High Voltage (9 page)

“Black brought in the deputies. The new sheriff can
get rid of them. Cooper just needs to make sure the new sheriff is on his
payroll so we don’t have to come back here.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I like this place. It’s scenic.”

“So is Jersey, but who wants to live there.”

“You lived in Jersey.”

“For my ma.”

“Such a good boy.”

Dino’s fingers caress my cheek. “I wasn’t kidding
about kids. I want a bunch.”

Sighing, I lean away from him. “You and I just
hooked up. I’m not discussing kids with a guy whose dick I met a day ago.
Besides, you like the idea of all those kids, but wait until you have one
crying all night or throwing a massive fit in a restaurant while you’re trying
to eat your spaghetti. You might decide one is enough.”

“Maybe, but probably not. My cousin Barb has four
girls. Those little divas are spoiled rotten too. One day, they’ll drive more
than a few men to suicide. The thing is, I still love the little shits. They
climb all over me and crush my balls with their tap shoes, but I still love
them.”

“A lot of ball talk tonight.”

“Yeah, just one of those nights, I guess.”

Pulling the car onto the highway, I feel a growing
tension. “Do you think Black will come for us tonight at the hotel?”

“No. He’s scared. You yelling DEA probably confused
him even more. Are we rogue agents? Muscle for another crew? A honeymooning
couple who likes starting fires and shooting cops in the balls? Who can say?”

“He’ll need to act soon.”

“Or he might run,” Dino says, stretching his long
arms in the too small SUV. “A guy like him won’t know what play to make now. He
pushed out Cooper’s people using the law. He got rid of anyone talking shit
about him by using the law. He hides his illegal activities with the law. We’re
just shooting people and burning things down. That’s not the law. He can’t
arrest us without us fighting back. We’re not scared of him. We aren’t single
moms he can silence. Or old men.”

“No, I don’t think he’ll run. He’s stupid and
arrogant. He fucked with Hayes by sending those guys into White Horse. What
person in their right mind would make such a call? Hayes is happy with his
little slice of dictatorship. Why fuck with him, knowing the giant asshole will
want to fuck with Black? Then he messes with Ruby, who clearly has some ties to
that biker club. These aren’t the moves of a man with intelligence and patience
on his side. He’ll keep hitting at us until we stop him.”

“So we stop him.”

“Going in for the kill is too easy. This guy killed
regular people, and I want to make him suffer first. I also think we ought to
make a mess in Common Bend to send a message to the Serrated Brotherhood and
Hayes. They need to know the kind of people Cooper can call in if there are
issues.”

“I get your angle. Black made Johansson look weak,
so we make him look strong.”

“It’s the least we can do since he’s paying for our
romantic getaway.”

Dino grins at me and keeps grinning until we reach
the hotel. I scope out the parking lot for trouble, but he only has eyes for
me.

“What?”

“Admit it, Apples. You don’t want to leave this
slice of hellbilly paradise, because you worry things between us will end once
the job does.”

I twist around in the seat and study him. “So what
if I do?”

“I’ve had my eye on you since we met in Houston. Nothing is going to end.”

“Maybe not for you.”

“Oh, so you’re saying I’m only irresistible in this
fucking place.”

“No, I’m saying I’m not really Minka here. I’m on
vacation from myself, and this Minka enjoys your crap like the normal Minka
might not. So maybe we get back to Houston, and I decide you aren’t my type
again.”

“What’s your type?”

“The quiet type who reads books and volunteers with
animals.”

Dino laughs, and I don’t blame him. It sounds
pretty stupid, but I imagine a sensitive husband capable of softening my hard
edges. Dino is many things, but sensitive isn’t one of them.

“Well, do you know what type of woman I was looking
for?” he asks, still laughing. “A high maintenance broad who spends a lot of
time primping. A woman who is as good in the kitchen as she is in bed. Oh, and
she’d need to know when to shut the fuck up so I could think. She’d go away
when I wanted space and return when I wanted to fuck.”

Dino’s description somehow makes me feel lacking in
comparison. “Do they make obedient housewives anymore?”

“Sure, and I was going to get me one of them. Her
entire life would revolve around making me happy and serving my loud-mouth
kids.”

“Good luck with that,” I say, turning around in my
seat.

“Then I met you.”

“If your loud-mouth kids piss me off, I’m spanking
their loud-mouth asses.”

