Chapter 27 Rob
ROB
I holstered my gun at my side, then zipped my gear bag closed, ignoring the glares I was getting from not one brother, but three. Although one of them was half-grinning, so I wasn’t so sure he was mad at me.
“I can’t believe you’re going through with this insane plan,” Parker said, his lips curling in disgust.
“I have to get them off our backs.”
“So, hand her over,” he argued.
I finally turned and looked at the three brothers through my one good eye. The other was still swollen. “Krista doesn’t want that.”
“Fuck what she wants. She has no idea what she’s asking.”
“Exactly,” I snapped, “and that’s why I have to do it.”
“Because she’s an idiot?” Parker snapped.
I rushed him without thinking, slamming him against the wall as my forearm pressed against his throat. “Watch it.”
His eyes twinkled in amusement as if I wouldn’t really kill him. Which I wouldn’t. It would break his sister’s heart, and that was one thing I wasn’t willing to do.
“She’s still good. Do you really want to ruin that by making her feel responsible for someone else’s death?”
“The hooker has it coming,” Parker growled.
“Maybe, but I won’t be the one to pull the trigger.”
Releasing him, I walked over to the bag and hoisted it over my shoulder.
“Going on your own is stupid,” he argued. “You’ll never get out alive.”
“Wait, are we arguing not to kill him now?” Jeff asked.
When all three of us turned to look at him, he shrugged. “Just trying to keep up. If you want him dead, let him go on his mission.”
“I’m going with you,” Parker grumbled.
“Me, too,” Liam spoke up.
“Not with that cowboy hat. You’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”
“Then I’ll take it off,” he gritted out.
I turned and looked at Jeff, who raised one eyebrow at me. “What? I’m not trained in this shit. Go off and play Rambo. I’ll look after the womenfolk.”
I snorted in amusement. “Trust me. The womenfolk don’t need your protection.”
“Oh, I know that. I just thought it made me sound cool,” he grinned.
Sinner strode around the corner with Derek, stopping when he saw my bag. Sighing, he rolled his eyes.
“So, we’re doing this? Rushing off into the unknown? Going after the mafia? For the good of mankind?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not asking you to come.”
“Oh, I’ll definitely be there. Just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page.”
“Sorry, there’s no saving the world on this mission,” I retorted.
“Well, saving a hooker is sort of the same thing. I mean, they have a purpose in life just like the rest of us.”
Derek slowly turned and shot him a look. “Yes, saving mobsters one pussy at a time.”
“While stealing from them,” Sinner said, pointing a pistol finger at him.
“Don’t forget that part. You know, I really think hookers are underrated.
Not that I want one. I’m completely devoted to my Lollipop, but if you think about it, for centuries, hookers have used their wiles to infiltrate some of the deadliest regimes.
Just think of all the intel that was gathered because of them. ”
“Yes,” I said in a bored tone. “It was the oppressive boot of tyrannical leaders that led to their downfall. Not the drugs, STDs, and stilettos.”
He nodded sagely. “Stilettos are killer, man. Have you ever tried walking in those?”
“Actually, I had to try on a pair for one of…Claire’s costumes,” Derek said, practically swallowing his words. “They’re no joke.”
For once, I was on the Parker family’s side with the level of discomfort I felt stifling the room. Clearly, not even the Parker who worked with Derek for a short time was used to his brand of crazy in the bedroom.
“And on that very uncomfortable note,” Parker muttered, “we should hit the road.”
“I second that,” I said, striding past all of them.
But I didn’t get far. I was nearly to the front door when Krista appeared at the top of the stairs, glaring down at me.
“And just where do you think you’re going?”
“Ooh, busted,” Jeff laughed, immediately dropping his smirk at my glare.
Krista walked down the stairs leisurely, not even bothered by the fact that she was holding up everyone.
“Were you going to tell me you were leaving?”
“Ooh, that’s not good,” Parker muttered.
“I left you a note.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, cocking her head at me. “A note. How sweet.”
Sinner leaned, whispering in my ear, “I’m pretty sure she’s saying it wasn’t sweet.”
I slowly turned and narrowed my eyes at him. He backed up, holding up his hands.
“I could be wrong. Not likely, but there’s the most infinitesimal possibility.”
Ignoring him, I looked back at Krista. “I have to finish this.”
“Oh, well, that makes total sense.”
“Again—” Sinner didn’t even finish his sentence as I thrust out my hand, gripping his face, and shoving him back a step.
“Geez, you try to help a guy out,” he grumbled.
