Page 24 of Light It Up Red
I glance up at Travis and catch him watching me. “I’m sorry. I have to go find my brother and stop him from killing a freaking professional athlete.” That’s not something we can just cover up. Especially on our own.
“If you’re going, I’m going. Though something tells me your brother can handle himself, Lil.”
“Oh, I know he can. But he’s not thinking straight, and that’s a dangerous position for the other guy to be in. I need to find Alessandro before he does something we can’t undo. I do not want to be visiting my brother in a jail cell.”
“Okay, come on.” Travis wraps his hand around mine and tugs me forward.
I drag my feet to stop him. “You don’t have to come with me. I’m sure you’re tired. You should go back to your hotel.”
“Not without you, I’m not.”
A few quick turns later and we’re walking through the back door of the arena, where there’s an SUV already waiting for me. One of my brother’s friends—and I use the term friends loosely here—opens the back door as I approach.
“Where to, Miss Valentino?” Jupe asks. The guy has worked for us for a few years now. My family trusts him.
“Where’d Alessandro go?”
Jupe’s lips press into a thin line. “I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do. Take me wherever he went, Jupe,” I say, my tone more forceful than it was a moment ago.
“Your brother wants me to take you back to the hotel.”
“Well, last I checked, my brother is a long way off from being the boss. But if more authority is what you need, I can call Nonno? Get him to tell you himself?” It’s a bitchy move, using my grandfather as a threat. But I don’t have much of a choice here. It’s for the greater good. The greater good being keeping my brother out of jail.
“Fine, I’ll take you. I’ll probably be dead the second we pull up, but I’ve had a good life,” Jupe says, shaking his head as the door closes behind me. Travis slides in on the other side.
“Don’t worry, Jupe, I’ll tell 'em I held a gun to your head.” I smile at him through the rearview mirror as he starts the engine.
“What gun?” Jupe asks.
I reach under the seat, knowing there are always weapons hidden in these cars. Find what I’m looking for and retrieve it from the holster that’s hooked to the underside. “This one,” I say cocking the gun before aiming it in Jupe’s direction.
“Fuck me,” Travis hisses.
I look over and realize I’m not exactly making the best impression here. Shit. I need to rein it in a bit. So I lower the gun and place it on the empty seat beside me. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. That was fucking hot as shit. But let’s not play with guns, Lil. I don’t want you getting hurt. Or worse,” Travis says, and I watch him swallow. He’s really worried about me.
That doesn’t stop me from rolling my eyes, though. “Because I’m a girl? I’ll have you know I’m a better shot than my brother or any of my cousins—well, maybe not Aurora, but that chick is from another planet. I’m sure of it,” I ramble on without meaning to.
“Not because you’re a girl. Because you’re my girl, and I want to keep you in one fucking piece,” he says.
“Okay, I will only play with guns when it’s really necessary,” I tell him with a smile.
Travis shakes his head and laughs. “Deal.”
The car pulls to a stop and my attention is drawn to the window and the bar just beyond it. “This is where he went?” I ask Jupe.
“Yep.” He nods his head.
“Okay, thanks,” I say as I open the back door and climb out of the car. Travis follows me over to the sidewalk while Jupe turns off the ignition before trailing behind us.
“This is the last place I should be,” Travis whispers into my ear.
I look over my shoulder at him. “Why?”
“It’s Nashville’s bar, Lili. This is where the team comes to celebrate… or commiserate. And tonight, we kicked their ass. They’re not in a good mood,” he says. “And I’m at the top of their shit list right now.”
