Neil (The Uncompromising Series Book 2) (34 page)

“I’m sure his wife will appreciate that.” I gathered up the diaper bag.

“Wait. He’s married?” He pulled to the curb in front of my place.

Is, was, what did it matter? “For two years.”

“Whoa.” Tyler’s wide-eyed stare said it all. “I’m sorry, I assumed you and he…” He trailed off.

If I denied it, I was a liar. If I confirmed it, I was a shitty person. Marriage of convenience or not, adultery was adultery. “Thanks for the ride.”

Tyler unbuckled his seat belt. “Hold up, you’re not going upstairs without me checking it out first.”

I was tired and cranky and my heart had taken a beating. I didn’t want an escort, I wanted to retreat to my shitty apartment and curl up on my even shittier couch with my son. “It’s fine. There’s no one left to kidnap me.”

Tyler cringed at my sad attempt at humor. “I’m still checking it out. Luna will have my ass if I don’t and no offense, but I’m over front-desk duty. Keys.” He held his hand out.

“What are you gonna do? Shoot left-handed and hope for the best?”

“Ambidextrous, baby.” He wiggled the fingers on his good hand and winked.

I gave him my keys. “I’m sure that comes in handy.”

“You have no idea.” He grinned. “Wait here.”

He hopped out of the Escalade and my cell buzzed with a text.

NC: Tanner left something for you.

I shot off a response.

Me: I don’t want it

NC: It is for the boy.

I couldn’t help myself.

Me: Boy?

NC: Conner.

Me: Even more reason to throw it out. Goodbye Neil.

My cell rang.

Inhaling, I swept my finger across the display then held the phone to my ear but I didn’t speak.

“Luna let him walk.” I could tell from the slightly deeper tone of his rumble that this pissed him off.

“I didn’t ask.”

Pause.

“You called me Neil.”

“That’s your name.”

“Love is earned.”

The fact that I could switch gears with his brand of cryptic only made me more sad. “No, respect is earned. Love is from the heart and I don’t have to earn shit.”

“I was not referring to you. Make sure Luna’s man clears the apartment.”

“Christ,” I muttered. “Do you keep track of anyone’s name or is this whole disconnected bullshit on purpose? And don’t worry,
Tyler
handled it.” I purposely didn’t touch his love earned comment or the explanation of it.

“I know your name.”

“Yeah, I noticed you have no problem remembering women’s names.” Tyler came down the front stairs of my building.

“I would like you to move,” he stated formally, ignoring my jab.

I kept the unladylike sound back, barely. “I’m sure you’d like a lot of things.”

“What do you want?”

“What the hell kind of question is that?” I wanted my heart to not belong to a liar. I wanted Conner’s father to be a better person. I wanted to not have my life turned upside down.

“Exactly as I asked.”

“Fine. You want to know what I want? I want it all. The white picket fence, the big family, a college degree with my name on it.” I swallowed. “And I want it with a man who wants to be with me, who’s faithful and kisses me and tells me he loves me every goddamn day.”

Silence.

Of course. “I have to go.” I hung up.

Tyler opened my door. “All clear.”

I didn’t go to work the next morning. I called in sick, told the daycare Conner had a fever, then I took my son to the beach. I needed a reset. Or to move. Or to forget everything that’d happened in the last few weeks, but life wasn’t that easy.

“Keep the sun out of your eyes, baby.” I put Conner’s hat back on him for the tenth time and a shadow fell over my shoulder.

“He makes a mean sand castle.”

I hid my surprise at hearing Candle’s voice and moved closer to Conner. “What do you want?” Viking had said Candle wouldn’t be a problem for me anymore. Another lie.

Conner looked up and over my shoulder with the curiosity of a toddler.

A tattooed arm reached around me, fist first. “What’s up, little man?”

Conner giggled and fist-bumped Candle.

“Mind if I talk to your mama?” Candle squatted next to me but kept his gaze on Conner.

“I mind. Leave my kid out of it.”

