“You don’t want to lie to me.” I take a step towards him while blocking the kitchen exit. “Now tell me how you got the thirty grand.”
“I can’t tell you that.” He retreats as I take another step towards him. “You don’t understand, man.” His head drops forward, his hand going through his hair. “These dudes are fucking scary… A lot fucking scarier than you. They’ll kill me.”
“You’re right. They will, but they’ll probably do that anyways.” I lean back slightly and pull out my phone from my back pocket so I can bring up the message from Justin. “The men you’re protecting are part of Lacamo, one of the biggest crime families in the United States. You mean nothing to them.” I show him the email with a sketch of the suspect along with a picture of one of the most notorious Mob hit men, who matches the sketch perfectly. “I’m guessing you have no real understanding of what you’ve done.”
“I didn’t know what was going to happen.” His face pales as he looks over the pictures.
“Have you told them about Autumn?”
He shakes his head, but his eyes don’t come back to me. Fury fills my veins as I realize the kind of danger my woman’s in now.
“You piece of shit,” I growl, shoving him into the counter. My hand goes around his neck and I can feel his pulse beating against my fingertips. I know that, if I squeeze his throat a little tighter, one less asshole will be breathing. “You’re gonna tell me exactly what you told them and how you get in contact with them.”
“I only told them her name,” he chokes out, my hand going tighter. “I never told them anything else about her, I swear.” His nails claw against my hand and his feet skid against the floor, trying to get leverage.
Link’s hand on my arm is the only thing that stops me from killing the fucker where we stand. I take a step back while shoving him away. I run a hand through my hair, trying to compose myself enough to think of my next move.
“Call in your friend from the local PD and tell them to pick up this piece of shit,” I say, looking over at Link.
“I told you what you wanted to know. Please don’t call the cops,” Mick whines.
I turn my head in his direction and he lowers his eyes. “As much as I want to leave you here and let you get what you deserve, you may be the only one who can stop these sick fucks, so that means I need to keep your punk ass safe until this shit’s taken care of.” I scrub a hand over my mouth as Link makes a call to his friend.
It takes two hours to get everything settled with the cops and Mick to be taken into custody. When we leave the local precinct, we make a plan to go to Autumn’s condo to have a look around. Once inside, I can tell that the person who broke in wasn’t looking for shit to pawn. Everything that has any value is still here. The only things gone through are papers, which tells me that whoever broke in was looking for information.
“Nothing here will point them to Tennessee,” Link says, shoving a stack of papers into the desk.
“True, but she needs to change her number and stop using her e-mail. I don’t want whoever this is to have any way to track her down.”
“You gonna tell her what’s going on?” he asks quietly.
“I don’t have a choice.” I look around again before walking over and opening her balcony door.
The sun is just starting to set over the mountains, causing an orange-and-red glow to fill the horizon. After taking a seat in one of her deck chairs, I pull out my phone and send a text to Justin, telling him the latest development. Then I send a message to Autumn, letting her know what time my flight would arrive so she would be dressed and ready to go out. I also tell her to make sure to wear the red lipstick she wore to the club.
Just thinking about how she looked that night causes my cock to jump. I need to see how fucking long it would take to kiss that red off her mouth. Looking out at the sunset again, I can’t help but smile. I’m not buying a new bed for my room until she’s willing to help me pick it out and share it with me. Until I can convince her to move into my room, we will be staying in hers. I look down at my phone when it beeps.
Justin: Autumn is safe in bed. I’m running a cross-check on the names you sent. As soon as I know anything, I’ll send you the info.
I know Justin is a good kid, but I still hate that he’s there with her right now instead of me, even if I’m the one who ordered him to. I beat back the jealousy I feel and focus on what I need to do next.
Me: I get back tomorrow. Cancel all her e-mails/accounts and change her number. Now.
Justin: Already on it.
I look over my shoulder when I hear Link come out. I know he’s gonna want to know my next move, but until I get more info, my hands are tied.
“You good?” he asks, taking a seat across from me.
“Yeah.” I lean back, closing my eyes. “I need to make a few calls and see if I can get some info from a friend of mine before I head home.”
“I don’t envy you right now, man,” Link says.
I open one eye, look at him, and smirk. A pissed-off Autumn is a thing of beauty, and she’s going to be riled as hell when I get home.
Chapter 7
A Whole Lotta Like…
“Why’s my phone off and my e-mail not working?” I yell as I stomp into the living room, where Justin is still playing Call of Duty. I don’t know how I know, but I know he has something to do with it.
“You’re gonna have to wait to talk to boss man,” he mumbles, never taking his eyes off the TV.
“I’m asking you, so tell me why my phone is off, I no longer have an e-mail, and even my Facebook is gone…and I haven’t gotten on that thing in over eight months!”
“About that—you are not very photogenic. I think you should take some classes or something.”
“Are you frigging serious right now?” I pick up one of the throw pillows off the couch and start hitting him over the head with it.