I raise my eyebrows at that. “I thought you two had started to get along?”
He snorts but doesn’t answer. Ah, okay, so she’s under his skin. We can work with that. “Don’t you fucking dare change that channel again,” he barks.
“I’ll leave you to it, have fun,” I offer with a laugh before hanging up and looking over at Ryder. “She’s going to have him wrapped around her finger before long.”
He grins. “No doubt, she already has you.”
“And D, did you hear he killed that drunken idiot at the fight?”
Ryder nods. “Sloppy, but that’s Diesel for you.”
He parallel parks outside a shop, ignoring the no parking lines. We wait for Tony and Sam to get out, and then they open our doors—we can’t be too careful at the moment. It wouldn’t be good for one of us to get shot just because we were sloppy, and with a bounty on our heads, they will all be coming out of the woodwork to try for us. We are hoping the German is one of them, which is why we are out and about.
Bait.
Heads held high and unafraid, we stroll into the shop. The greeter zeros in on us straightaway, recognising money, and his eyes light up. “Gentlemen, how may I help you?”
Ryder points at me and pulls his phone out to undoubtedly answer all the emails piling up. Wrapping my arm around his neck, I pluck his phone free and pocket it. “Oh no you don’t, you stuck your dick in her too, so you have to buy her nice things to make up for your shitty attitude.”
He grumbles and glares at me, pushing me away. He tries to grab his phone, but I move back, laughing. The salesman doesn’t even blink, pretending he can’t hear our conversation like all the best ones do. Catering to the rich and famous means you get deaf really quick or you don’t last long.
“Fine, she needs more jewellery,” he mumbles, making me clap my hands.
“Now you’re talking. She needs more of those sexy bras, and for sure some more of those boots, they are hot as hell. Oh, we should buy her some weapons.” I sigh wistfully.
He looks over at me. “And when she uses them on us?”
I shrug. “Probably only on Diesel, and he would love it, and, well, maybe Garrett, but he would just respawn like the devil he is.”
“Of course, sir, if you would like to follow me. I will have my colleague Francesco escort you, sir, to the jewellery.”
“Nope, we can go together, we are in no rush,” I reply and wave him on. He inclines his head and leads us to the second floor and the jewellery there.
“What kind of shit do women like?” I mutter.
“Anything expensive,” Ryder snaps.
“Like fuck. You think Rox cares how much we spend? She would probably just throw it back in our faces and cross those little arms and put on the cute face and be like ‘I don’t need your bribes, asshole,’” I mock, and his mouth drops at my girl voice.
“That was strangely accurate and a little scary. Fine, what shall we get her?” He throws his hands in the air.
“You, server guy, what should we get a woman who doesn’t give a fuck about money or riches and is rocker-like?”
He ponders that for a moment. “Ah, I have some things that may work.”
“Any in a snake?” Ryder queries.
The man doesn’t even blink at the strange request. “Right this way.”
He leads us to a small sitting area and then disappears. Leaning back in my chair, I look around at all the sparkling jewels around us. “Shit, I remember coming to places like this with Dad so he could show off his new trophy wife.”
Ryder grunts, but I carry on, “I always hated it and the women, all they cared about was money. Yet we ended up with those types of women…well, except now with Roxxane. She really is different. Do you think it’s because she genuinely doesn’t know how much money we have?”
“I don’t think it would matter. She was brought up on nothing, came from nothing, and she has worked for everything she has. I believe Rox likes to earn her way. She wouldn’t be intimidated here, but she would also insist on paying herself.”
I nod. He’s right, he always is. He has a good read on people. “Did you ever think this is where we would end up?”
He glances at me then, his face cold, but I know better. My brother has the world on his shoulders, always did. Even back then, protecting me from our old man, it made him sharp, cold, and angry. “No, I thought we would either be dead or still with the bastard.”
I nod solemnly. “You did what you had to, brother.”
He looks away for a moment, watching the comings and goings of people. “I know.” He goes quiet. “Do I remind you of him sometimes?”
I debate his question. “Yes, but you have something he never did.”
“What’s that?” he inquires, looking at me.
“Me.” I smirk. “He had no one to drag him back down, to stop him before he went too far. You have his hunger, his smarts, and yes, his anger. But you also have a family that genuinely cares for you. We are all a bit messed up, but we know how to keep each other sane. You never have to worry about being him, I would never let you. I would kill you first,” I vow, and he smiles, a genuine one, and I can almost see him as a kid, when he used to smile like that all the time before my dad beat it from him.
Just then, the man returns and arranges the jewellery before us. We pick the ones we like, not bothering to look at the prices. He promises they will be boxed and waiting for us and then leads us to the clothing area.
We sit for a while as he shows them off and coordinates outfits from what we like. Roxy might not enjoy being spoiled, only because I have a feeling no one ever has, but she has no choice anymore. I’ve decided we are keeping her, and that means I get to spoil her whenever I want, and she has no option but to deal with it.
She can make it up to me, show me how appreciative she is in the new underwear sets we bought her, ’cause holy hell, are they hot. I can just imagine them propping up her tits, covering her tatted skin.
Fuck, what an inappropriate time to be hard. Shifting, I rearrange myself and slide my card to the man to pay for it all. “Car out front,” I answer, when he asks where to take it.
Slipping my shades from my coat and sliding them onto my face, I follow Tony and Sam outside, watching as they quickly load up the car. “We should get her a car, a fast one, she would love it.”
Ryder snorts. “What part of ‘she’s our prisoner’ don’t you get?”
I look over at him then, grinning. “We both know that’s a lie. From the very first moment we laid eyes on her, she was more than a prisoner.”
“She doesn’t need a car. We’ll drive her anywhere she wants,” he snaps.
I nod. “Just a thought, brother, might make her feel more free. Don’t get her one yet, though, let her realise she’s beyond lost in love with us first, and she’ll never leave.”
“Now you’re acting crazy, she will never love us. We are too twisted for that, she wants us, sure, but she’d never love us,” he scoffs.
“That’s where you’re wrong, big brother. You might be the brains of the operation, but you are wrong this time.” I wink before climbing into the car.
He grumbles and follows after me. We drive uptown, taking the long routes to see if anyone tries anything. “Still nothing, we can’t keep driving around, it looks suspicious,” Ryder snaps, banging on the wheel. “I really thought he would take the shot with both of us here.”
I tap my chin as I think, my eyes locked out the window. “Pull up here and pretend you’re on a call. It’s an empty area and the buildings block him from getting a shot. He would have to get close, providing a good opportunity to grab him.”
“How do you even know he’s waiting?” he snaps.
“Think, Ry. I know you got laid, but stop letting your dick run the show. He’s here, he disappointed them once, and now he’s desperate to make it up to them. That makes him sloppy, and it works for us.”
He nods and takes a deep breath. “I don’t like that he was gunning for you guys. It’s making me angry, which is never good.”
I nod. “I know, brother. You don’t care when they come for you, but us? It hits your buttons. We have your back. We’ve got this.”
He pulls into the alley like I suggested, and we wave Tony off a bit so he thinks he stands a chance, and then we wait. Ryder pretends to be on his phone, and I lean my head back, feigning being asleep, even though my eyes are cracked and my hand is on my gun, waiting.
Come on, you bastard.
The minutes drag on. Maybe I was wrong. Fuck, we need him, we need to hit the Triad and find out what he knows. Not to mention Diesel is itching to hunt the bastard down, and that would come with a body count spread across the city. No, we need to find him and hand him over to D to have some fun.