“I bet you can’t even make decent spaghetti,” Dino
says, and the comment cuts me deep.

“Sure, I can. It’s just meat, a can of tomato
sauce, and a box of pasta. Fucking done.”

Dino grimaces. “And I know you won’t shut the fuck
up when I tell you to.”

“And if you tell me to go away so you can have
space, I won’t come back.”

“Exactly. I guess our ideas of the perfect mates
ain’t happening. You’ll need to give up your dream of the book reading, animal
loving weenie.”

“He would write me poetry.”

“Yeah, but would the weenie fuck you properly?”

Smirking, I open the car door. “No, but I’m pretty
amazing with a vibrator.”

“I don’t believe you,” he says, getting out of the
SUV and running after me. “I think you ought to prove it.”

“Oh, really?”

“Sure.”

“Won’t you be jealous?”

“Probably.”

“We might get shot at tonight,” I whisper as we
enter the building.

“As long as I’m not shot in the crotch, I won’t
care about anything besides you and the vibrator.”

We arrive upstairs to our floor, and I check my
phone to see if the room had any breaches.

“It’s clear,” I say as he wraps an arm around my
shoulders. “Do you read at all?”

Dino shakes his head. “Do you?”

“Sure. Magazines and I read those trending stories
on Facebook.”

Grinning, he slides his hand into my back pocket
while I use the keycard. I bump him away from me and act like I plan to shut
the door on him. Dino gives me a puppy dog pout until I sigh dramatically.

“Fine, but only because you begged like a little
bitch.”

Dino winks at me before entering. I lock the door,
turn off the internal cameras, and send a message to Rafael about our messy
evening. While I focus on the job, Dino digs around in my suitcase looking for
my vibrator. I just hope he doesn’t get jealous and try to separate me from my
old friend.

~ Minka ~

Life Gets Complicated

T
he next morning, Dino digs into his pancakes like a
starving man. I’m hungry too, but my stomach hurts. All night long, I used
Dino’s hot body to distract me from his other qualities. He’s sweeter than I
expected. He’s also full of shit, which is
exactly
what I expected.

“Not hungry?” he asks, before taking his fork and
stealing one of my sausage links.

“Did you really stop sleeping around after meeting
me?”

“Yep.”

I study him, but he isn’t easy to read. The guy
worked around paranoid mobsters. Lying is second nature to him, and Dino likely
knows how to keep his cool when caught in a lie.

“Why?”

“You were worth waiting for.”

“Why?”

Dino finishes chewing and wipes his mouth. “You’re
sexy and smart. You thought I was sexy too. I saw that in your eyes. When I
pissed you off, though, you punched me. How does a man not chase that kind of
woman?”

“Your dream woman is obedient. I’m not that woman.”

“No, but you wanted a man who reads, and I’m not
that man. We were wrong.”

Hugging my body, I study him. “What is your long
term play here? You talk about kids and how I’m special. You act as if falling
for someone is like choosing a hairstyle. I don’t believe in forcing things.”

“I’m not forcing anything. You want this too.”

“Hey, you’re hot. I’m not denying I’ve wanted to
rub against you since we met. That’s not the same as what you’re pretending.”

“I’m not pretending shit. Maybe you need more
coffee because you’re coming off grumpy.”

Leaning forward, I frown hard at him. “You talked
about going with me to visit my mom. That’s real deal stuff. Sex is one thing,
but you’re talking about things that aren’t happening.”

“What’s the problem? Are you getting premenstrual
on me?”

“Stop being an asshole.”

“Stop being a bitch.”

“Never,” I mutter. “I don’t like being played.”

Dino plays with the butter knife on the table. “You
know I’m not playing. I could have gotten in your pants without saying anything
about waiting or talking about your mom. I don’t need to say any of that stuff.
We could have fun in bed, and then I could walk away. You never needed the romance,
so why would I waste time promising you anything?”

“I don’t know. You’re a tricky guy.”

“Or you’re paranoid.”

“Wouldn’t you be?”

“No.”

I roll my eyes and sip my coffee. “I’ll drop it.”

“That’s best.”

Dino steals another sausage link, so I push the
plate towards him. He finishes my breakfast and stretches.

“What’s the plan for today?”

“I don’t know. Rafael said he’ll talk to Cooper
about our next move. I assume we’ll eliminate our problem, but they seem very
tentative about the entire thing.”

