Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Kellan
“Istill don’t know why I couldn’t come today.” Merrick sulked beside me. When we went by the bar to pick him up, we got Francine into the front seat, and Merrick climbed into the back with us.
I punched him in his bad shoulder, and he loosed a pained yelp before he could hold it back. “That’s why.”
He glared at me, and I knew I’d pay for that later. Giana frowned at me, and Spade laughed, tucking an arm around our woman. The asshole always ended up stealing the seat beside her. I’d have to remember to knock him aside when we got back into the van.
“If you keep hitting him, he’s not going to be able to come back anytime soon.” Giana sighed and leaned into Spade.
Merrick grinned, thinking she was on his side, until he realized she said he might not be able to fight with us. Then we both turned our glares on Spade, who was acting like a smug asshole, making faces at us that Giana couldn’t see because her eyes were closed.
Sometimes I wanted to shove them out of a moving vehicle. But then Giana would be pissed at me. Fuck.
Before I knew it, we were pulling up at the first motel where Francine and her grandson were staying.
The parking lot was already full, and this was only one of the four motels we had booked.
Hopefully it would only be a week that we’d need to keep this up for.
Otherwise we’d have to find another bank to go to since we’d cleared out the one in town.
I shoved Spade out of the way as he tried to help Giana out of the car, but thankfully she didn’t see.
She gave me her sweet smile and kissed my other cheek, a possessive glint in her amber eyes as she must have left another lip print.
She could mark me up all she wanted. I was hers from the day I laid eyes on her; it just took a few years for Merrick and me to man up and admit that there was no way she’d choose between us.
Maybe if we had worked it out earlier, she’d never have gotten mixed up with Tommaso in the first place. That was baggage Merrick and I still held onto.
“Love you,” I murmured as I took her hand. A blush spread across her cheeks as her smile only grew.
“I love you too.”
I glanced behind me, grinning smugly at Spade, only to find both him and Merrick glaring at my back. We all liked to needle each other behind Giana’s back. The fact that she rarely realized always made it that much more fun.
Merrick rushed forward to hold the door open for her, his chest puffing out with pride as she thanked him and brushed her fingers up his arm.
Fuck, this girl had no idea just how tightly she had us wrapped around her finger.
We would do anything for her, and none of us had the sparkling morality that would get in the way if she wanted us to burn the world down for her.
She never would. Her heart was far too big to let anyone innocent get hurt. It was both a curse and part of the reason I loved her so much.
Merrick stomped up to the front desk, and Spade captured her other hand, a duffle bag full of cash in his other.
“Levi?” Merrick asked.
“Yes, you must be Merrick.” Levi clasped his hand in greeting. “I have all the paperwork in order, and we already grabbed the information of your guests in case there are any incidentals.”
He handed the stack of papers to Merrick, but he passed them to Giana. “Giana is the brains and the beauty. We’re just the muscle.”
Giana shook her head, a giggle slipping out as she took Levi’s offered hand.
“Well then, Giana, I have all the paperwork ready for you if you want to look it over. I’d much rather deal with you anyway.” His eyes scanned her with a far too friendly leer.
She quirked a brow. “Oh, really?” She hid her smirk as she took the papers. Merrick, Spade, and I all glared at Levi, who blanched at our combined ire.
“Umm, I’ll step into the back office and get the keys ready.” Levi scurried off, his metaphorical tail tucked firmly between his legs.
Giana reached for the pen and signed her name in a quick flourish. Spade thumped the bag onto the desk and opened it for her, earning him a kiss on his cheek as she counted out the stacks of cash.
Spade shot me a smug grin when Giana wasn’t looking, as he too sported a lip print on his cheek now. The asshole just had to turn this into a game. Judging by the competitive glint in Merrick’s eyes, he wasn’t going to be the only one left out.
“Perfect.” Levi cleared his throat, breaking through the tense silence. “I’ll start handing out the keys, and I’ll call you if anything comes up.”
“Thank you.” Giana smiled back at him.
The moment his eyes softened, Spade bared his teeth like a dog seconds from attack as he grabbed the bag. Levi jolted out of his trance, his eyes widening as he took a step back.
“It’s not a problem; it’s our slow season anyway.” He straightened his tie, uncomfortably watching the door as if he were counting down the seconds until we filed out of here.
