Page 133 of Driftwood Daffodil 3

I looked at him.

“Atlas Mancini is dead.”

“I guess you better go dig him up then.” I suggested.

A loud voice boomed through the diner before Sargent Calder could respond, “get the fuck out of my way.”

Gio.

Never thought I’d be happy to see him.

Gio charged forward, pushing people out of his way. The second he was within reach, I jumped up and threw my arms around him.

“Thank God you’re here.”

“It’s okay Baby, I got you.” his arms wrapped tightly around me and I fell into his embrace.

My mind let go of everything it had been holding. The feel of the cool barrel pressed against my temple, my heart pounding against my ribs, and the sinking sensation that this was it, I was going to die. I clung onto Gio as if he was the only safe space I had. In this place he was. His embrace was my solace.

“I got you,” he whispered while nuzzling his nose on the top of my head and taking a deep inhale. “I got you.”

I don’t know if he was trying to reassure me or himself, and I didn’t care. I just wanted to stay here with my face buried in his solid chest. We were in a room full of cops and the only person I trusted was a criminal.

Sargent Calder had other plans. “I still have more questions, Miss. Ford.”

Now he remembered my name.

Pulling my face away from the safety of Gio’s chest, I shot Sargent Calder a glare. “This guy won’t let me leave.”

“She’s done.” Gio growled. “No more questions.”

Sargent Calder rolled his unimpressed stare up to Gio. “And who are you?”

“I’m her fiancé.”

The sergeant’s gaze dropped back down to me. “You’re engaged to a Mancini?”

I didn’t respond. I was done talking to him.

“Guess your sister wasn’t raped after all.”

And that was when I kicked a cop in the balls.

GIOVANNI

The hunt was on for Simon Fisher and it was a race between the cops, the Lost Souls, and us. And the only thing we had to go on was a twit named Cindy Fassbender. We looked for more. Some sign or hint as to where he went. There was nothing but a footprint embedded in an old pool of alcohol.

I didn’t know if Simon was that good or if he was just lucky. Based on what I knew about him, I leaned towards the latter. Either way we had no clue as to where he was hiding. Even the people in his life didn’t know where he would go. He had nofriends, his parents hadn’t seen him in days, and Nova refused to tell me shit. Her exact words were‘I’m not going to help you murder someone.’

That slimly fucking weasel held a gun to her head and still protected him. That pissed me off. I tried to break her. I threatened her brother – which was not a smart idea – Nova went from protecting Simon to slapping me.

So, I moved on to other threats. A spanking and some anal action. Both of which Nova would’ve gotten if she hadn’t passed out two minutes into the drive back. For now, I’d have to rely on what we found at the diner, which was a big fat nothing.

The back alley where it all went down had been combed over by the cops, and Atlee didn’t have any better luck with the bikers. One gave him a very graphic description of how he would shove his boot up Atlee’s ass and another offered to show him why they called him Wild Dog. Needless to say, they would not be working with us on this. Not that I expected any different.

Romeo had people staking out Cindy’s house while my father pulled on his contacts in the department. All I could do now was wait. Patience was not my forte. I should be out there searching for that fucker. If it wasn’t for Nova that is exactly where I’d be.

For the first time in my life my mind was being overridden by my heart. I wanted to get out there with Atlee and Darry and find that asshole, but I couldn’t look away from the sleeping girl next to me. It was almost as if I was afraid to let Nova out of my sight.

---