Page 29 of His Savage Bride
“Yeah,” Trenton drawls. “Just shooting the shit while you ladies have a chance to catch up. Maximo’s been sending some messages, but everything is fine on his end. You about ready to head out?”
“Almost.” I look around the hallway before turning to Mr. and Mrs. Neilan. “She was really sleepy, so she’s napping now. She mentioned that a detective came to get her statement last night. Did he mention leaving an officer?”
Mr. Neilan nods. “They said that we should call if we had any concerns at all, but that they didn’t think there was any further danger to Melissa. They thought…they said that you seemed to be the primary target. Mel just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“At least one of us is staying with her at all times, though,” Mrs. Neilan adds. “We’ll keep a good eye on her and make sure nothing happens to our little girl.”
“We’re glad to see that you have some security taking care of you,” Mr. Neilan says as he waves a hand at the men gathered around me.
“You boys take good care of her. She’s like a daughter to us as well,” Mrs. Neilan tells them.
“We will,” Trenton reassures her. “The police are probably right that there’s no threat to Melissa, but out of an abundance of caution I just made a phone call to an associate of mine, a guy named Jamie Nicolo. He’s going to have a couple of his boys come over and stand guard in shifts until Melissa gets released.”
“Jamie Nicolo.” I try to remember where I’ve heard that name before. “Isn’t he another one of the men Maximo called in to watch the mansion after…” I started to say, “after it was shot up,” but decided to keep that to myself rather than scare Mr. and Mrs. Neilan any further.
“He works under me,” Trenton says, sidestepping the question. “And he’s got a group of fellows that work under him. I’m not as confident as the police that no one will fuck with Melissa. Pardon my language,” he adds as an aside to her parents. “The people that tried to take you might think she’s a good way to get to you.”
“You don’t really think anyone would try to use Melissa to get to Constance, do you?” Mrs. Neilan gasps as Mr. Neilan’s brow furrows.
“I would, if it were me.” Trenton shrugs. “She’s a friend to Constance, and that makes her a friend to me. Tony, you stay here until Jamie’s crew gets here. I’ll have them bring two cars, so you’ll have a ride home. Sound good?”
“I’ve got it covered,” Tony agrees. “I won’t budge from this door until I get relieved.”
Trenton pats his arm. “I doubt there will be any trouble here, but I’m not taking any chances.”
Joey snorts and shakes his head but doesn’t say anything.
“What’s that about?” I ask him directly.
“Trenton just likes her,” Joey replies, jerking his head toward the door to Melissa’s room.
“That’s none of your fucking business,” Trenton practically snarls. “I don’t like loose ends or taking unnecessary risks. That all right with you?” he presses Joey.
Joey holds up both his hands with just a hint of a mocking grin but doesn’t actually apologize.
“You’re a mouthy bastard for a guy who rarely talks,” Trenton huffs at him before turning back to Melissa’s parents. “If you guys need anything, just have Melissa let Constance know. We’ll take care of anything she needs.”
“Thank you, Trenton,” Mrs. Neilan says as Mr. Neilan holds out his hand and shakes Trenton’s. “And you, Connie…” She turns her attention to me and gathers me into a hug. “Thank you for coming. Your friendship means the world to her. You were all she talked about last night.”
“Take care of yourself,” Mr. Neilan tells me as he sticks out his hand to shake mine as well. “If you need anything, text Melissa to let us know, you understand?” He gives a meaningful look to the men with me. “I know this Maximo Luciani that you’ve taken up with. From everything I’ve heard, he’s an upstanding businessman and a class act. But I don’t know about all the company he keeps.”
With that pronouncement, Melissa’s parents walk back into her room and close the door behind them. Tony takes up a position with his arms crossed in front of him just beside the door, looking for all the world like a bouncer outside a high-class nightclub. Trenton backhands Joey lightly on his arm and then turns to address me.
“You ready to head out? Maximo should be done with his meetings soon. We can pick him up and then figure out dinner.”
“That sounds good. Thank you for setting up a guard for Melissa. It should have occurred to me to ask Maximo about that last night, but with everything going on…”
“Don’t beat yourself up.” Trenton laughs. “The cops dropped the ball, and Maximo has a lot of help keeping things running. Nobody thinks of everything on their own. I’m here to help you, too.”
“You sure this isn’t just because you like her?” I tease him.
“That’s part of it,” he freely admits. “Maybe I’m a big softie where women are concerned. Or maybe it’s like I said, and if I was trying to get to you, I would go after your friend. Maximo seems to think that kidnapping you was to get to him, but I’m not so sure. If you ask me, it’s you they’re after, and you that they want to hurt.”
“You might be right.” I shrug. “It’s six of one and half a dozen of the other, though, isn’t it? Whether they’re after me or Maximo, hurting one of us hurts us both.”
“Yeah, which is why we need to get back to the office and pick him up. I’m sure he’s safe there, but I’ll feel better when I can keep my eyes on both of you at the same time. Come on, let’s go,” he adds as we get to the elevators and he hits the button to summon it to our floor.
I can feel his paranoia seeping into me as we wait for the elevator doors to open. Joey and Trenton move to stand in front of me when it dings and arrives at our floor, as though they’re worried an ambush might spring out at us.