“Probably because they have enemies on each side.
When my old bosses felt pressure from other families, they reacted real slow.
The fear was reacting too fast might lead to an escalation.”

Dino has a point. I never worked in an organization
where I took orders. As a freelance operator, I got a job, completed the job,
and walked away. Remaining in White Horse makes me care too much about the
details like Ruby and the victims at the meth lab. I normally avoid the
politics and maneuverings of these various criminal organizations. My job is to
draw blood and end the problem. Let the bosses worry about cleaning up after
me.

“You okay?” he asks, caressing my knuckles.

“I guess. This job bugs me.”

Dino watches me, and I watch him. His dark eyes
show me nothing. I wonder what he sees in mine.

“I’m not playing with you,” he finally says, taking
the check. “Were you this distrustful with Troy?”

“No, but he and I were friends first.”

“And where did that end up?”

I follow him to the register and then to the SUV.
The cold morning air burns my tired eyes. Dino stretches again, and I take in
the sight of his long, lean body.

“I never loved Troy,” I say, studying the traffic
around the restaurant. “Even if we hadn’t been friends first, I was never going
to fall in love with him. You can’t force these things.”

“No, you can’t,” Dino says, surprising me with a
kiss on the cheek. “Let’s head back to the hotel so you can take a nap and
sleep off your grumpy mood.”

Holding my tongue, I climb into the SUV. Dino joins
me and drives back to the hotel. My stomach still burns from stress, and I
can’t avoid confronting the reason.

Walking upstairs, I never think to go to my room
and separate from Dino. This behavior is part of my problem. I’m thinking of us
as a pair. I never did that with Troy. Even when we were sleeping together. I
craved my private space. He wanted his too. We made sense in a way I’m not sure
Dino and I do.

“This isn’t just sex, right?” I ask him as he
stretches out on the bed. “If it’s just sex, I can handle that, but I need you
to be honest with us both.”

Dino watches me and smiles slowly. “Why are you
scared, Apples?”

“I don’t want to look like a fool.”

“Your mom always kept everyone at arm’s length. She
used men and never loved any of them. You don’t know how a real relationship feels.
I get you’re coming from a messed up place, but I’m being square with you.”

“Don’t make me into a pathetic broken girl,” I
mutter, kicking off my shoes. “And you’re the healthy fucker saving me. You
have issues, Dino. The entire mob hitman thing is a giveaway.”

“I never said otherwise.”

Narrowing my eyes, I smile at him. “Is this passive
thing something your father used against your mother?”

Dino reveals a tiny smirk. “I plead the fifth.”

I jump on the bed and smack him on the head
lightly. He laughs at my expression.

“It worked, didn’t it?”

“So, was anything you said for real or was it part
of your tactic?”

Dino wraps an arm around me, forcing my body to
rest along his.

“I see good things for us. You intrigued me, and I
wanted you. You acted like you hated me, but now you don’t. The sex is great.
We get along great. Why fight what is coming along so easily? Just enjoy what’s
enjoyable.”

“Fine, but you need to stop making promises you
won’t keep. Talking about going with me to see my mom was too much.”

“I meant that, though.”

“I know, and that’s what’s scary. You say whatever
you’re thinking. Tomorrow you can think something else. You don’t plan anything
out.”

Dino looks at me in an odd way, and I feel small
under his gaze.

“I get it now,” he whispers. “You want to know if
I’m all twisted up over you like you’re twisted up over me. Well, I am, and
I’ve been twisted up since you punched me. It’s a good twisted up, though. It
feels warm and inviting like something I’ve always wanted.”

I flick the tip of his nose. “Was that really so
difficult? I simply need everything spelled out for me.”

“Women,” he snorts, trying not to laugh.

Smiling at him, I rest my head against his
shoulder. “I am twisted up over you. When you offered to go with me to see my
mom, I could picture it. I imagined feeling brave because you’d be there.”

“Just feel it then. I know being a smart bitch has
made you a badass all these years. Sometimes you just need to feel. I learned
that myself, and it’s why I left my old life. Now I’m feeling this feeling with
you, and it feels great.”

“You’re getting a little too emotional for my
tastes.”

Dino laughs, but his expression is as soft and warm
as his fingers on my arm.

Falling silent, I close my eyes and listen to
Dino’s steady heartbeat. He flips through channels, finally settling on a rerun
of a sitcom whose name I can’t remember.

