Katie put a hand on his chest, keeping him at bay it seemed. “I’m not finished.” She held up a finger in front of Benny’s face. Luke didn’t miss Jimmy’s expression to his boss being hushed. “I offered to help, to get whatever information I could, on two conditions.” She flipped up her index finger. “First, I get in on the action. No more table scraps; I get a seat at the table.” She flipped up the second finger. “Second, I get David. I get to do whatever I want to him, for all those years I had to hear about how I screwed everything up for my father.”
“You can’t be serious!” It was Dani who exploded into action first.
Luke had to lunge at her to keep her from getting shot. Jimmy was already looking twitchy enough with that gun.
“I didn’t throw you under anything!” David protested from the floor, having lost his courage, and returned to sulking.
“This is number two,” Katie snarled, dropping the index finger and leaving only the second finger extended. “You promised!” She swung on Benny.
“Yeah.” Benny nodded, arms crossed. “But not until after the wedding.”
“Oh, come on!” She threw her arms up in the air and spun in place, ending with a hard stomp of her foot that had little effect, the thud muffled by the thick carpet. “Do you really think that deadbeat asshole is going to show up? What does he care about anyone or anything but himself?”
“Don’t you worry about that.” Benny stepped in and wrapped and arm around her shoulders.
The whole thing was getting way too surreal.
Everyone in the room seemed more engaged in the drama than in what he and Dani were doing. Luke glanced at his pretend fiancée, and lifted his eyebrows and looked at the door. Dani shrugged. He wasn’t getting through. He tried to mouth the word ‘door.’ Dani still didn’t seem to understand, her brow collapsing in confusion and concern.
In the meantime, the soap opera continued. Benny kissed Katie’s forehead. “You let Uncle Benny worry about all that.”
Luke and Dani turned at the same moment. She’d become as slack-jawed as him.
It was David who summed it up best, though, with a long, drawn out “EWWWWWWWWWW!”
I have fallen down the rabbit hole and found a land of the insane. Everyone around me is mad. The girl I love can’t understand plain vague gestures and mouthed words. Luke took a deep breath, and immediately regretted it as he dissolved into a coughing fit. Melted USB was not a pleasant smell.
Benny was holding Katie by this time, one arm around her, pressing her to his chest. For her part, Katie had the look of a cat being snuggled by a toddler, willing to tolerate it for a moment or two, but no more. In a moment the claws would come out. She was staring at David, and despite the clearing of the air she still radiated hate.
This was a girl who had spent years cultivating revenge. No way was she letting it go that easily.
David was sitting on the couch, arms crossed, face drawn into the largest pout Luke had ever seen on anyone over the age of five.
Again, Luke nodded to Dani, lifting his chin in the direction of the door. Uncomprehending, she looked from Luke to David, to Jimmy, who was staring at his boss with a dawning look of abject horror, to the distressing pairing of Benny and Katie. She shook her head minutely.
How the hell is it that she still doesn’t understand? She’s got a freakin’ military background!
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Benny said, pointing squarely at the door. “Wake up, Dani! He wants you to leave the room with him!”
“Really?” Luke turned to Dani. “Was that so hard? Even he got it!”
“Watch it,” Benny growled, returning to his snugglefest with a look of complete unconcern.
“I understood it!” Dani snapped. She was obviously lying. “I just thought it was stupid and I couldn’t believe he was trying to get me to do it!”
“Stupid?” Luke grabbed Dani’s hand and pulled her to him. “How dare you!” He towed her behind him, stepping carefully over David’s legs like he wasn’t there, and bypassing the gruesome twosome who were in the throes of passion by now. Or at least one of them was. “We’re going to have a little talk—you’re coming with me!”
“You did well, my girl,” Benny said, nuzzling Katie’s neck, turning her head so that he could kiss her. Luke tried not to look. Besides, he was already halfway to the door.
Jimmy seemed lost, looking at each of the players in turn, gun pointing first at the door, at them, at the floor, at his boss, without seeming to realize what he was doing. Or maybe he did.
“EXCUSE ME!” David called from the floor. “They’re eloping.” He indicated Dani and Luke at the door to the office. Benny released Katie and turned, Katie spun on her heels, stumbling into Jimmy, who tried to change directions to go after them, but his boss was in the way.
Well past the time for tiptoeing around, Luke wrenched open the door. The guard on the other side was caught by surprise, as was another who came bounding down the hall as Jimmy started to scream imprecations from somewhere behind them.
Luke turned to Dani, eyebrow raised.
She shrugged. “What the hell. Why not?” She spun and jumped, foot shooting out and clocking the running man under the chin.
Luke slammed the door with his forearm, smashing the wood into the nose of the startled guard. They switched targets, Dani coming in low with a blow to the outdoor man’s solar plexus and Luke sending his fist into the man already rocked by Dani’s kick.
Others were coming at a run. Jimmy had broken from behind the barricade his boss had inadvertently made and was trying to find a clear shot. Luke shoved his man’s shoulder in the direction of the draw, pushing it past the weapon. Dani’s foot slipped between Jimmy’s legs and doubled him over with vicious kick to the balls.
More running feet sounded closer, and Dani took her place behind Luke’s back. Four more men stormed in through door and hallways, one bounding down the stairs.
“You okay?” Luke asked as they turned in unison.
“Peachy.” She was breathing hard, but grinning broadly as she raised her hands in a classic martial arts stance that didn’t bode well for anyone.
The gunshot stopped everyone in their tracks.
Benny stood in the hallway, his pistol still sending up waves of thin smoke. He’d put a bullet in the ceiling. The hole still smoked as if answering the gun. Benny lowered the pistol and pointed at David.
Dani slowly dropped her hands, breaking her stance, and raising her hands. Luke did the same, only no one was about to afford him any nicety such as a calm surrender. Two of the men hit him behind the knees and drove him to the floor. They piled on him, driving his face into the rug. Jimmy, having regained his breath, and the guard at the door added to the pile, both of them coming in swinging and getting off a couple of good hits.
In moments they pulled Luke and Dani from the floor, had their hands bound behind them, ankles together, and picked them up like trussed sheep.
It was humiliating.
On the other hand, most of the guys were limping, and none of them would be pretty come morning. Not that they’d started pretty in the first place.
“Goodnight, sweetheart!” Luke said through a split lip as Jimmy and his crew carried him up the stairs.
“Get some sleep!” Dani called back cheerfully, and bit the hand of the unwary handler who’d gotten too close.
“See you tomorrow,” Luke added, proud as hell. That was his girl.