“—there’s two you don’t,” Dutch murmured.
“So, neither of you care about what this is going to do to Naomi?” I asked.
Ranger snickered. “Got yourself a little crush there, do you?”
Dutch shook his head, though. “He’s got a point. We have to figure out if she knows anything about this. She may be just as in the dark as we were before I tailed the man.”
“And this could really backfire on us, too,” I said as my head came out of the clouds. “I mean, if he’s in bed with someone like Tommy Gun, and they’ve been working together long enough to sling around code, who knows? Maybe the mafia is looking for her, and that’s why he’s not panicked about anything.”
Ranger’s head fell back. “Ah, shit.”
I raked my hand down my face. “She deserves better than that piece of shit.”
Dutch scoffed. “I’m likely to agree with you.”
“Oh, great,” Ranger said as he tossed his hands into the air. “Now you’re both pussy-whipped.”
“So,” Dutch said as he heaved a heavy, tired sigh, “what’s our next move? This could potentially blow up in our faces, especially if her fiancée is working with the mafia in order to get her back.”
“Plus, her father may end up growing a pair,” I added.
Ranger’s gaze hardened. “Make sure he doesn’t, then.”
That’s when we heard the pitter patter of soft footsteps before her voice sounded.
“If you go after my father, I’ll find a way to kill all of you.”
I whipped around at the sound of Naomi’s voice, but Ranger was the one that barked with laughter.
“I’d love to see you try,” he glowered.
The poor girl looked fucking exhausted, with those heavy bags beneath her eyes.
“You need sleep,” I said as I took a step forward.
She clenched her fists at her sides and straightened her back. “The deal was me for my father. That deal stands. And if it doesn’t? I’ve got no issues finding a way to kill all three of you without batting an eye.”
Dutch stepped up to my side. “Naomi, there’s something you need to--.”
I held my hand up. “Yes, you’re right. That was the deal.”
Naomi’s gaze danced between the two of us. “If you’re concerned about my fiancée being a cop? Not my fault. You should’ve done your research before you decided to charge into my father’s home and take him hostage. That’s on you, not me. You don’t like it? Well, here I am. You’re more than welcome to kill me. Anything would be better than spending another day listening to the three of you bicker like a bunch of women.”
“Hey!” Ranger barked.
“No! You hey!” she exclaimed as she pointed her finger at him. “I don’t give a shit who you are! I’ve reconciled the fact that you’ll kill me sooner rather than later. You won’t hang on to dead weight like me. I’m good with that. I made my choice. But I swear to hell on fucking high, if I catch even a whiff of you idiots backing out on your end of the deal, your blood spills before mine.”
I grinned. “You’ve got a lot of gumption in those curves, pretty girl.”
She practically spat her words at me. “And that’s all you’ll get to see for yourself, you shithead.”
Ranger stepped in front of me and Dutch. “You need to understand that you have no control right now. You’re in no position to be making demands with anyone, much less us.”
That only made her grin. “A woman always has more control than men think. It’s why men are always toppled by a strong woman. It’s why men drive this world into the ground when women have the capability of making it better. More prosperous. Men do nothing but destroy. It’s the women that are tasked with building things back up.”
She stalked toward Ranger, standing onto her tiptoes just to get closer to his stone cold face.
“So, tell me,” she said as she pointed her finger directly against his chest, “do you really think I have absolutely no control?”