While I doze off, I imagine us visiting my mother.
I see her green house and the front porch, complete with hanging plants. Dino
is at my side when I open the front gate and walk into the yard where I played
with my old shepherd mutt, Baby. Before I see my mother’s face again, I’m
asleep.

My nap doesn’t last long. I hear my cell ringing
but decide to ignore it. Dino’s phone rings next, and he answers. After a
minute, he turns on the speaker function, and I hear Rafael’s voice.

“Black did a drive-by at Hayes’s house and office.
As you can imagine Hayes is pissed and calling for war.”

“That’s sad,” I mumble, still half asleep. “What do
you want us to do?”

“Cooper is sending a few of his guys to White Horse
to deal with Hayes. They’ll also meet with reps from the Serrated Brotherhood.
The Rutgers in Hickory Creek got wind of what happened with that bartender.
They claim Black sent people into their territory to grab her. I don’t know if
that’s true, but they’re talking about ending Black and taking the spoils of
war.”

I peek at Dino. He focuses on my lips, caressing
them with his thumb. Even now, he doesn’t give a shit about this assignment.

“What’s the plan then?” I ask, sitting up and
focusing since Dino won’t.

“Provide backup for Cooper’s guys. You’re
representing me, and I’m representing Memphis’s interests at this point.”

“What does Memphis want to happen?”

“They’d like Black removed, and the status quo
returned. They’re also okay with Black disappearing and someone else taking
over Common Bend. Hayes and the club out of Hickory Creek both make nice with Memphis. The only one who really cares about it remaining Cooper’s territory is Cooper.”

“And you, right?”

“I would be happiest if he gets Common Bend back,
but fighting with Hayes and the Serrated Brotherhood isn’t in his best
interest. He’ll do it if he’s pushed.”

“A man can’t lose face,” Dino adds. “When will his
guys arrive?”

“Later today. Hayes claims he sent a message to
Black already. I can only imagine what that looks like and what will happen
next. If the sheriff is against the wall, things will get messy.”

“We could just get rid of him now.”

“Killing him in a big display has never been the
end game, and killing him quietly can’t happen if he’s hiding.”

Despite the worry in his words, Rafael sounds
rather calm. I know he’s a pro, but his wife is tied to the Reapers Motorcycle
Club. I suspect being stuck between Memphis and Ellsberg isn’t where Rafael
hoped to be when he sent us on this job.

“I think we can smoke him out,” I offer. “We can go
into town in disguise and find out where he’s holed up. Deal with him however
necessary and end this thing before Hayes or the other club can start more
trouble.”

Rafael doesn’t respond immediately. He’s working
all the angles in his head. As he figures out what our next move should be, I
roll out of bed and head to the bathroom.

By the time I clean up and return, Dino’s watching
TV.

“What did he say?”

“He suggested we see Hayes and find out how he hit
back at Black. Then he suggested we meet with Cooper’s guys. Then he said if we
had the time, he’d really love for us to kill Black and bring about world
peace.”

I study him while he stares at the TV. Dino has the
moves of a skilled killer, but he lacks the focus of a man on a mission.

“Don’t you care what happens here?” I ask while
pulling on my boots.

“Not really.” When I frown at him, he turns off the
TV. “The way I see it, these people fighting over Common Bend will fight no
matter what we do. They’re all assholes wanting the same thing. Sooner or
later, they’re going to fight it out. Whoever wins will only keep the town for
a while before they fight again. Someone else might win, and then they’ll fight
again. As long as you have more than one asshole claiming the same thing, the
battle won’t end. What you and I do won’t mean shit.”

“I guess, but I still feel bad for the people in
the crossfire.”

“Me too. We help the ones we can, but I won’t
pretend like they’re so much better off with Cooper than they are with Black.
They’re slaves to one faction or another. We can’t fix that part, and you’d be
a fool to want to.”

“Call me an idealist, but I want the good guys to
win.”

“What if there are no good guys?”

“Then the least-awful guys.”

Sliding off the bed, Dino walks to me. “And you
think that’s Cooper’s crew?”

“Yeah, I guess. The prostitute Black killed didn’t
die on Cooper’s watch. Ruby wasn’t attacked on his watch either. The meth heads
we killed didn’t work for Cooper. I’d say he’s the least horrible of the
choices.”

“What about your boyfriend, Hayes?” he asks,
caressing my lower lip again.