realized they’d found the chink in the man’s armor.
“You love her.” Her words weren’t a question, but a simple statement.
Johnny nodded. “Course I do. Been asking her to marry me for months now.”
83
Mari Carr
Aaron felt the same confusion he saw written on Riley’s face. However, while he figured out they’d misinterpreted the information Bubbles gave them, Riley didn’t make the leap as quickly.
“Wow. Never heard of a pimp marrying one of his girls.”
Aaron groaned and feared her comment would set Johnny off again. He tried to divert the disaster. “Um, Riley. I don’t think—”
“Pimp?” Johnny asked. His body shook with laughter and for several minutes, they could only sit and wait as the man struggled to regain his composure. Each time Aaron thought he’d pulled himself together, he’d begin wheezing with laughter that turned into a coughing fit that ended once again with laughter. His face was purple with merriment and there were tears streaming down his face.
Riley looked back at Aaron. “I think maybe we jumped to the wrong conclusion after talking to Bubbles.”
“What was your first clue?”
“I’ve sort of fucked this all up, haven’t I?”
Aaron shrugged. They weren’t dead. They hadn’t been robbed. Johnny wasn’t the mob-connected pimp they’d feared. Really, the only bad part of this little excursion was they still didn’t have a clue where Trev was. “Yeah, you did, and yet, in typical Riley fashion, you appear to have emerged unscathed.”
“Sorry we bothered you, Johnny,” she said, starting to rise. Discovering they were leaving, Johnny sobered up, his peals of laughter dying down.
“Where you going? The night’s still young. Let me buy you two a drink and you can tell me where you got the fool notion I was a pimp.” Speaking the word pimp caused Johnny to chuckle once more.
“That’s okay,” Aaron started, but Riley resumed her seat as Johnny waved the bartender over.
Fuck. They’d been so close to escaping.
84
Saturday Night Special
“I think we just sort of misinterpreted something our friend Bubbles said,” Riley explained.
“Sounds to me like you misheard everything that stupid cow said. What makes you think I can put a hit out on somebody?”
The bartender brought another round of beers and Aaron pulled an empty stool over, placing it right up against Riley’s. She gave him a look that told him to back off, but he ignored it. Despite the fact Johnny appeared to be harmless, that didn’t mean the other men in the bar were.
“Bubbles said the last time Bella ran off with a guy, you put a hit on him.”
Johnny grinned and Aaron was taken aback by how much the guy really did look like Wayne Newton. In this dim lighting, hidden behind the haze of cigarette smoke, he was actually a dead ringer.
“Bella didn’t run off with that guy and I didn’t put a hit on him. I hit him. With my cab.”
“Cab?” Riley asked.
“I’m a taxi driver, not a pimp.”
“And you hit a guy with your car?”
Johnny shrugged. “It’s not like I killed him or anything. Fucker was climbing out of our bedroom window—mine and Bella’s. Guess they’d heard my car pull up to the curb. Caught a glimpse of him coming out of the house and I gunned the engine.
Chased the prick for two blocks before I was able to clip him from behind and knock him down. Got out of the cab, beat the shit outta him and then went home. That’s it.”
Aaron was suddenly grateful for his job on the force in Baltimore. Though Maryland had its fair share of crazies, Vegas seemed to hold the current record.
“Good for you.” Riley raised her glass to toast Johnny.
Aaron looked at her with disbelief. “Good for him? Riley, he chased the guy down with his car.”
85
Mari Carr
“The guy was screwing his girlfriend. In Johnny’s house. Hell, in Johnny’s bed .”
Johnny nodded, clearly delighted that Riley was defending him. “I had to flip the mattress.
“You love her.” Her words weren’t a question, but a simple statement.
Johnny nodded. “Course I do. Been asking her to marry me for months now.”
83
Mari Carr
Aaron felt the same confusion he saw written on Riley’s face. However, while he figured out they’d misinterpreted the information Bubbles gave them, Riley didn’t make the leap as quickly.
“Wow. Never heard of a pimp marrying one of his girls.”
Aaron groaned and feared her comment would set Johnny off again. He tried to divert the disaster. “Um, Riley. I don’t think—”
“Pimp?” Johnny asked. His body shook with laughter and for several minutes, they could only sit and wait as the man struggled to regain his composure. Each time Aaron thought he’d pulled himself together, he’d begin wheezing with laughter that turned into a coughing fit that ended once again with laughter. His face was purple with merriment and there were tears streaming down his face.
Riley looked back at Aaron. “I think maybe we jumped to the wrong conclusion after talking to Bubbles.”
“What was your first clue?”
“I’ve sort of fucked this all up, haven’t I?”
Aaron shrugged. They weren’t dead. They hadn’t been robbed. Johnny wasn’t the mob-connected pimp they’d feared. Really, the only bad part of this little excursion was they still didn’t have a clue where Trev was. “Yeah, you did, and yet, in typical Riley fashion, you appear to have emerged unscathed.”
“Sorry we bothered you, Johnny,” she said, starting to rise. Discovering they were leaving, Johnny sobered up, his peals of laughter dying down.
“Where you going? The night’s still young. Let me buy you two a drink and you can tell me where you got the fool notion I was a pimp.” Speaking the word pimp caused Johnny to chuckle once more.
“That’s okay,” Aaron started, but Riley resumed her seat as Johnny waved the bartender over.
Fuck. They’d been so close to escaping.
84
Saturday Night Special
“I think we just sort of misinterpreted something our friend Bubbles said,” Riley explained.
“Sounds to me like you misheard everything that stupid cow said. What makes you think I can put a hit out on somebody?”
The bartender brought another round of beers and Aaron pulled an empty stool over, placing it right up against Riley’s. She gave him a look that told him to back off, but he ignored it. Despite the fact Johnny appeared to be harmless, that didn’t mean the other men in the bar were.
“Bubbles said the last time Bella ran off with a guy, you put a hit on him.”
Johnny grinned and Aaron was taken aback by how much the guy really did look like Wayne Newton. In this dim lighting, hidden behind the haze of cigarette smoke, he was actually a dead ringer.
“Bella didn’t run off with that guy and I didn’t put a hit on him. I hit him. With my cab.”
“Cab?” Riley asked.
“I’m a taxi driver, not a pimp.”
“And you hit a guy with your car?”
Johnny shrugged. “It’s not like I killed him or anything. Fucker was climbing out of our bedroom window—mine and Bella’s. Guess they’d heard my car pull up to the curb. Caught a glimpse of him coming out of the house and I gunned the engine.
Chased the prick for two blocks before I was able to clip him from behind and knock him down. Got out of the cab, beat the shit outta him and then went home. That’s it.”
Aaron was suddenly grateful for his job on the force in Baltimore. Though Maryland had its fair share of crazies, Vegas seemed to hold the current record.
“Good for you.” Riley raised her glass to toast Johnny.
Aaron looked at her with disbelief. “Good for him? Riley, he chased the guy down with his car.”
85
Mari Carr
“The guy was screwing his girlfriend. In Johnny’s house. Hell, in Johnny’s bed .”
Johnny nodded, clearly delighted that Riley was defending him. “I had to flip the mattress.
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