I punched him in his bad shoulder, and he loosed a pained yelp before he could hold it back. “That’s why.”
He glared at me, and I knew I’d pay for that later. Giana frowned at me, and Spade laughed, tucking an arm around our woman. The asshole always ended up stealing the seat beside her. I’d have to remember to knock him aside when we got back into the van.
“If you keep hitting him, he’s not going to be able to come back anytime soon.” Giana sighed and leaned into Spade.
Merrick grinned, thinking she was on his side, until he realized she said he might not be able to fight with us. Then we both turned our glares on Spade, who was acting like a smug asshole, making faces at us that Giana couldn’t see because her eyes were closed.
Sometimes I wanted to shove them out of a moving vehicle. But then Giana would be pissed at me. Fuck.
Before I knew it, we were pulling up at the first motel where Francine and her grandson were staying. The parking lot was already full, and this was only one of the four motels we had booked. Hopefully it would only be a week that we’d need to keep this up for. Otherwise we’d have to find another bank to go to since we’d cleared out the one in town.
I shoved Spade out of the way as he tried to help Giana out of the car, but thankfully she didn’t see. She gave me her sweet smile and kissed my other cheek, a possessive glint in her amber eyes as she must have left another lip print. She could mark me up all she wanted. I was hers from the day I laid eyes on her; it just took a few years for Merrick and me to man up and admit that there was no way she’d choose between us.
Maybe if we had worked it out earlier, she’d never have gotten mixed up with Tommaso in the first place. That was baggage Merrick and I still held onto.
“Love you,” I murmured as I took her hand. A blush spread across her cheeks as her smile only grew.
“I love you too.”
I glanced behind me, grinning smugly at Spade, only to find both him and Merrick glaring at my back. We all liked to needle each other behind Giana’s back. The fact that she rarely realized always made it that much more fun.
Merrick rushed forward to hold the door open for her, his chest puffing out with pride as she thanked him and brushed her fingers up his arm. Fuck, this girl had no idea just how tightlyshe had us wrapped around her finger. We would do anything for her, and none of us had the sparkling morality that would get in the way if she wanted us to burn the world down for her.
She never would. Her heart was far too big to let anyone innocent get hurt. It was both a curse and part of the reason I loved her so much.
Merrick stomped up to the front desk, and Spade captured her other hand, a duffle bag full of cash in his other.
“Levi?” Merrick asked.
“Yes, you must be Merrick.” Levi clasped his hand in greeting. “I have all the paperwork in order, and we already grabbed the information of your guests in case there are any incidentals.”
He handed the stack of papers to Merrick, but he passed them to Giana. “Giana is the brains and the beauty. We’re just the muscle.”
Giana shook her head, a giggle slipping out as she took Levi’s offered hand.
“Well then, Giana, I have all the paperwork ready for you if you want to look it over. I’d much rather deal with you anyway.” His eyes scanned her with a far too friendly leer.
She quirked a brow. “Oh, really?” She hid her smirk as she took the papers. Merrick, Spade, and I all glared at Levi, who blanched at our combined ire.
“Umm, I’ll step into the back office and get the keys ready.” Levi scurried off, his metaphorical tail tucked firmly between his legs.
Giana reached for the pen and signed her name in a quick flourish. Spade thumped the bag onto the desk and opened it for her, earning him a kiss on his cheek as she counted out the stacks of cash.
Spade shot me a smug grin when Giana wasn’t looking, as he too sported a lip print on his cheek now. The asshole just hadto turn this into a game. Judging by the competitive glint in Merrick’s eyes, he wasn’t going to be the only one left out.
“Perfect.” Levi cleared his throat, breaking through the tense silence. “I’ll start handing out the keys, and I’ll call you if anything comes up.”
“Thank you.” Giana smiled back at him.
The moment his eyes softened, Spade bared his teeth like a dog seconds from attack as he grabbed the bag. Levi jolted out of his trance, his eyes widening as he took a step back.
“It’s not a problem; it’s our slow season anyway.” He straightened his tie, uncomfortably watching the door as if he were counting down the seconds until we filed out of here.
“Let’s go.” Giana chuckled. “We still have to speak with Francine before we make the next stop.”
Merrick rushed to the door, nearly running me over in his haste to get there first. He held the door open, motioning us through. A crease formed between Giana’s brows, but she didn’t argue as Spade went through first, and I gestured for her to go before me. We had a system after all. Giana was always in the middle, no matter what.
Merrick stopped her before she could step through the doorway and leaned down, offering her his cheek. Motherfucker. She huffed out a breath of amusement, catching onto the competitive game Spade started. She still pressed her lips to his cheek, leaving a faint lip imprint.
