Page 81 of Bullseye
“No.” Standing, Ironclad places both hands on his desk and leans forward. “We know how you got your nickname, Bullseye. You could be blindfolded and still shoot an apple off a man’s head from a mile away. And this one…” He thumbs Seneca and smiles. “It’s obvious why she’s called Wildfire. But do you know why they call me Ironclad?”
“Why?”
“Because no matter what goes down in my world, I have an alibi. And not just any alibi—an ironclad one. She will be much more useful to me here as an alibi, then she would be there with you, getting in the way.” Standing up taller, he looks me in the eye. “Bullseye. Make Don Bordono disappear in a way that cannot and will not be linked to me. And then, you can have Seneca.”
She moves like she’s about to say something but doesn’t. She must realize this is the best deal she’s going to get. And once I get back, the two of us will have a chance to finally get out. For good. What he says is exactly what I expected, but it’s still unsettling.
“If you touch her, Ironclad, I will make you suffer in ways you never knew possible…”
“I understand.”
Moving to the door he came in from, Ironclad smiles and salutes me before disappearing and leaving Seneca and me alone in his office.
“Sen.”
“Avery.” Rushing forward, she jumps into my arms and throws her arms around my neck. “Oh… what?” Pulling away, she fingers the pool of dried blood on the back of my neck.
“It’s nothing.”
“How did you know where I was? I ditched my phone. Bought a burner.”
“I just got lucky.”
The hell with my ribs and the beating I just took. Pulling Seneca tightly to me again, the pain magically falls away now that I have her in my arms. Leaning down, I find her pouty lips and kissing her over and over, I wrap my arms tighter around her as I lock my mouth onto hers. Opening her mouth with mine, I devour her hungrily as one of my hands travels up to the back of her head, holding her and keeping her hostage in my strong arms, while my other hand travels down to her fine ass.
Pulling her even tighter to me, our bodies press together, and I grunt as she moans. Finally, she pulls back, and dropping her head, she shakes it. I wrap my hands around her arms, holding her.
“Avery… I’m so sorry you’ve been dragged into this. I wanted to leave you in Hoppa. I tried to leave you in the truck that morning. You shouldn’t follow me. I’m bad news. You don’t know what I’m dealing with—and you shouldn’t have to.”
“Sen, baby. Look at me.”
Raising her eyes to mine, I swallow hard. Hell, there’s no time like the present.
“You don’t need to apologize to me. I should be the one apologizing to you.”
“Why?” Her eyes narrow, but she doesn’t look surprised.
“Your brother is Matt Villetrio. He was framed for a murder he didn’t commit. He was in a drug den in St. Mark’s Place, buying, when a hit came in on the dealer. The dealer was killed and your brother took the rap.”
“Yes.”
“Sen, I need you to concentrate. Did Matt ever mention the names of the guys at the hit with him?”
“Two of Ironclad’s thugs were there. They’re the ones who killed that guy. I know it.”
“Were their names...” Taking a deep breath, I squeeze her arms. “Were their names Mikey and Tony?”
“Yes.” Her eyes narrow more. “No.” She steps away, distancing herself. “No. How? I’ve been putting together the pieces, but it was just all too coincidental. How could we both end up in Hoppa, Arizona and in the Steel Knights? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Fate can be a bitch.”
“So, you were there?”
“Yes. I was only supposed to warn the dealer. He wasn’t supposed to be killed. Don Bordono needed him. But fucking Ironclad sent Mikey and Tony and they panicked.”
She takes a step back, shaking her head.
“You have to know, what happened to your brother—I never knew who he was. It haunts me daily.”
