Page 74 of Strictly Forbidden

I already cared about the girl. Far too much.

And there was no doubt my feelings meant one thing.

Total damnation.

Angel.

That’s what Noel had turned out to be.

She wanted me to be her knight in some shining armor, slaying dragons at every turn.

I simply needed her goodness and light.

Geez. I was losing track of what was important, including finding the assholes who slaughtered my family. Handling Saldono like I should have once and for all.

It seemed that every thought had Noel laced somewhere in the middle, every breath I took able to grab a tiny hint of her fresh scent.

Concentrate, you asshole.

I snorted from my inner mind chastising me. It hadn’t been enough so far.

The internet was working but I’d scrambled the signal so the IP address was routed through a dozen countries. Although Saldono and his clowns weren’t that sophisticated when it came to complicated equipment, in the years I’d been out of the picture, he could have gotten smart and hired some geeky kid to handle it.

I refused to take any additional chances.

While another two days of relative peace had passed, we’d had yet another snowfall in the middle of the night. At least during the sequestered time, I’d managed to handle some research of Saldono and his organization. The man was a true pig, even more than I’d realized, but he was also a hound for the cameras. There had rarely been a week he wasn’t flashing his smile in front of some reporter while leaving a restaurant or casino with yet another woman on his arm.

I’d never understood why any female would find the man attractive, but I’d determined it was all about money. He was lavish with his spending but on the flipside, I had no idea how many women I’d taken to the doctor he had on staff to be helped.

He was an abusive son of a bitch.

Rubbing my eyes, I sat back in the chair, staring out at the waning light.

In the two days since our snowball fight, tensions had been eased to some degree, although at times it was still like we were walking on eggshells around each other.

I’d given her a wide berth because I’d still believed it was in her best interest. As of this afternoon, her attitude had gotten surly, asking me more than once when the hell we could get out of here. What I couldn’t tell her was that I had connected with a couple of informants I’d been damn good to over the years. While they’d moved out of the business of being a snitch for anyone, both had done me a favor, returning to the streets where they used to work to learn the scuttlebutt regarding the shit going down.

I also had a call into the one man I believed would never betray me. He’d been the captain of the guard, a fancy title for someone taking Saldono’s wrath more often than any other man in his employ.

With his military background, and his foster care upbringing where he’d spent most of his life in an adoption facility, Dan Rollins was perfect for the job. No family. No real ties. No love lost with authority, even though he’d been an Army Ranger.

But I’d heard through the great grapevine that things had gone south in his relationship with the Don, becoming worse than the brutality I’d seen him put through. What I had admired about Dan more than anyone I’d ever worked with was that he was fair and honest, treating his men with respect. In turn, at least a few of them were loyal to him and not to Saldono or his second son.

If he was still in the business, it could mean he’d gathered enough men to finally handle the situation with Saldono. Granted, it was still taking another significant chance, but it was one I had to take or I’d spend the rest of my life running and that wasn’t me.

Hearing my phone had a couple of different effects, including every muscle in my body tensing. When I noticed the number, at least I could smile before answering the call.

“Big Eddy. What’s shakin’?” The man stood at least six foot eight inches tall, a former NFL player who’d lost his entire fortune gambling, before becoming a well-paid, well-dressed, well-spoken informant also used as an occasional enforcer.

And Saldono had burned that bridge like he had so many others.

“Hey, man. I didn’t think you’d see the light of day again,” Eddy said in his deep, gruff voice.

“Yeah, me neither. Did you learn anything?”

He laughed. “I can’t believe you talked me into walking the damn streets again, going into the old bars. They stink after all these years.”

At least the man still had a sense of humor. “I bet they do. What did you find?”

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