“I don’t touch the merchandise. Now where’s my money?” Colt’s voice was hard and nearby.
He’d be right at the open trunk now. There was a slight shuffling sound then the sound of a round being chambered. “You’ll get paid when I get paid.”
“That wasn’t the deal,” Colt snarled.
“Yeah, I know, but I’m changing things. I’m not double-crossing you!” The man sniffled. “I just gotta get my ransom and you’ll get your money.”
All right, it was time to “wake up.” Skye whipped her SIG up as she rolled over and pointed it right at the guy’s groin. “Drop your weapon and hands in the air!”
“You’re a narc!” Former frat boy let out a squeal as he dropped the weapon he clearly had no business owning.
“Oh, you’re going to wish we were cops by the time we’re through with you.” Colt’s voice was silky smooth and quiet. A more terrifying sound than if he’d raised his voice.
Skye slid from the trunk and quickly surveyed the interior of the airplane hangar. They’d let the pilot go a while ago and told him they wouldn’t need him for a couple more days. She was glad the guy hadn’t returned unexpectedly because this might have been difficult to explain.
“You work for Douglas?” Fuller sniffled again, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. God, this guy was gross.
Colt motioned toward the ground. “Face down, hands behind your back. Don’t make me ask again.”
She loved it when he started giving out orders. Yeah, the timing was highly inappropriate but she couldn’t help it that her husband turned her on. Always.
“Come on, who do you work for?” Fuller whined even as he complied. At least the drugs hadn’t completely addled his brain.
Colt restrained Fuller’s arms and legs and taped his mouth shut in less than thirty seconds. Seriously, could he get any hotter? Skye didn’t think it was possible.
As Colt tossed the guy into the trunk, he leaned close to a wide-eyed, sniffling Fuller. “You’re going to tell us everything we want to know or we’re dropping you off at Jeremiah Dixon’s place.”
Fuller’s eyes got wide at the mention of the brutal loan shark and he started trembling and attempting to shout against the tape even as Colt shut the trunk door.
“How long should we leave him in there?” she asked, striding over to the cooler where the pilot had left them a couple hoagies for an early lunch. She was starving.
“Twenty minutes should do it.”
“You won’t even need to threaten torture with this one.”
“No shit.”
Once they got what they needed from Fuller, they’d still deliver him to Dixon. Because this guy deserved it. Gage had done an even deeper search on Fuller and it turned out the guy had more than a drug and gambling problem. Seemed as if he didn’t understand that no meant no. Yeah, Skye wouldn’t be losing a moment of sleep for turning him over to another criminal.
Chapter 21
—Being a sister is way better than being a princess.—
“What exactly did Skye and Colt say?” Hadley perched on the cushioned chair in Brooks’s office since he’d asked her to meet him in here alone.
AKA without Axel.
He was really going to have to get over his dislike of the man because Hadley was pretty much over the moon for Axel. And she didn’t think that was going to change anytime soon. Probably not ever. Which was sort of scary in and of itself but she’d worry about that later.
“They had a talk with the man who ordered your kidnapping and retrieved all of the information possible.”
“Retrieved or extracted?”
Her brother simply grinned as he adjusted his cowboy hat. “Same difference.”
“So you guys really just make your own rules, your own laws.” The knowledge was a lot to take in.
He lifted a shoulder, clearly not apologetic. “I’m sorry if any of this makes you uncomfortable. We’ve all seen how shitty the legal system is, and honestly, I sleep fine doing what we do. I take care of my people.”
She liked that last part a lot. “So…I’m okay to return to my life?”
“Fuller said he’d hired three men, all of whom match the descriptions of the men that Axel or we came in contact with. And Skye and Colt believe him.”
“Is it normal that I’m still kind of afraid?”
“Yeah, of course. I would actually like it if you’d stay at the ranch through the rest of your spring break. We still want to make sure the threat is truly neutralized. And that way you and I can spend some time together.”
She narrowed her eyes at his guileless expression. “That sounds really sweet, but what I’m hearing is that you want me to stay here and you’re planning to kick Axel out.”
He grinned again. “I didn’t say it out loud—even if I was thinking it.”
Hadley pushed up from her chair and placed her hands on Brooks’s shoulders. Since he was leaning against the desk he was closer to her height though still a bit taller. “Look, you’re my big brother and I get that there are rules or whatever that come with that. But I’m a grown woman and I like Axel. I know who he is and I’m okay with it. So I need you to be okay with him too. Because I really want to have an honest, grown-up relationship with my family. I dealt with enough manipulative garbage from my mom, and honestly I can’t see either you or dad doing that, but I still want us to be open about everything. And yes, I would really like it if you were okay with my boyfriend.”
Saying the word boyfriend felt kind of weird but she and Axel were exclusive so she guessed that was what they were. Right? She really needed to clarify that with him. Though the man had said he wanted to move to Redemption Harbor for her and give up his life as a hit man. So maybe she didn’t need to clarify.
“Why did you have to go and be all logical?” Brooks laughingly pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. “Fine, I will make a serious effort to like him. I already invited him to go out practice shooting with me and the guys.”
When she and her girlfriends hung out, they liked to go shopping or watch movies and eat bad food together. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”
He slung an arm around her shoulders. “Come on, let’s go find Darcy and Axel. Olivia, Savage, Valencia, Martina and Mercer and Mary Grace should be here in a couple hours. Oh, and the baby. And Darcy was talking about cooking a big feast for everyone.”
“Darcy is cooking?” Hadley asked doubtfully.
Her brother barked out a laugh. “Exactly. That’s why I want to see what they got up to. Let’s see if we can convince her to get takeout instead.”
By the time they made it to the kitchen, Darcy, Axel and Hadley’s dad were standing around the island while her dad spoke in quiet tones to someone on the phone.
She knew something was wrong by the expression on his face. “What is it?” she asked the others.
He set his phone down before they could respond. “One of the horses got out and knocked down a fence. Impaled herself on it. I tried to get the vet out here but she’s on another emergency. Her whole practice is on emergencies.” Her dad raked a hand through his hair.
“I can help,” she said, feeling sick for the poor horse. “I’m obviously not a vet, but I’ve watched enough surgeries and I might know what to do. It’s at least worth a try. And I can reach out to my friend from school,” she said, already moving toward the back door, her cell phone in hand. Her friend didn’t answer so she shot off a quick text.
Her dad shoved his own phone into his pocket and nodded as he joined her. Axel was right behind him. When it was clear that Brooks was going to come too, she shook her head. “It’s okay, you guys get stuff ready for dinner tonight. We got this.”
She knew that if a horse had been injured, the less people involved the better. The animal wouldn’t need or want a bunch of people around, crowding it in. She also knew there was no way Axel was leaving her side, something she was pleased about.