Page 50 of Wild Card
When Matteo arrived in my green El Camino, I tossed the rims in the back and then climbed into the passenger seat. “All right. Let’s head to the front. I’ve got an appointment, so I’ll needyou to handle the sale to Jack Milner when he shows. Is that cool?”
Matteo looked surprised. “You sure you want me handling money?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
He hunched his shoulders a bit. “You know I went to prison for robbery.”
“Mm. You planning to rob me or Jack Milner?”
“No?”
I raised an eyebrow at the question in his tone.
Matteo flushed. “No, never. Of course not.”
“Well, then, yeah, I’d like you to handle it. You just take Jack’s money, write him a receipt, and then give the cash and the receipt copy to Holden for his records. But if it makes you uncomfortable, you can walk Jack over to the shop, and Holden will handle all of it.”
“No, I… I can handle that.”
I nodded. “Good. Thanks, man.”
The buzzer sounded at the gate as we pulled to a stop near the front office. It was a tiny shed with nothing more than a cash box, a laptop, and a receipt book.
I hopped out of the car and opened the gate for Dalton.
When he strode in, my stomach rolled over.
It was one thing to see him in his ugly-ass uniform, but today, he wore blue jeans and a navy blue polo that fit him a little too well for my mind to stay out of the gutter.
The man could model Levi’s for a living. The denim hugged muscular thighs, a bulge that lived up to the hype—my mouth watered just remembering how thick and heavy his dick was on my tongue—and a tight peach of an ass.
Damn. It was too bad that our hookup hadn’t involved the removal of much clothing. I bet he was something to see.
Dalton’s gaze darted to Matteo, then back to me. “Hey, you ready to go?”
“Yep.” I turned to give Matteo a few last instructions on how to handle the sale, then joined Dalton in walking toward the gate.
Banshee came running, but Matteo intercepted her for me, crouching down to give her his undivided attention. She strained to look around him as we swung the gate shut.
Guilt stirred in my belly. “I was hoping we’d leave without her noticing.”
“She still rattled by the other day?”
“Well, not just that. She already had attachment issues after the first abandonment.”
“Shit, that’s rough. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, she’s happy to be back, though, so thanks for…” I trailed off, unsure how to put it into words.
“Of course. This is where she belongs.”
A Buick Regal was parked a few yards down from the gate. Dalton hadn’t brought the uniform or the sheriff’s cruiser.
“And here I was hoping I’d finally get to ride in thefrontseat of your patrol car.”
He chuckled. “And ruin my reputation as a deputy? I don’t think so.”
“Fair point.” I slid into the passenger seat, the smell of pine air freshener cloying in the small space, rivaled only by that old car leathery scent.
