Page 20 of His Savage Bride
“Exactly.” Maximo smiles at me and then reaches over to squeeze my knee. “Trenton has some contacts with this group called the Savage Kings. They’re the biggest biker gang on the east coast. I’m hopeful that they’ll recognize the little bastard that was following you and that they’ll be able to invite him to speak with us directly.”
“I’ve heard of the Savage Kings. Those guys live up to their names. From what I remember, they’re into all kinds of dirty business. Are you sure they’re the best ones to bring in on something like this?” I realize while I’m speaking that Maximo and Trenton are grinning at each other past me, and I look from one to the other before asking, “What’s so funny?”
“They are into all kinds of dirty business,” Maximo agrees. “Which is why they’re perfect for what we need.”
“I’ve worked with a few of them before,” Trenton adds. “Think of them as independent contractors. Luciani Financial has engaged their services in the past to help with several…let’s call them security issues.”
“Don’t worry about them,” Maximo says with another squeeze of my leg. “I’ll deal with them and make all the arrangements. You won’t even have to see them.”
“I’m not scared of a bunch of bikers.” I roll my eyes at him. “I just don’t know how reliable a group like that could be.”
“They’re smarter than you would expect,” Trenton says. “They have pretty strict membership standards. In fact, the way they set up their club isn’t all that different from how our family is arranged.”
Maximo’s phone rings, interrupting the conversation. He glances down at the screen, then holds up his hand motioning everyone to silence. Joey reaches over and kills the power to the radio, even though it had been set so low I couldn’t hear it.
“This is Maximo,” he says as he puts the phone to his ear.
In the silence, I strain my ears to try and hear the conversation. “Maximo, this is Salvatore. I need to meet with you ASAP. A situation has arisen.”
“We’ve had a situation of our own over here that you may have heard about,” Maximo replies cautiously. “Involving your former associates, the Volkovs. Does your urgent matter concern them as well?”
“It does,” Salvatore agrees. “I fear that there will be more issues with them, which is why I hope we can set a meeting.”
“Given your prior relationship with them, and our…current ongoing issues, I’m only willing to meet at my office. If you’re able to come into town and let my security check you, then we can meet this afternoon.”
“That’s acceptable,” Salvatore replies. “I don’t blame you for being cautious. I wish that I had been more so, myself. May I meet you there at, say, two this afternoon?”
“I’ll be there,” Maximo tells him. “See you soon, Salvatore.”
“Thank you, Maximo.”
“What do you think that’s about?” I ask Maximo as soon as I see him disconnect the call.
“I don’t know, but it must be serious if Salvatore is reaching out to me. Given the timing, it has to be something involving Irina Volkov.”
“Maybe she’s after Salvatore, too,” Trenton suggests. “She might blame him since he was involved in handing Kirill over to you.”
“That would make sense,” Maximo agrees. “We’ll know for certain soon enough.”
Joey glances back at us in the rearview mirror, then reaches over to turn the radio back on. This time he turns it up enough that I can hear Judas Priest’s “Painkiller” coming through the speakers. We ride along in relative silence, listening to the radio for several miles while Maximo answers emails on his phone. Ican’t help casting jealous glances at the device, wishing I still had mine.
We’re crossing the bridge into the city when Maximo’s phone dings with a new text message. I glance over eagerly and he holds the phone where I can see it when he reads the preview that it’s from Melissa. “Here you go. It appears your friend is out of surgery,” he comments as he hands the device over to me.
Hi, Connie. I just got back from recovery and got put in my room. I’m not sure what the room number is. My parents should be up soon, and they can let me know. Everything went fine and I feel about as well as you’d expect. My eye is swollen shut and I bet I look a mess. If you want to come by, I’d like to see you and make sure you’re ok.
I type out a reply immediately.I’ll be there this afternoon! Don’t worry, I can ask at the front desk what room you’re in. I’ll see you soon! Is there anything I can bring you?
I’m fine,she texts back.My parents are bringing me my coffee and I’m not really up for eating anything yet. Maybe we can order something later. Can’t wait to see you.
“She sounds like she’s doing pretty good.” I sigh in relief as I hand the phone back to Maximo. “If you’ve got meetings at noon and two this afternoon, can we go to the hospital afterward?”
“Joey, drop me off at the office,” Maximo orders as he reaches up and taps the man on the shoulder. “Then you three can escort Constance over to the hospital. Stay with her and keep her safe. I’ll deal with the meetings so you can go ahead and check on your friend.”
“Will you be okay meeting the Kings without me?” Trenton asks.
“I appreciate you setting it up, but I’ll be fine,” Maximo reassures him. “I’ve dealt with rougher men. They aren’t going to cause any trouble while we’re discussing making them money. As far as Salvatore, it’s best if I deal with him myself until weknow just how sensitive whatever situation he’s dealing with might actually be.”
I can’t help but feel like Maximo is relieved to be able to send me off to the hospital. “Will you tell me how everything goes afterward?” I ask him, trying to gauge if I’m right.