Tank top, jeans, boots, no cut, Candle looked out across the sand to the ocean. “It’s been bugging me for two solid days.” He turned to me but I couldn’t see his eyes through his sunglasses. “Nothing bothers me that long.”

I didn’t bite. I helped Conner push sand in a pile and remained silent.

“I couldn’t figure out where your boyfriend unloaded my product. I checked everywhere but no one had them.” He picked up a handful of sand and let it slip through his fingers. “He paid me so he had to have sold them, but to who?”

“I’m not having this conversation in front of my son,” I warned.

“You think he hasn’t heard worse from your old man?”

I tried to keep my voice even. “Jason isn’t my old man.”

“Woman, he’ll always be your old man. Your kid’s got his name and his looks, nothing’s gonna change that.”

“You’re here, why?”

He looked right at me but he didn’t smile. “Gorgeous day out.”

“Speed it up.” He had something to say and he wasn’t going to leave until he said it.

His fingers made a circle pattern in the sand. “I don’t think your boyfriend sold my product at all.” His knuckle caught my chin and he dropped his voice to a sinister rumble. “He paid me off with his own goddamn money.”

I jerked out of his grasp. “I don’t know or care what he does.”

Candle ignored my half truth. “Now, why would he do that, sweet cheeks?”

“I give up. You tell me.”

“Unless he wants to hold something over me, there’s only one other reason a man bails a woman out of a tight bind.” He glanced at my tits then between my legs. “You that good?”

“You’re a piece of shit, Candle.”

“Shit,” Conner echoed.

Candle glanced at my son and laughed. “That’s right, little man, learn early. Women are all mouth.” Candle’s gaze drifted back to me and he fingered a strand of my hair. “Until you train them.”

“You done?” I didn’t dare show an ounce of fear.

“For now.” He rose to his full height. “But you tell your boyfriend, if he ever comes at me I’ll make sure the Feds know exactly what he paid me for. I won’t go down alone. That’s a promise.”

Boyfriend my ass. “He’s not my anything. You tell him.”

Candle bent at the waist, grasped a handful of my hair and brought his face an inch from mine. “Just so you know, if I had a hot piece of ass like you, I wouldn’t leave you alone on the beach.” He leered at my chest. “Especially not with those tits. Make sure you tell your
boyfriend
that too, word for word.” He winked.

“Release her.”

“Neil!” Conner grinned and threw his arms up.

Wearing black cargo pants, boots, and a T-shirt that was probably designer, Viking scooped my son up, sand and all, and leveled Candle with his stare. “You are in violation of our agreement. Second payment is dead.”

Candle straightened and smiled like Viking didn’t intimidate him in the least. “No, it’s not. You’ll pay to keep me quiet. Or?” He grinned wider. “I could tip off the cops. Let them know where to find two bodies. Could be her old man and his little whore, but who knows? I hear the bodies got cut up pretty bad.” Candle glanced innocently at me. “Any of your kitchen knives missing, sweetheart?”

My stomach bottomed out.

“Threatening her won’t save your life.” Measured, even, Viking’s tone may have been calm but there was no mistaking his threat.

Candle shrugged. “Give it your best shot. Never thought I’d live to old age anyway.” He grabbed my hair again and pulled me roughly against his leg. “Besides, I bet the cops would love to hear a story about me and her going at it behind her old man’s back.” He raised his sunglasses and one of his eyes was an ugly shade of purple. “And how rough she likes to get in the sack.” He chuckled and released me. “But don’t worry, sweet cheeks, I’ll tell them I love your kink, knife fetish and all.”

“No one’s ever going to believe your lies,” I spat out, furious.

Candle smirked. “Denial ain’t a river in Egypt, babe.”

Viking’s jaw ticked. “You are on borrowed time.”

“And you’re shit for cleaning up loose ends.” He tipped his chin. “Checkmate.”

Viking calmly handed Conner to me. “Go to your car, Ariella.”

Candle laughed. “Oh, now he’s getting real, sweet cheeks.”

I scrambled to shove the towel and the sand toys in my beach bag one-handed and keep Conner’s eyes off whatever was about to happen, but I was too late. The ATF agent, Olsen, was walking across the sand with two armed men behind him in tactical vests.

