“345 to VKR. We’re in Kirwan.” Another cop.
“VKR to 302 and 345, both authorized. Code 2. Show you proceeding.”
There were several more affirmatives to the chatter, which was bad for us.
“We’re on a timer!” I yelled to everyone at the top of my lungs. I didn’t even care if the Italians could hear me because no one deserved to deal with the assholes who’d had me stuck in their police station. “Cops are on their way!”
We piled into the van along with a couple of bikers who had simply tugged the plates off their bikes, and Cillian cursed as the van engine turned over a couple of times before finally catching.
“Won’t they run the VIN numbers on the bikes?” I asked one of the Oaths.
He laughed and shook his head. “Removed the real one ages ago, mate.”
Cillian couldn’t get the van to move faster than about twenty miles per hour, but one of the bikers told him where to go to stay away from the main drags, and before we knew it the van was limping up the steep and unforgiving hill to Legend’s house.
We all groaned as the van chugged and died within sight of Legend’s driveway. There was nothing else to be done, so we all got out and pushed the fucking van the last little bit to get it off the road and hidden. Sweat drenched my body by the time we were finished. As fucked up as everything had been, I was grinning as we got the van parked in the garage with the door shut behind it.
“We did it!” Fallon crowed. “And our reward is the presence of a beautiful lady.” He flashed a smile behind me, and I spun around.
Diedre laughed at him from where she stood near a small side door with her arms crossed.
“Diedre,” I said, walking over to her. She was shaking her head at me.
“What’s all that?” she asked, waving a hand at my bloody shirt.
My face burned. “Uh, work?”
“Yeah, no. You know, those clothes are good and ruined now. I have no idea why you boys wear that fancy shit. Such a waste. I’ll try to get it clean, if you take it off and leave it in Ledge’s bathroom.”
“It’s not mine.” Shrugging, I rubbed the back of my neck. I’d never felt as gross as I did right now between the blood and all the sweat that clung to my skin. “I have other suits, and Legend told us to stop wearing them anyway.”
She continued to glare, and my stomach fell to my toes. “Ma’am?”
“Don’t you do that. I’m Diedre or Mum to you, now.” She sighed and came over to hug me. Her warm arms were a comfort I gladly accepted. “Why did you go and run out? Legend was not happy.” I stood very still as she worked the clasp on her necklace, then carefully removed it from around my neck to cradle it in her hand.
Resting against her soft warmth, I sighed. “I need to do this job,” I whispered.
She harrumphed, then leaned back and grabbed my face. Her eyebrows furrowed and she pursed her lips. “You do, and don’t you let Legend tell you otherwise, but tonight you should’ve stayed home so he would’ve kept his stupid arse in bed. Sometimes you need to know how to play these men, okay, darl?” She smiled at me.
I grinned back at her. “Okay.”
“Get cleaned up,” she said, patting my shoulder.
The guys were debating what to do with the van, so with a shrug, I did as she said and went into the house and up to Legend’s bathroom. I was riding the high from being out on a job with bullets flying and shit going down, and I was still feeling the excited buzz in my blood when I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist.
I frowned as a drop of red landed on the yellow cloth, then wandered to the mirror over the sink. I gasped because there was a thin red oozing line on the outside of my right arm. I’d either gotten grazed by the bullet or caught ricochet earlier when I’d been shot at, and I hadn’t realized it was this deep. The pain wasn’t too bad, and I blew out a long breath as I moved my arm around.
“Well, shit,” I grumbled. “I’m a lucky fuck.”
“What the bloody hell? You were supposed to be a bloody lookout!”
I whirled around as Legend stormed into the bathroom. His nostrils flared, and with his bulging muscles bunched up with tension, he was ready to slay a dragon. “Mum said you came in covered in blood, but she didn’t say you were injured.”
Shrugging, I crossed my arms.
His gaze dipped down my body and heat entered his eyes.
Fuck, that’s hot.I tried to ignore the hungry expression that settled on his face. “Well, I was the lookout. Shit happens.”
