Page 89 of Lure

Bones flicked a look to Gallo, who raked a hand through his hair and shifted his hairpiece subtly. The sweat rolling off him stank up the car, particularly because it made for a vile combo with his cologne and spray-tan product.

I’d smelled better off men who’d been sweating in a hole in the desert for the better part of a week. Did the man drown himself in product?

“You have no idea who I am,” Gallo said. “Or the mistakes you have made.”

I spared him a look, then glanced at the window. Lunchbox was taking us a roundabout way out of town.Thisvehicle was not going anywhere near our villa. It took us twenty minutes to reach the swap spot.

“Mr. Gallo, we can do this one of two ways. You can get out of this vehicle and get into the other one without complaint or incident,” Bones informed him in a cool, impersonal voice as we stopped.

“Or what?” Gallo seemed to find some courage even if spittle flew from his lips as he tried to glare at Bones. I could have told the overstuffed piece of shift to give it up, but this was a little more entertaining.

“Or it will not end well for you.” That was putting it succinctly. “Your choice?”

The silence extended, populated only by the man’s harsh breathing. A knock on the roof told me Lunchbox was ready.

“Fuck you,” Gallo snarled, actually snarled, and attempted to sound more like a wolf than the pampered pet he was.

Right.

Without rolling my eyes, I opened my side and slid out, then closed the door behind me. Lunchbox eyed me briefly, eyebrows raised.

“He chose poorly.”

A grin flashed over Lunchbox’s face. The yelp from inside was a little rewarding, but only a little. Then Bones stepped out on the far side.

“He’s ready,” he said but I was already opening my side and reaching in to drag the unconscious man out. There were three mangled fingers on the guy’s right hand.

Yeah. That had to hurt.

Lunchbox grabbed Gallo’s other arm as we hoisted him out, then we dragged him over to our vehicle and loaded him into the back. Once he was secured and covered, Lunchbox spent another minute on the other car before he joined us and we were leaving Gallo’s vehicle behind.

Five minutes after we left, it would burst into flames and that would take care of any trace evidence. The drive back to the villatook a little longer as we followed the least monitored route and let Alphabet blank out our progress.

By the time his people caught up to where we left the car, we would be secure.

“Incoming,” Bones said over the comms.

“Already got you,” Alphabet said. “Gracie put on the coffee.”

Gracie.

I rubbed at my jaw then gave myself a careful sniff. Definitely needed a shower before we went to bed tonight. It took a little over an hour after we left Gallo’s vehicle to drive through the gates at the villa. We pulled right up into the portico and parked, then turned off all the lights so we could unload.

Alphabet and Goblin met us at the door.

“Secure?” Lunchbox asked. I wasn’t the only one making sure Gracie didn’t have to see us carry in the sack of shit.

“She’s in the kitchen. I asked her to let us put him in the wine cellarbeforeshe comes out.”

Bones grunted, but if he didn’t care for Alphabet’s choice, he didn’t say anything else. The man seemed even heavier after the short ride, or maybe it was just the dead weight.

We hauled him downstairs where a chair, a makeshift cell, and some tools already waited for us. It didn’t take long to strip the man out of his clothes or secure him in place. The stench of him was even worse out of his sweat-soaked clothing than it had been before.

Once Lunchbox had his ankles and wrists lashed, I went for the banana bag and IV kits. I got the port in so he was ready for when it was necessary. The chair was set up on a clear plastic liner. Easier for cleanup.

By the time he started showing signs of waking up, we were done. I checked my watch again. “Start tonight or wait for morning?”

We could do it either way. Sometimes, spending a night alone in the dark, cold, unable to move, and unsure of who or what was listening to you could soften someone up a lot faster than heaping abuse on them.

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