been so distracted by a woman that he’d allowed a car to drift across the motorway? “I got it.”
“He’s going to get us all killed.”
He was pretty sure that wasn’t meant to be said out loud.
“You can’t drive for shit.” Jorja raised her voice.
The mouth on her. Give me freaking patience.
“Then stop distracting me.” He barked out the order a little harsher than he’d meant to. “We aren’t going to hurt you, damn it.” It was important to him that she understood that.
“Could have fooled me.” She jerked up the arm which was cuffed to Remi’s. “If you wanted me to believe that, you wouldn’t have used these.”
“I didn’t, Remi did.”
“Semantics.” In the rearview mirror, he saw her try to fold her arms across her chest but was thwarted by the cuff attached to his brother. “Why are the hot ones always jerks?”
He snorted out a laugh. He was going to take a WAG that she hadn’t meant to say that out loud either. But from the red on her face, he was betting there was no Wild Assed Guesses needed to know it for certain, she was mad at herself for saying it out loud.
She thinks I’m hot.
Now, who’s the one acting like they are five?
Oh, shut up.
Thank fuck his internal voice was just that… internal. Because if Remi or Levi heard him saying that shit, they’d never let him live it down. He wasn’t in the mood to play language chess with his men, thank you very much.
“Gun, there’s a checkpoint ahead,” Remi piped up from behind him. “You might wanna go in the back way.”
“Yeah.” They had lived at the compound here in La Spezia for years, and he could count on one hand how many police checkpoints there had been over that time.
While they had a decent relationship with the police in this town, he didn’t want to test how strong it was by being pulled over for transporting a woman in handcuffs.
Wasn’t it typical that a checkpoint would be here today of all days? Annoying, but typical.
He continued on straight and took a right at the lights.
By the time he was halfway down the street, he hit the button which would alert the house that he was coming in.
When he made it to the garage doors, they were already opening for him.
He drove his SUV into the underground parking lot, which housed all their tactical vehicles, and parked in the spot reserved for him.
He stepped out of the vehicle and waited for the other guys to park and the garage door to close before he leaned back in and nodded to Remi. “Uncuff her.”
“Yes, Boss.”
He could tell his brother was pissed with him.
Maybe he had been a little heavy-handed, he could admit that, even if it only was to himself.
As he walked around the back of the car, he could see Jorja rubbing at the wrist which had been confined for the ride, but ignored the pang of regret.
If she hadn’t been so unreasonable, he wouldn’t have had to resort to such measures.
He opened the back door and helped her out.
The second both of her feet were on the ground, Jorja kicked him in the shin and took off running.
The move stunned him so much it took a hot second for his reflexes to kick in and he took off after her.
The other bastards just stood around and fucking laughed at him.
Even Zombie didn’t move from Talon’s side.
Jorja screamed a piercing scream which rattled his eardrum as he scooped her into his arms. She lashed out with her hands, her nails catching on his cheek. “Let me go. Let me go.”
He winced as she clawed at his face. “I’m not going to hurt you, damn it.”
“Let. Me. Go!”
Jesus, there was something seriously fucked up with his dick.
This shit should not be turning him on. “Stop that.” He banded one arm around her waist and managed to trap her arms under the other to save his face more damage, yet she still kept kicking at his knees with her heels.
“Settle down, hellcat, we only need the information you have. Nothing more. Nothing less. I swear I’m not going to hurt you. None of us will.”
If anyone told you it was easy to carry a struggling woman across a parking lot and into an elevator, they were lying.
He had no clue how serial killers did this shit all the time.
Gunnar decided this had to be the reason why most of them had months between kills.
“I swear I won’t hurt you. I just need that intel. ”
“You could have just freaking asked for it.”
He winced when her heel glanced off his still recovering wound.
It took more effort than he wanted to admit for him to force his leg not to buckle under the pressure.
He leaned against the back of the elevator.
“There is no way out of here,” he warned Jorja as the doors slid closed behind Remi.
Levi hit the button to take them upstairs.
“Sounds like kidnapping to me, asshole.”
She wasn’t wrong.
“Add it to the list of shit which pisses you off about me.”
“I don’t have enough paper for that list,” she shot back. “I don’t think a stationary shop would have enough paper for it either.”
When she was bitching at him, she wasn’t kicking him. He’d take it. When the elevator came to a stop at the ground floor, he followed the others out into the corridor behind the main staircase of the communal space in their house and turned toward his office.
“I need her in the war-room.” Remi’s voice stopped him in his tracks.
Gunnar turned carefully, not daring to attempt to swivel on one foot.
He’d drop her if he tried, and there wasn’t a chance in hell he was giving this hellcat an inch, never mind a mile.
“Are you sure you want this hellcat near your precious computers, Remi? Because she might do damage.”
“Just you wait until I’m on my feet,” she threatened. “The only damage I’ll be doing to is your fucking balls.”
Hellcat suits her.
Yes, it did suit her. That he seemed to piss her off was a bonus. He resolved to call her that name as many times as possible just to watch the sparks which flashed in her eyes.
“She won’t damage my computers,” Remi replied over his shoulder as he led the way to the war-room. “Anyone who can hack enough to get into the places her phone shows respects computers enough not to hurt them.”
“Unlike you.” Jorja slammed her head back. Only Gunnar’s fast reflexes prevented her skull from making contact with his jaw. “I’ll hurt you in a freaking heartbeat without a second thought.”
He had no doubt she would try. She may not succeed as the odds were against her, but he didn’t doubt for a second that she’d give that try everything she had.
Too bad I’ve pissed her off too much…
He stopped that thought in its tracks. Had he not learned his lessons?
No matter how enticing the hellcat was, she wasn’t for him.
No woman was. He’d never again go down that road.
His wallet was still paying for his last mistake.
He deposited her into a chair in the war-room.
“I’ll be back in a second. Remi, make sure she doesn’t leave.
” If he didn’t get a little space from her, he was going to do something which would be a problem for them all. A big problem.