heard later that she was kind of a federal agent groupie.”
“Huh.” She stared into the dark for a moment, thinking. “I bet Psychotic Shayna was a babe.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Was the other agent she hooked up with smart?”
“I didn’t know him that well, but he never struck me as dumb.”
She nodded wisely. “Good-looking, otherwise intelligent FBI agents falling for a crazy woman? You all were blinded by her boobs or butt or both.”
“Huh.”
“Am I right?”
“I’m gonna take the fifth on that one,” he muttered.
“Thought so.” Zoey snuggled into her blanket, feeling oddly happy. “Where do you think Baldy the kidnapper is right now?”
Beside her, Dante snorted. “If he’s smart he’s holed up somewhere warm.”
Chapter Fourteen
Thursday, 11:21 p.m.
N eil was halfway to freezing his fucking nuts off.
As it turned out, the red SUV he’d nabbed at the BP station had a defective heater. What kind of a dumb fuck didn’t fix his heater in Chicago in winter? This just went to show how little people took care of their stuff anymore. Slobs, all of them.
Neil hunched into himself and slapped his hands against his upper arms. He was parked in an apartment complex on the north side of Chicago. He was sitting here like an idiot because some guy named Sujay Agrawal lived here. Sujay was the nephew or maybe great-nephew of the crazy little old Indian ladies. When he’d tossed the Indian restaurant, Neil had found the guy’s name on a piece of paper and pocketed it in case he might need it later, which, as it turned out, he did. Neil intended to brace Sujay, should he ever decide to come home. What the fucker was doing out late on a Thursday night was anybody’s guess.
Neil should be home at this very moment, warm under his electric blanket, but truth was, as much as he loved Ash, he wasn’t about to face her without Neil Junior. Even spending the night in a fucking freezing SUV with no heat was better than going home and telling Ash he didn’t have their baby. He shuddered at just the thought.
Another thing that was bothering Neil: what had those old bats done with his Hummer? He couldn’t help but imagine the Hummer on the fucking South Side maybe near Cabrini Green, in which case there wouldn’t be anything left of his ride except the grill and maybe not even that. And where the hell had they taken Neil Junior? What were they going to do, sell him to a baby black marketer? He hadn’t thought the old ladies were that cold, but then on the other hand, he hadn’t thought they’d have the balls to steal his fucking Hummer, either.
And right then Neil made a decision. After he braced the nephew, after he went and found the Indian ladies and got Neil Junior back and got the Spinoza kid back, too, after this whole thing blew over and Ash was talking to him again, after all that, he was finding a new line of work. Maybe see if Tony had a place for him in middle management, something less to do with street work. His anger management teacher droned on about “life reassessment,” which, near as Neil could figure, meant thinking about getting either a new wife or a new job or both. Well, he sure as hell wasn’t going to ditch Ash, but since he’d just turned forty-five, reassessing his career choice as muscle might not be a fucking bad idea. Too bad his skills mostly ran to breaking legs and intimidating old ladies. Only lately he couldn’t even intimidate old ladies.
Neil slumped farther in the seat. Yeah, getting a new job was a priority. But first he had to find Neil Junior and Ricky Spinoza’s kid, or the life reassessment wouldn’t matter. Because Tony the Rose would kill him.
Chapter Fifteen
Friday, 6:03 a.m.
I t was dark when Dante woke. He opened his eyes without moving, assessing his position and his surroundings. It was cold, he was in his own car, and he heard soft breathing coming from the passenger seat beside him. Zoey. He remembered her smooth skin beneath
“Huh.” She stared into the dark for a moment, thinking. “I bet Psychotic Shayna was a babe.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Was the other agent she hooked up with smart?”
“I didn’t know him that well, but he never struck me as dumb.”
She nodded wisely. “Good-looking, otherwise intelligent FBI agents falling for a crazy woman? You all were blinded by her boobs or butt or both.”
“Huh.”
“Am I right?”
“I’m gonna take the fifth on that one,” he muttered.
“Thought so.” Zoey snuggled into her blanket, feeling oddly happy. “Where do you think Baldy the kidnapper is right now?”
Beside her, Dante snorted. “If he’s smart he’s holed up somewhere warm.”
Chapter Fourteen
Thursday, 11:21 p.m.
N eil was halfway to freezing his fucking nuts off.
As it turned out, the red SUV he’d nabbed at the BP station had a defective heater. What kind of a dumb fuck didn’t fix his heater in Chicago in winter? This just went to show how little people took care of their stuff anymore. Slobs, all of them.
Neil hunched into himself and slapped his hands against his upper arms. He was parked in an apartment complex on the north side of Chicago. He was sitting here like an idiot because some guy named Sujay Agrawal lived here. Sujay was the nephew or maybe great-nephew of the crazy little old Indian ladies. When he’d tossed the Indian restaurant, Neil had found the guy’s name on a piece of paper and pocketed it in case he might need it later, which, as it turned out, he did. Neil intended to brace Sujay, should he ever decide to come home. What the fucker was doing out late on a Thursday night was anybody’s guess.
Neil should be home at this very moment, warm under his electric blanket, but truth was, as much as he loved Ash, he wasn’t about to face her without Neil Junior. Even spending the night in a fucking freezing SUV with no heat was better than going home and telling Ash he didn’t have their baby. He shuddered at just the thought.
Another thing that was bothering Neil: what had those old bats done with his Hummer? He couldn’t help but imagine the Hummer on the fucking South Side maybe near Cabrini Green, in which case there wouldn’t be anything left of his ride except the grill and maybe not even that. And where the hell had they taken Neil Junior? What were they going to do, sell him to a baby black marketer? He hadn’t thought the old ladies were that cold, but then on the other hand, he hadn’t thought they’d have the balls to steal his fucking Hummer, either.
And right then Neil made a decision. After he braced the nephew, after he went and found the Indian ladies and got Neil Junior back and got the Spinoza kid back, too, after this whole thing blew over and Ash was talking to him again, after all that, he was finding a new line of work. Maybe see if Tony had a place for him in middle management, something less to do with street work. His anger management teacher droned on about “life reassessment,” which, near as Neil could figure, meant thinking about getting either a new wife or a new job or both. Well, he sure as hell wasn’t going to ditch Ash, but since he’d just turned forty-five, reassessing his career choice as muscle might not be a fucking bad idea. Too bad his skills mostly ran to breaking legs and intimidating old ladies. Only lately he couldn’t even intimidate old ladies.
Neil slumped farther in the seat. Yeah, getting a new job was a priority. But first he had to find Neil Junior and Ricky Spinoza’s kid, or the life reassessment wouldn’t matter. Because Tony the Rose would kill him.
Chapter Fifteen
Friday, 6:03 a.m.
I t was dark when Dante woke. He opened his eyes without moving, assessing his position and his surroundings. It was cold, he was in his own car, and he heard soft breathing coming from the passenger seat beside him. Zoey. He remembered her smooth skin beneath
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