Page 55 of Sizzling Nights

"I hope you're right."

He sat down on the bumper, dangled his feet, and eased himself to the ground. He didn't think he could lift Theresa down, and that pissed him off. Instead, he held her hand as she took the steps down. Each time her bare feet found a step, he grinned.

They sauntered across the parking lot to find Mitch chatting with a cop. He looked up and saw them coming toward him and nodded. He said goodbye to the cop and met them in the middle.

"I have your shoes in the SUV. Do you need me to get them?"

"No."

"Okay. I moved my vehicle here." He pointed to his SUV.

Marco helped her into the SUV, climbed in the front passenger seat, and heard her sigh.

Mitch's phone rang just as they pulled out of the parking lot of Paradise Gardens. He tapped the button so the speakers would pick it up. "DeMario."

"It's Jace. Someone threw a Molotov through the front window of the Sandbar."

Marco swore. "Fuck."

He heard Theresa gasp in the back.

Mitch responded first. "Is everything okay?"

"Luckily Margo and I were there. I put it out right away. One table was damaged. And, of course, the window. And thank God no one was here but us."

Mitch nodded. "I'm glad no one was hurt. Speaking of hurt, I have Marco and Theresa in the car with me. Theresa was attacked. Marco was too. He also shot one man, and I shot the other. It's been a mess here tonight. Also, Kelsey who works for you is dirty. That's who attacked Theresa."

"Son of a bitch. Theresa and Marco, are you alright?"

Marco tried to twist in his seat, but a searing pain locked him in place. He waited a beat and when Theresa didn't respond he did. "We're okay. A bit bruised. A lot pissed."

"You have a right to be pissed."

Marco reached his hand back and Theresa took it and squeezed. He heard her take a deep breath.

"Theresa? Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Her voice was weak, but the way she squeezed his hand spoke of her strength.

Jace cleared his throat. "Are you two up for a visit tomorrow?"

She squeezed Marco’s hand once and he nodded. "Yes. We'll be moving slowly but it would be nice to see you and Margo, if she wants to come out. We'll fill you in on the details."

"Sounds good. We'll see you then. I'll text in the morning for a good time to come out."

"Okay." Marco rested his head against the backrest. Suddenly he felt exhausted. He'd expelled all his adrenaline and now he needed to sleep.

Mitch took over the conversation with Jace. "I'll come out when you do, and we'll catch you up on everything."

"Sounds good. Everyone rest easy tonight."

The call ended and Mitch eased them out of town. The road to the cabin was slightly bumpy, but it didn’t hurt as much as he feared it would. Mitch walked them to the cabin and waited to hear the door lock before he left.

Marco turned to Theresa who stood looking like a sad princess. The bruise was deepening in color and her lips turned down in a frown.

"It's okay. We're safe now."

"I know, but you're going to have a black eye. It's already turning purple."

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