Page 36 of Abra's Acquisition
Max takes out his handcuffs before taking my place and yanking Dontel’s arms behind his back. As he cuffs Dontel, Max reads him his rights. Dontel splutters through the entire spiel.
“What the fuck are you arresting me for? Dontel bellows. “You should be arresting these motherfuckers. They threatened us! They surrounded us and forced us to pull over!”
Max ignores Dontel’s outburst as he frisks him. When he removes Dontel’s gun, he shows it to the man. “What the fuck do you expect him to do when you shoot at his woman?”
Dontel tries to break away from Max when Max’s words hit him. When he realizes he can’t turn around, he strains his neck to glare at me.
“What the fuck are you talking about? Rey’s mine!” Dontel snarls.
I chuckle, which causes Dontel to vibrate with rage. “You lost her. She’s mine now, and I’ll make sure she stays mine.”
“I’ll fucking kill you!” Dontel bellows. “Rey is my woman!”
Max shoves Dontel against the car before leaning forward. “Rey is her own woman. She stopped wanting you when you hit her. She’s with Abra now, and although I don’t like it, I sure as hell prefer him over a piece of shit like you.”
I can’t stop the grin from spreading across my face. “See, I knew you’d grow to love me,” I tease Max, who just rolls his eyes.
“Don’t push it. I thought you were going to keep Rey safe. Why the fuck was she at the pawn shop?”
I shrug as I spot Cicero’s car coming towards us. “You can ask her yourself.”
Max and Dontel both whip their heads toward the car as it parks in front of Levi.
Rey hops out of the car and jogs toward us. I open my arms to welcome her. Once she’s safely in my embrace, I feel her body relax. She’s glaring at Dontel as she steadies herself by wrapping her fingers in my shirt.
“You caught him. Good,” Rey breaths out. “I was worried that he and his friends would try to hurt you.” Rey looks up at me and smiles. “Cicero told me I was worrying for nothing.”
“What the fuck are you doing here, Rey?” Max asks. “This guy was supposed to keep you safe, but you’re running around town getting shot at. How is that keeping you safe?”
“Yeah, I kind of want to know what you were thinking,” I say. “You were supposed to stay at the warehouse. Why were you at the pawn shop?”
“Oh, well, that’s a long story,” Rey says.
I can tell by the embarrassed look on her face that she’s hoping I won’t push her for more information. Guess it's time for her to realize that I’m not one to let something like this slide, especially since she put herself at risk.
“Yeah, that’s not going to work,” I tell her. “Spill.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: REY
Damn. I was hoping Abra wouldn’t push for an answer until we got back to the clubhouse. I glance nervously at my brother to find him watching us. There is no way I can mention the stolen jewelry in front of my brother. Luckily, Cicero comes to my rescue.
“That was my fault,” Cicero says. “We were on the way to the clubhouse when I decided to stop at the pawn shop. I’ve been meaning to stop there to do some research on a project I’m working on.”
Abra frowns at Cicero. “That’s not like you. You knew Rey was in danger.”
“I know! I wasn’t thinking, not until we stopped in front of the shop. That’s when I remembered how risky it was. I was just about to drive away when he came out of the store and started shooting at us.” Cicero nods at Dontel.
Before Abra can press Cicero for more information, I pinch his side. He scowls down at me, but stares into my face as I try to communicate with my eyes.
“What project?” Max asks, which prompts me to close my eyes in defeat.
“What?” Cicero asks. “Oh, my project? This is a research project I’ve been working on that involves a necklace broughtover during the French Revolution. The rumor is that a descendant of the family that brought it over pawned it at that pawn shop. I’ve been meaning to stop by and question the shop owner.”
Abra stiffens next to me. Max looks at Cicero for several long minutes before turning his attention to Abra and me. “This is the guy you chose to babysit my little sister?”
“Hey!” I protest, trying to pull away from Abra, but he doesn’t let me go. “I don’t need a babysitter. I’m an adult.”
“You sure are, baby, but hush,” Abra says, infuriating me further. “Look, no harm done. Cicero got her out of there, and he alerted us. Rey is safe. You have this asshole in custody. I’d say it all worked out, don’t you?”
