Page 31 of Rowe

“Are you nuts? It will ruin the rims.”

“That’s a shame,” said Beaux. “But Alvin doesn’t like the smell of your car and neither do Mabel and Hank.”

Rossi stared at them. He knew the man with the gun was behind him and those two were on the porch. So, who in the fucking hell was Alvin, Mabel, and Hank.

The soft Jurassic growl at his feet told him who they were.

He pissed his pants. He actually pissed his pants. The gator hissed at him, opening his mouth and taking a step forward. Rossi hated himself for it, but he actually screamed like a little girl. The two men on the porch raised their brows at him in surprise.

Mabel and Hank took that moment to climb across the hood of the car, scratching paint, denting the hood as they moved their massive bodies toward the windshield. Hank turned, lifted his enormous tail, and slammed it down on the glass. The cracking, shattering sound nearly made Rossi cry.

“Ohhh, ouch,” said Beaux. “That is gonna cost some dough to fix. Sorry about that.”

“You’re all fucking crazy! And you’re dead! All of you are dead!”

He pushed back and got back into his car, turning to get out of the parking lot. He looked to see if he could identify the third man, but he saw no one. Nothing was there except the dinosaurs and the two men on the porch.

He looked again and gasped. Two men on the porch and a nine-millimeter hanging in mid-air.

They heard the horrible sounds of rims crunching on concrete as he drove away. Jethro stepped from around the corner and smiled at Beaux and Tucker. The three men grinned where the weapon was hanging.

“Good to have you on the team again, Grip. You always were the best.”

“Thanks for the tire work, Jethro,” smirked Beaux.

“Not a problem at all. That car is a fucking mess now,” he laughed.

“Oh, just wait,” said Tucker. “Left him a little surprise in his po’boy. That man is gonna be shittin’ himself all the way home.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Rowe listened as the men told the table about Rossi and his disastrous visit. They were careful to watch the expression on Mara’s face, everyone ensuring she was safe.

She’d done well at dinner, eating a bowl of gumbo and several slices of bread. Her appetite hadn’t completely returned but it was a work in progress.

“He’ll be really angry now,” she said shaking her head. “I could hear the venom in that man’s voice at the house. They were so angry with me that I’d been there early. I should have left.”

“You can’t think about what you should have done, Mara. Our men are trained, all of them,” said Gator. “We’ve all been first responders, Special Forces or other military members.”

Mike walked toward the table with a big grin on his face.

“Your boys follow him?” asked Ham.

“Yep,” he laughed. “Rocco and Wilder followed a good distance back until he got to a fuel station. Just as the tow truck pulled up, it hit him. That man ran so fast to the bathroom it was a sight to see.”

The men burst into laughter, but Mara just stared at them.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

“We might have sprinkled a little something extra on Mr. Rossi’s po’boy,” smirked Beaux. “He won’t be eating at The General Store again any time soon.”

“Oh, it was wonderful,” laughed Mike. “Boys took a video of him running. The garage manager and tow truck driver were pounding on the bathroom door, asking if he needed an ambulance. Bastard actually asked if there was one downriver.”

“What did they say?” asked Ham.

“What they knew to say. Closest hospital was in New Orleans. They followed until the mansion in the Garden District. Sent you boys the address. He could barely climb the steps when he got home. Five-hundred-thousand-dollar car ruined, beautifully done by Alvin, Hank, and Mabel by the way. His asshole won’t be okay for a few days. That gives you time to figure out the next step.”

As the men chuckled, laughing at the videos, Mara’s face paled and she tried to stand.