“YOU WERE ALREADY SUPPOSED TO be on the Cobalt.” Neil’s voice had zero intonation as he walked into his house, but he was still giving me shit. I knew him enough to know when he was pissed off.
I glanced down into the garage before he shut the door, and saw one of his supply trucks backed up to the house. “We were on our way when you showed up.” The bedroom door upstairs opened, and I looked up the stairs before turning back to Neil. “What are you doing here?”
He leveled me with a look. “You smell like sex, and the woman is coming out of my bedroom.”
“Watch it,” I warned.
His colorless blue eyes sized me up in a fraction of a second. “Love is not an excuse for stupidity.”
“Jesucristo.” My nostrils flared. “Don’t pretend you know what this is.” I didn’t know if I was more pissed off at him for saying that word, or myself for ever looking up to him because I’d stupidly thought he was always fucking right.
“I pretend nothing.”
I couldn’t accuse him of lying, because he was painfully fucking honest. “Why are you here?” Neil didn’t do anything that didn’t have a purpose.
“Retrieving the crates.” He looked over my shoulder and tipped his chin.
“The crates are here?”
“Company,” he quietly warned.
I spun and my heart fucking skipped. Barefoot, in a short, tight, sleeveless black dress, her hair the right kind of messy, she took my fucking breath away. “Kendall, you remember Neil.”
She didn’t even look at me as she dumped our backpack on the couch. “Viking.” She said his name sarcastically. “Let me guess, you’re here on a rescue mission.”
Neil didn’t miss a beat. “You have not changed.”
“Lucky for you.” She strode to the fridge and gave us an eyeful of her perfect ass as she bent to grab a bottle of water.
Internally groaning, I tore my gaze away and glanced at Neil. “Outside. I need to talk to you.”
Kendall smirked. “Don’t leave on my account.”
I was reaching for the door handle to the garage when the sound of bikes coming down the driveway filled the kitchen. “Mierda.” I grabbed the backpack and pulled a baseball hat out. “Chica,” I barked. “Go out the back and get in the Cobalt. You know how to start a boat?”
She casually drank her water as the bikes got closer. Then she shrugged like she wasn’t in grave fucking danger. “It’s an engine, you put a key in. How hard can it be?”
I shoved the hat on her head, took her water and handed her the backpack. “Start it up and keep her at a low throttle. If you hear shots fired, undo the tie-downs, and head out southeast until you’re in open waters. If I don’t call you within thirty minutes, call Talerco. Go.” I gave her the Cobalt’s key, and her SIM card from my pocket. “Only put the SIM back in your phone if you have to use it.”
She didn’t say shit, but she took the key and sim card and went toward the sliders to the back porch.
Neil glanced out the kitchen window, then issued me a command. “Go with her.”
I went to the closet off the kitchen where he kept his gun safe and opened it. Ten seconds later, the familiar weight of a rifle in my hands, I set another rifle on the counter for him, but I didn’t go near the windows. “How many and how far out?” I didn’t want to fucking argue with Christensen, but I was more effective behind a scope.
“Three.” He didn’t move. “Now four. Ten seconds. You are out of time. Leave.”
I ran to the sliders to make sure Kendall made it to the Cobalt. She was already at the helm with the water churning behind the boat as she fired up the engines. “I’m not leaving yet.” I ran in a crouch to the dining room window, slid it open a crack, then leveled my aim as four LCs drove around the last bend in the driveway.
Goddamn it. “The two bikers in front saw me and Kendall an hour ago.”
Neil picked up the rifle and voiced what I was thinking. “One of us was followed.”
“I lost them in Homestead. You were tailed.”
Neil checked the magazine. “Or you did not watch for a second tail. Either way they are here.” He spared me a quick glance. “Go with the girl. I will handle this.”
“We will handle this,” I corrected as the assholes parked in front of the truck to block it in. “You remember the signal?”
“Ja.” He tipped his chin twice, giving me the signal we’d used since Afghanistan.
I sighted the assholes as they slowly walked toward the garage, looking cagey as fuck. “I’ve got the three in back, you take the one in front.”
“Wait for the signal.” Neil left through the kitchen, but he didn’t pull the door all the way shut, so I could hear the conversation.
My aim was on the three bikers in back as Neil walked out of the garage, his rifle resting on his shoulder like he was Tom fucking Sawyer.
