And it seemed Ally wasn’t cottoning onto that.
It further seemed Ally “Serenity” Nightingale was not like me in a lot of ways and not just that she was thinner than me, taller than me and a brunette. But also she was the queen of backtalk and attitude.
I knew this when Ren shouted back, “Baby, you keep up with this shit, I’ll chain you to my goddamned bed!”
To which she returned heatedly, “Try it, Zano, and I’ll kick your ass!”
All Chace had to say was “baby” and I was all, “okay”.
Not Ally.
Watching, it appeared Ally never gave in in her life, even to a serious hot guy who was threatening to chain her to his bed, which, studying him in all his tall, dark, hot-blooded Italian, badass gorgeousness, was no threat at all.
Jeez, she had this guy hot on her heels and she was perving on Nathan Fillion? I mean, Nathan Fillion was mega hot but this guy… amazing. And he didn’t live wherever Nathan Fillion lived but he was right there, on Chace’s deck, a foot away from Ally, shouting at her because he was worried.
I sensed movement, tore my eyes from the action, turned my head and watched Chace, hair wet from a shower, in clean jeans and a sweater, bare feet, walking to me, eyes to the window.
Infinitely hotter than the Italian hottie on the back deck.
He shifted in behind me and hauled my booty into his lap as his lower half twisted so one leg was on the couch, my hips were between his legs and through this, his eyes remained out the window.
“They still at it?” he asked.
I looked from Chace’s handsome profile out the window to see Ren pointing a finger in the African American man’s face, not a good move in my estimation but he didn’t seem to be worried, as he shouted, “You should know better!”
Darius Tucker grinned.
Seriously, he was hot too.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Should I intervene?” Chace asked.
There was a hot-blooded, pissed off, tall Italian guy on the deck. I was steering clear. I’d had enough danger for one night.
“Would you want someone to intervene when you were concerned pissed and shouting at me?”
“I’ll leave them be,” Chace muttered instantly and I grinned. “Just got a call from Cap,” he announced and my eyes went from the scene outside to him.
“Yeah?”
Chace’s eyes came to me.
“He told me that apparently, while Ally and Tucker were playin’ The Elite to get a lock on you, Brody was at CPD showin’ them the trail. They may have got what Newcomb was holdin’ over those boys, but two of them got fidgety and stupid. Direct links to the guy who nabbed you at Bubba’s and that shit ties in another man called Clinton Bonar who they’re goin’ out to pick up now. Some of that crew might breathe free but those two will go down for conspiracy and Frank says they already got warrants to collect shit on Brody’s trail. Not to mention, Tucker and Brody are both connected to a private investigator in Denver called Lee Nightingale who’s got links to law enforcement. So, the male PI Nightingale and his brother who happens to be a cop put their stamp on it, the shit he gave them direct may still be admissible.”
“Did she know they were coming after me?” I asked, hoping she didn’t and thus didn’t warn me.
“Not until she got the same text I got,” Chace gave me the right answer. “She and Brody were hacked in, following their communications so she was on alert because she knew something was going down. She got that text when I got it and she, Tucker and Brody hauled ass. They had a lock on who Newcomb gave the shit to and they motored direct to him. Took him down, got it, dropped Brody and made the connection to hand it over.”
“So Serenity saved me and took two of them down,” I whispered.
“It sticks, yeah,” he whispered back.
“Wow.” I was still whispering, my eyes drifting to the window.
Darius was looking at his boots. Brody was biting his lip and looking to the dark sky. Ren had Ally pinned against the railing of Chace’s deck in a way I couldn’t see her at all.
No one was shouting but Ren’s body was still tight with fury.
And his booty looked really good in those faded jeans.
Seriously, I needed to have a chat with Serenity. She needed to wake up.
“Faye,” Chace called softly, I tore my eyes from Ren’s behind and I looked back at him. His hand came up and slid my hair over my shoulder then curled around my neck when he went on, “Samuel Sterling delivered your kidnapper to CPD.”
Fraking good.
The creep.
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Can you ID him?” he asked gently and I bit my lip because I could.
He’d stunned me in the back hall of Bubba’s and I woke up in that box but I saw him before he did it.
Chace didn’t miss me biting my lip and whispered, “Fuck.”
We hadn’t spoken of it. Chace had made a call telling his colleagues that he’d let them know when I was okay to make my report and for the time being they were to steer clear.