Page 41 of Stone
“I’m not leaving anything to chance.”
“I trust you.”
Maybe she did, but I wasn’t certain I trusted myself.
Theo heard our approach and was heading from the hangar, wiping his hands on a rag as he did. He noticed Dani and whistled while rubbing his greasy knuckles across his shirt.
“Tu as trouvé un bébé.” His words managed to irritate me even though she didn’t belong to me.
You’ve got yourself a babe.
“Careful, Theo. Daniella speaks fluent French,” I told him before grabbing the two bags I’d brought with me.
“Assez pour savoir quand un homme me raconte des conneries pour compenser sa petite bite.” Her counter was perfect and Theo was visibly wounded.
Enough to know when a man is bullshitting me to make up for his tiny dick.
“The woman is also heartless when she wants to be,” I added. “Theo, this is Daniella. The guy with the frown is Maddox andthe other is Kage. They’re here to ensure we don’t have trouble getting in the air.”
“Do you expect that’s going to happen?”
Nodding, I scanned the area again. “Yeah. Matis made it out alive.”
Theo whistled again. “That man has more lives than a goddamn cat. I know your time is limited. Let’s get you on the plane. I’ll double check the cameras while you’re getting settled.”
“Good deal. Thanks for everything, man. I really appreciate you dropping everything.”
“Not a problem, but you owe me. I plan on coming to see that resort of yours. She’s all gassed up and I did a double check to make certain you won’t have any issues on the long flight.”
“Resort?” Dani piped in.
I pressed my hand against her back. “Trust me. It’s not a resort.”
Theo was laughing as he walked to another part of the hangar while we headed to the plane, the steel steps waiting for us to board, the door already open.
“You still running drugs, er… liquor?” Kage teased. I’d used the plane to fly him and the woman he’d been tasked by Gray to save to safety over a year before. The only way I’d kept my arrival on the down-low had been to come in bearing a full cargo of spirits for various bars. It had worked.
“You run drugs?”
After the eight or nine men I’d gunned down, for the first time I saw utter shock in her eyes. Perhaps a little disgust.
“I don’t run drugs, Dani. Those days are over. Mostly.” I winked at Kage who laughed. I might enjoy my cocktails more than most, but drugs had never been on my radar. I’d seen what it had done to people I’d given a damn about.
She punched me in the ribs.
“Ouch. Just shittin’ you, girl.”
“Uh-huh.” She turned toward Kage and Maddox. “I guess I’ll never see you guys again. I don’t know how to thank you for what you did for me.”
“Our pleasure,” Kage told her.
“Speak for yourself,” Maddox chimed in.
She wrapped her arms around his neck first, squeezing tightly. “You’re not a bad guy. Just a little rough around the edges.”
“That’s what his fiancée tells him at least once a day.” Kage no sooner got the words out of his mouth than she hugged him as well.
When she pulled away, I motioned to the ladder. “Time is ticking, girl. Let’s go.” I was getting antsy. I’d learned a long time before to follow my instincts and they were screaming all hell was about to break loose.