“What exactly was your plan?” Krista snapped. “You were going to run off and play hero, leaving me behind?”
“You’re not trained—”
“I would think very carefully about your next words,” Liam interrupted.
“Wise advice,” Krista snarled. “You were saying?”
I thought it over very carefully, then proceeded. “This is a mission. A dangerous mission, and I’ve taken every precaution to ensure my safe return. I have backup and a plan.”
She continued to stare at me.
“And I planned to call you from the road.”
Again, she just stared at me.
“I didn’t want to put you in danger.”
This time, she crossed her arms over her chest.
Scratching the back of my head, I felt heat climb up my neck as every person in the room stared at me, waiting for my response.
“Look, the fact is that I’m trained for this, and you’re not.
If I had told you what my plan was, you’d want to come along for some unknown reason, thinking you could help.
And then I’d be forced to tell you that you being there would only put us all in more danger, which you’d get pissed at me for. ”
Sinner sucked in a breath while Krista’s eyes flared in anger.
“So, yes, I decided to sneak out instead of having that very uncomfortable, but very true conversation because in the end, it doesn’t matter what you want.
I’m doing this to protect you. And if I wanted to take your feelings into account, I would have asked you what you thought.
But since you have no knowledge of what we’re about to do, I figured I’d skip the whole thing and do what was necessary. ”
You could have heard a pin drop. Seriously, not even the guys said a single thing or even made a noise. But I told the truth, and when it came down to it, that was the only thing that mattered. I had a job to do, and I wouldn’t pussyfoot around a woman just to make her feel better.
I expected a knee to the groin. Maybe a hand gesture that would tell me where to shove it. Or maybe even a few choice words. Instead, she turned on her heel and walked back up the stairs.
She didn’t even stomp, which I felt made it ten times worse.
As soon as she was out of sight, Sinner clapped me on the shoulder. “Remind me to tell you sometime about how I once tried to sacrifice myself in the name of protecting Cara. It’s a good one,” he grinned, laughing as he walked past me to the door.
Frowning, I looked back up to where Krista had disappeared. “Should I go explain?”
Parker laughed, shaking his head. “I’m pretty sure you just did enough explaining to talk yourself out of marriage. But sure. Go after her and see what happens.”
He shoved past me and walked out the door.
“I was only telling her the truth,” I argued.
“That was your first mistake,” Derek sighed. “You have a lot to learn, Kemosabe.”
Liam walked over to me, the last of our crew to stay behind.
“You don’t seem too bright, so I’m going to give you a hint.
You should have stopped while you were ahead.
” Clapping me on the shoulder, he squeezed tightly.
“I would say that as her brother, I’m required to kick your ass, but I think she can handle that just fine on her own. ”
When he left, it was just the jovial brother and me. “I suppose you have something to say as well.”
“Me?” He grinned widely at me. “Nope. I have no woman, no relationship advice, and know when to stay out of it. Good luck. Hope you don’t kill yourself before you can figure out how to salvage…whatever that was.”
Holding the manila envelope in my hand, I strode into the motel the guys had secured while I ran my errands. They were all lounging around, cleaning their weapons as if they didn’t have a care in the world, grinning like idiots the moment I walked through the door.
The Parker brothers had been shooting me looks and then laughing at me the whole drive, but I wasn’t an idiot.
Well, most of the time.
I still hadn’t figured out exactly what pissed Krista off so much. I was doing a job, and her interference would only make things worse. What was wrong with saying that?
Sinner walked out of the bathroom, giving me a single look before snickering at me.
“Enough, alright? Can we just focus on the job at hand?”
“Sure,” Derek said, hiding his laughter. “After all, you have to get home to your wife.”
“If you have a wife to go home to,” Sinner added.
“Are you telling me you actually bring your wives along and let them do whatever they want on a job? Because I know that doesn’t happen.”
“Not unless you’re Cap,” Derek said. “I let Claire come with me to get your ass. Of course, that was when I thought you had just made a minor fuckup.”
“Coming along would have put her in danger!”
“We’re not arguing that,” Liam chuckled.
“Then what the fuck is the problem?”
“You’ll figure it out eventually,” Parker said, pulling out his laptop. “Now, can we get to work? Some of us have lives to get back to that we haven’t completely fucked up yet.”
This whole thing was fucking ridiculous, but he was right. We had work to do. “I tracked Alicia to a hotel outside the city. It looks like she’s staying with a friend.”
“The mob hasn’t tracked her yet?”