Trooper chuckled. “Such a riotous one, she is.”
Ranger shot him a look. “You haven’t fucking fed her yet?”
Trooper shrugged as he walked his fingertips over the blade of his knife. “Didn’t know she was awake, quite honestly.”
“I’m starving down here!” Naomi’s muffled voice exclaimed as it pierced the hardwood floor beneath our feet.
And that’s when Lancer started to laugh. “Maybe one of us should take her for a ride. You know, show that girl her place.”
My hand moved so quickly toward that motherfucker’s throat that someone actually gasped.
“What did you say?” I asked calmly, my fingers curling into Lancer’s pulse points along either side of his neck.
He opened his mouth and choked for air. “I just—Dutch—I can’t—.”
“Dee,” Trooper said curtly.
I released the pathetic excuse for a man and eased myself back into my chair. “You leave her to us. Got it?”
Lancer rubbed his neck as he stared at me with widened eyes. “Jesus, Dutch. What gives?”
I crossed my leg over my knee and settled my hands into my lap as I felt Ranger’s inquisitive look boring a hole into my forehead.
“So, you were saying?” I asked, locking my tired gaze with his.
Ranger’s nose wrinkled softly before he cleared his throat. “The transaction is taking place at our throwaway warehouse. Dutch and I plan on making examples out of these buyers. They come ready to screw us over? We come ready to lock them inside and torch the place.”
“Did they agree to the twenty percent surcharge?” Bury asked.
Ranger nodded. “Without hesitation. Dutch is lookout while I solidify the transaction, and if everything goes according to plan this time around, every single one of you will see payment for your part in this by the end of the day.”
Lancer cleared his throat. “Anything else you need from us, you know all you gotta do is say so.”
Ranger grinned. “Maybe work on keeping that mouth in check for now.”
The guys chuckled as I looked down at my hands. There was something about all of this that didn’t sit right with me. Not the transaction, mind you. But, Naomi. Her fiancée was a cop. So, why hadn’t we had a run-in with the police yet? Unless she had been bluffing about that part in an attempt to—.
“Dutch!” Trooper called out.
Something knocked against my forehead before it fell in my lap, and the guys started holding back their laughter as I gazed at the triangular piece of paper that had flopped into my lap.
“Real mature, Troop,” I said as I picked it up between my fingertips.
“Says the guy daydreaming about the girl downstairs,” he said with a grin.
I put the triangular-shaped object between my fingers and flicked it at him, sending it soaring for his neck. It sliced against his skin, causing him to hiss as he clapped his hand over his neck.
“Seriously? A paper cut, at a time like this?” Trooper asked.
I turned my attention back to Ranger. “We don’t have much time.”
Ranger nodded as he stood. “Everyone stays here until I radio in with the all clear. Then, you’re dismissed. Dutch? You’re with me. Trooper?”
He stood to his feet. “Keep an eye on the guys, I know. I know.”
And as Ranger clapped his hands three times before dismissing church with the flick of his wrists, I headed straight for the kitchen.
The very least someone could do was put together a goddamn meal for the poor girl before we turned our sights to more important things.
