Grumpy now, I lean into Dino’s massaging fingers. “Let’s get rid of him so Cooper can get back his territory and Ruby is in the clear.”
“If we kill a cop, the feds and state assholes might notice. It’s the only reason I didn’t kill the deputy tonight.”
“True, but maybe the stress of his job gets to be too much for Black, and he takes his own life. No feds or state assholes will care about that,” I say, imagining putting the gun to Black’s head and pulling the trigger.
“Black brought in the deputies. The new sheriff can get rid of them. Cooper just needs to make sure the new sheriff is on his payroll so we don’t have to come back here.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I like this place. It’s scenic.”
“So is Jersey, but who wants to live there.”
“You lived in Jersey.”
“For my ma.”
“Such a good boy.”
Dino’s fingers caress my cheek. “I wasn’t kidding about kids. I want a bunch.”
Sighing, I lean away from him. “You and I just hooked up. I’m not discussing kids with a guy whose dick I met a day ago. Besides, you like the idea of all those kids, but wait until you have one crying all night or throwing a massive fit in a restaurant while you’re trying to eat your spaghetti. You might decide one is enough.”
“Maybe, but probably not. My cousin Barb has four girls. Those little divas are spoiled rotten too. One day, they’ll drive more than a few men to suicide. The thing is, I still love the little shits. They climb all over me and crush my balls with their tap shoes, but I still love them.”
“A lot of ball talk tonight.”
“Yeah, just one of those nights, I guess.”
Pulling the car onto the highway, I feel a growing tension. “Do you think Black will come for us tonight at the hotel?”
“No. He’s scared. You yelling DEA probably confused him even more. Are we rogue agents? Muscle for another crew? A honeymooning couple who likes starting fires and shooting cops in the balls? Who can say?”
“He’ll need to act soon.”
“Or he might run,” Dino says, stretching his long arms in the too small SUV. “A guy like him won’t know what play to make now. He pushed out Cooper’s people using the law. He got rid of anyone talking shit about him by using the law. He hides his illegal activities with the law. We’re just shooting people and burning things down. That’s not the law. He can’t arrest us without us fighting back. We’re not scared of him. We aren’t single moms he can silence. Or old men.”
“No, I don’t think he’ll run. He’s stupid and arrogant. He fucked with Hayes by sending those guys into White Horse. What person in their right mind would make such a call? Hayes is happy with his little slice of dictatorship. Why fuck with him, knowing the giant asshole will want to fuck with Black? Then he messes with Ruby, who clearly has some ties to that biker club. These aren’t the moves of a man with intelligence and patience on his side. He’ll keep hitting at us until we stop him.”
“So we stop him.”
“Going in for the kill is too easy. This guy killed regular people, and I want to make him suffer first. I also think we ought to make a mess in Common Bend to send a message to the Serrated Brotherhood and Hayes. They need to know the kind of people Cooper can call in if there are issues.”
“I get your angle. Black made Johansson look weak, so we make him look strong.”
“It’s the least we can do since he’s paying for our romantic getaway.”
Dino grins at me and keeps grinning until we reach the hotel. I scope out the parking lot for trouble, but he only has eyes for me.
“What?”
“Admit it, Apples. You don’t want to leave this slice of hellbilly paradise, because you worry things between us will end once the job does.”
I twist around in the seat and study him. “So what if I do?”
“I’ve had my eye on you since we met in Houston. Nothing is going to end.”
“Maybe not for you.”
“Oh, so you’re saying I’m only irresistible in this fucking place.”
“No, I’m saying I’m not really Minka here. I’m on vacation from myself, and this Minka enjoys your crap like the normal Minka might not. So maybe we get back to Houston, and I decide you aren’t my type again.”
“What’s your type?”
“The quiet type who reads books and volunteers with animals.”
Dino laughs, and I don’t blame him. It sounds pretty stupid, but I imagine a sensitive husband capable of softening my hard edges. Dino is many things, but sensitive isn’t one of them.
“Well, do you know what type of woman I was looking for?” he asks, still laughing. “A high maintenance broad who spends a lot of time primping. A woman who is as good in the kitchen as she is in bed. Oh, and she’d need to know when to shut the fuck up so I could think. She’d go away when I wanted space and return when I wanted to fuck.”
Dino’s description somehow makes me feel lacking in comparison. “Do they make obedient housewives anymore?”