“Let’s go.” Giana chuckled. “We still have to speak with Francine before we make the next stop.”
Merrick rushed to the door, nearly running me over in his haste to get there first. He held the door open, motioning us through.
A crease formed between Giana’s brows, but she didn’t argue as Spade went through first, and I gestured for her to go before me.
We had a system after all. Giana was always in the middle, no matter what.
Merrick stopped her before she could step through the doorway and leaned down, offering her his cheek. Motherfucker. She huffed out a breath of amusement, catching onto the competitive game Spade started. She still pressed her lips to his cheek, leaving a faint lip imprint.
At least mine were more prominent than either of theirs. Plus I had two.
I scowled as I passed through, but he only smirked, his chest puffed up like he just won the lottery. Well, that was a pretty apt comparison, since having her by our side was the greatest prize I could imagine.
“There you are,” Francine grunted as she barreled past a crowd of people to get to us. “I just got off the phone with a few of the other store owners. I’ve placed at least one person I trust at each motel to monitor things.”
“Thanks, Francine.” Merrick shouldered past me to wrap his arm around Giana before I could get there.
“There’s someone I want you to meet.” She crooked her finger and led us back through the crowd. They immediately parted for us, a mix of fear and awe in their gazes that I couldn’t begrudge them for. We might not be the Barones, but we were still just as dangerous.
We stopped in front of one of the rooms, and I frowned at the doorway. “I hate that we had to rent out the first floor too.”
“I know, but this isn’t exactly a hot tourist spot.” Giana took my hand. “Besides, we’ll have Sebastian’s guys keeping watch.”
“I know.” I pressed a kiss to her knuckles, loving how her cheeks pinkened for me. This woman, who could cut men twice her size down to their knees, was blushing because of me. I still had to pinch myself sometimes that she was really back with us, that we hadn’t lost her forever.
Spade rejoined us after putting the duffel bag back in the van, scowling at both Merrick and me. A calculating glint lit in his eyes and I knew he was already assessing how he could weasel his way in.
“Liam here has put cameras up at the stores.” Francine stopped by a man a few inches shorter than us. He’d probably be the same height as Giana without the heels. He pushed up his wide-framed glasses, a shy smile on his lips as he pulled out a tablet.
“I own the electronic repair store in town, so I went to the store owners and got their permission to set up cameras outside the storefronts and in the alleys.” He turned the screen to show us a grid of small videos, each recording live from the main street we just left.
He selected one of the feeds to maximize it for us.
A few blacked-out SUVs were parked outside the stationery store. Luann and her husband were outside arguing as his men spread out, searching the storefronts, but everything was closed off.
“Here.” Liam held out the tablet, and Merrick took it. “I brought that tablet for you to use. You’ll need it more than we will.”
Giana pulled a stack of cash out of her bag and thrust it toward Liam. “Please, this will be a huge help to all of us. I don’t want the cost to fall on you alone.”
“I can’t.” He shook his head, hands up in protest as he stepped away. “You’ve done so much for all of us already. This was the least I could do.”
She frowned and let her hand drop at the determination in Liam’s gaze. Even Giana wouldn’t be able to convince him. Which was good because if the three of us had to deal with another man fawning over her today, one of us would snap. Probably Spade.
“If you’re sure...” she trailed off, putting the cash back in her purse. “If you need anything, you only need to ask.”
“I appreciate that.” A blush spread across his cheeks.
I narrowed a warning glare at him, making the color drain from his face in the next instant.
He cleared his throat, his gaze darting around like he was searching for an escape.
Nope, three of us were enough to contend with.
There was no way we were going to let her charm another guy.
Besides, he wasn’t violent enough for our little devil. She’d eat him alive.
“Let me give you my—”
“No,” Merrick growled. “He can have my number.”
Giana sighed but didn’t argue as Liam uncomfortably exchanged numbers with Merrick, his unease growing with each second he spent in our presence.
“Granny Franny,” a child shrieked as the door beside us burst open and a blur of strawberry-blonde hair latched onto Francine’s legs.
Liam took that opportunity to back away, giving Giana a shy wave and avoiding the rest of our glares as he slunk away into the crowd. Good. He was already testing his luck, judging by the way Spade was staring at his back in contemplation.
“Charlie,” Francine said and threaded her fingers through the boy’s hair. He was probably only eight.