“Private property,” he warned the LCs.
The front biker moved his hand to a 9mm resting in a belt holster. “We’re looking for a friend of yours.”
“You are trespassing.” Neil swung the rifle off his shoulder, his hand already on the trigger. “You have a choice to make.”
The third and fourth bikers pulled their weapons and aimed at Neil as the second biker stepped up alongside the first.
The front biker chuckled. “The way I see it?” He glanced at his buddies before looking back at Neil and smirking. “You’re outnumbered.”
“I am always outnumbered. That does not mean you will not die. You have five seconds to get off my property.”
Bold as fuck, the front biker took a step toward Neil and sealed his fate. “You give us Luna or you—”
The butt of Neil’s rifle slammed into the asshole’s face as Neil swept his foot out, hooked his leg, and yanked. The asshole crumpled to the ground with a broken nose and who the fuck knew what else, but not before Neil had taken his sidearm. Already shoving the muzzle of his rifle into the next biker’s temple, Neil aimed the unconscious biker’s handgun at the other two assholes.
“Do you know what will happen if either of you shoot me?” Neil calmly asked the third and fourth bikers.
“You’ll fucking die,” the third biker answered.
“Don’t shoot.” The second biker held his hands up.
Neil ignored him and addressed the third biker. “Then why have you not pulled the trigger?”
“What the fuck, dude?” The fourth biker shifted nervously. “We just wanna talk to André Luna.”
“We saw that rice rocket earlier.” The biker with Neil’s rifle to his temple pointed at my Ducati in the garage. “We know he’s here.”
The asshole on the ground twitched like he was coming to.
I waited with my finger on the trigger as the sound of another approaching motorcycle grew louder.
“You are wasting my time.” Neil raised his aim, but he didn’t tip his chin.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” The fourth biker dropped his aim and held one hand up as a bike came around the last bend in the driveway.
Talon pulled his Aprilia up next to Neil and cut the engine. Taking his helmet off, he smiled like a pig in shit. “What’s up, Vikin’?” He glanced at the LCs. “Ladies.” He chuckled and tipped his chin at Neil. “Y’all start the fun without me?” He got off his bike.
The third LC aimed at Talon. “Who the fuck are you?”
“It’s not me you should be worryin’ ’bout,” he drawled. “Did you know Vikin’ here and your prez are tight?” He clapped Neil’s shoulder. “Yep, him and Stone go way back.” Talon glanced at Neil and grinned. “Tell ’em, Vikin’.”
Neil shoved the LC on the ground’s 9mm in his waistband and pulled his phone out. Without a word, he dialed a number and put the phone on speaker.
The president of the LCMCs, Stone Hawkins, answered on the first ring. “Neil Christensen,” he said dryly. “What’s up?”
“Four of your men are trespassing on my property,” Neil stated.
Stone exhaled. “Which property.”
“Key Largo.”
“I’ll handle it. Thanks for letting me know.”
“Handle it now,” Neil demanded. “You are on speaker.”
“Who’s there?” Stone barked.
The second LC spoke up first. “Prez, it’s Stripe. Me and Deacon saw Luna on his Ducati. Now it’s parked in this guy’s garage.”
“He has the River Ranch bitch,” the fourth biker interrupted.
“Joey?” Stone asked. “Is that you?”
“Yeah,” the fourth biker answered, glaring at Neil. “And your friend’s holding Spike at gunpoint.”
“You’re lucky you’re all still breathing,” Stone said wearily.
Talon chuckled.
“I don’t care who’s with Christensen,” Stone continued. “Get off his property.”
“Prez,” Joey protested. “You said—”
“Leave. Now,” Stone barked. “Neil, call me if they aren’t gone in two minutes.” Stone hung up.
“Well, ladies, you heard your prez.” Dropping his smile and jovial tone, Talon drew his piece and aimed at Joey. “Get the fuck out.”
Neil stepped back from the biker he was holding at gunpoint, but he didn’t drop his aim. The third biker helped the asshole on the ground up and half carried him to his bike.
Joey sneered at Neil as he walked backward, weapon still trained. “This ain’t over, asshole.” He got on his bike. “You may think you got an in with Prez, but that bitch and Candle are going down.” He started his bike and took off. The other three followed.
I eased back and exhaled.