Panicked, I switched Conner from my hip to my front and pushed his head to my chest, face-first. It was a far as I got before Candle saw the agents.

“
Son of a bitch
.” Candle lunged. One hand went to his back waistband for his gun and the other came at my throat.

Viking was faster. He grabbed Candle’s hand as it closed around his gun and his other arm swung down hard and fast as his knee came up. Caught between the downward momentum of Viking’s arm and the upward thrust of his thigh, Candle’s arm snapped under the impact. Relentless, Viking twisted Candle’s hand behind his back until a pop sounded then he swung his elbow out and made a solid connection with Candle’s face. His nose cartilage cracked and blood spewed from his face.

The ATF agents were sprinting across the beach but Candle was already a bloody mess on the sand. It’d taken Viking less than three seconds to break his arm, snap his wrist and pound his face in.

“Kitchen knives,” I squeaked out, panicked.

His arms useless, his nose gushing blood, Candle swore and tried to shove to his feet from his knees.

Viking’s boot went to the back of Candle’s neck and he forced him facedown into the sand. His cold gray-blue gaze swung to me as Olsen came up behind him. “Say nothing,” he quietly warned.

Agent Olsen halted a foot from Candle. “This wasn’t our deal, Christensen. I needed him talking.”

“He is not dead. He will talk.” Viking took his foot off Candle’s neck as the two other agents ran up and reached for Candle.

Olsen turned to me. “Miss Walsh—”

Viking’s hand landed on my shoulder. “She and the child are leaving.”

Olsen frowned but Viking gave him a look and he nodded. “Fine. But I’ll need to question her later.”

“No.” Viking bit out the one word like he had all the power. “That was not part of our arrangement.”

The two agents looked up from helping Candle to his feet and eyed Viking nervously. Olsen sighed and tipped his chin at me. “Go.”

Viking squeezed my shoulder. “Give me one minute. I will walk you to your car.”

I wasn’t waiting for shit. I held my son tight to me so he couldn’t see Candle and I hauled ass to my SUV. I made it all the way across the sand and to where I’d parked and was unlocking my door when his voice crashed my escape.

“I said I would walk you to your car.”

Furious, scared, panicked that Jason was dead, I spun. “You’ll
walk
out of my life,” I hissed. “You’ve done enough damage.”

“He will not bother you again.”

“Stop lying!” I tried not to yell and failed. “You heard what he said!”

Conner’s eyes welled with tears. “Mama?”

“Ariella,” Viking warned.

“
Leave me alone
.”

Viking said something quietly in Danish to Conner but I was already yanking the back door open and buckling him in his car seat.

Not even glancing in Viking’s direction, I got behind the wheel, cranked over the engine that started right up and was pulling in front of my apartment building before I even realized I’d driven.

Digging my cell out of my bag, I dialed a number I hadn’t bothered calling in over a year. The voicemail immediately picked up and Jason’s voice filled my ear.

“Leave me a message, beautiful. I want to hear that sexy voice of yours.”

I choked on a sob. Jason had recorded that message three years ago when we were together and he’d never changed it.

And now he was dead.

Jason was dead
.

I buried my face in my hands and fucking fell apart.

Conner started wailing and my door opened.

“Turn off the engine,” Viking quietly commanded.

I cried harder. How did this happen? I’d wanted to kill Jason for what he’d done to me and Conner but I didn’t want him dead.
Oh God
.

Viking took Conner out of his seat then reached across me and pulled the keys from the ignition.

I cried because my heart hurt. I cried because Conner would never see his father again. I cried because I’d said Jason was dead to me. And I cried because nothing in this goddamn world was fair.

My seat belt released and spice and musk filled my head a second before a strong arm wrapped around my shoulders.

“Come.” Viking pulled me from my car.

I wanted time to fall back. I wanted to see the Jason who’d shown up at my apartment that fateful morning. I wanted to see his smile. If I’d known it was the last time I would see it, I would’ve smiled back. And I would’ve told him I forgave him. For everything. Now, I would never get the chance.