Page 56 of Bad Guys Need Love Too

“He can testify, but he’d probably be disbarred,” Ren said.

Nico pretended to think about it for a minute before saying, “I don’t so much care about that.”

“Wait a minute,” Neal said, leaning forward in his chair. “You’re saying you want to turn me into an informant against themafia?”

“Welcome to the conversation, Neal,” Lark said dryly.

“He’s saying he wantsbothof you to inform on the mafia,” Tenley clarified. “You’ll be able to corroborate everything Isla says, which would make the Fed’s case rock solid. The Franchetti’s will go downhard.”

He blustered. “I won’t do it.”

“It’d be the easiest way to skip out on your gambling debts,” Ren reminded him. “Start fresh somewhere else with a new identity and brand-new credit to ruin.”

He faltered, but muttered (with far less conviction than before), “No. I won’t do it.”

Nico shrugged. “Fine by me. This conversation is boring anyway.” He pulled his gun. “I’ll just kill you both.”

Isla threw her hands up with a squeal. “OK, fine! Damn you, I’ll do it. Just…just let Neal go.”

Neal turned fully in his seat to face her. “You’d trade your life for mine?”

Her eyes softened. “I told you, I’d do anything for you.”

That’s when he lunged at her, kissing her with more passion than Lark had seen him have for, well, anything. Isla let out a happy little moan that totally perplexed Lark. Did she enjoy the way Neal kissed? His tonguestabbingits way into her mouth, the bobbing head motion that reminded her of an angry chicken?

Tenley made a sound like she was gagging before whispering to Ren, “It’s like a horrible train wreck. I want to look away, but I can’t.”

Ren scowled. “That’s disgusting.”

Nico shook his head. “I should’ve just killed them when I had the chance.”

Lark shrugged. “I think it’s kind of sweet. Just goes to show you that there’s someone out there for everyone.”

Nico shuddered when Neal moaned and made a grab for one of Isla’s giant fake breasts. “Ok, that’s enough,” he said, giving Neal’s chair a kick. “Do we have a deal?”

They were both panting and gasping for breath, looking dazed. Neal wiped Isla’s lipstick off his mouth with the back of his sleeve, looked up at Nico and said, “I’ll do it.” He turned back to Isla. “We’ll both go into WITSEC. Start over somewhere. Together.”

Lark winced at the answering squeal Isla let out. But Neal just laughed when the other woman pounced on him, dumping them both out of their metal folding chairs onto the dirty concrete floor. She peppered his face with bright red kisses as everyone else looked on in mute horror. Even Dammit George looked vaguely grossed out.

Ren eventually cleared his throat. “So…yeah…can we go now?”

Nico nodded. “I’ll be in touch so that we can work out the details of my alibi when the Feds start to shut down the Franchetti organization. But there’s no reason for any of us to see…” he paused, nose crinkling up as Neal and Isla continued kissing and babbling about going into witness protection together. “…this.”

“I am so out of here,” Tenley said, making a b-line for the door. “Ren, Lark, I’m sure I’ll see you again soon. And it was nice meeting you,Lucky.” She gave him a saucy wink before she disappeared.

“Damn,” Nico said a moment after she’d gone. “I think she stole my wallet.”

Yeah, that sounded about right.

“Why do you want the feds to shut down your boss’s organization?” Lark asked. “I’ll admit that everything I know about the mafia I learned in romance novels, but won’t some other criminal just step up to take over once the Franchetti’s are gone?”

His answering grin was 90% evil, 10% pure sex appeal. “I’m counting on it,bambina.”

CHAPTER 26

After Nico gathered Isla and Neal up off the floor and ushered them off to…wherever he intended to hide them while he and Ren worked out the details of his alibi and which FBI agents would be most likely to take on the mafia, Lark couldn’t hold in what she really wanted to talk about anymore.

“Now that all the murder-y nonsense is done,” she said, “Now that you know I don’t technically need your protection anymore, can Ifinallytell you what I wanted to say earlier?”

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