Page 16 of Catch Me
“Ok Abrams, give me your best recruiting pitch. But I can tell you right now, there better be a fantastic benefits package or I’m out. Don’t try to bullshit me on this one.”
He grinned and once more I was reminded of a predator baring its teeth. “I don’t think you’ll have an issue with the benefits, Ms. Kelly. In-fact, I think you’ll find we have an excellent dental plan.”
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Hannah
Michael and Rue were once again waiting for me when I arrived back at the penthouse after my meeting with Abrams.
I cringed when I walked into the living room and interrupted what was obviously a heated discussion between them. Michael had his typical scowl settled over his features, his dark eyes locked onto Rue with a burning intensity that was simultaneously full of heat and frustration. Rue was standing a few feet away with her hands on her hips as she leaned in towards him with a matching scowl and stubborn set of her jaw. I glanced between the two of them and wondered for a split second if there was a possibility they’d be too distracted to notice me sneaking past them, but as if they were one, both of their angry stares transferred to me and I had to fight the feeling that I was a teen caught coming in from a late night party.
I held up the bag of greasy street tacos I’d picked up on the way home. “Did you guys eat yet? I got tacos.”
Rue just blinked, her liquid gold eyes flashing for a brief second. Michael stiffened, glancing at the paper bag and then back to me before he turned to Rue and gave her a look in that silent way they communicated that said, “You handle her because I might kill her.” Before he stomped off to the kitchen and began rummaging around.
I glanced over my shoulder at him and then back to Rue. “Does he have something against tacos? A personal vendetta, maybe?”
Rue’s eyes narrowed in his direction and then shook her head. “No. He’s just doing the typical male thing where he doesn’t know how to process his frustrations, so he’s just going to grunt and break things.” At her words, a pan slammed hard down on the counter and I flinched, but Rue just snarled in his direction. “Someone hasn’t learned that not every problem can be solved by killing someone.”
I observed Rue as she glared at him while he moved around the kitchen, taking down plates, utensils and condiments for our tacos.
Moving to stand next to her, I pitched my voice low, but not low enough that Michael wouldn’t have heard me if he chose to pay attention. “Have you tried a blow-job?”
“What?!” Rue sputtered and Michael stilled for a moment before continuing to set up the kitchen island for our late night dinner, but I noticed he moved a little slower and quieter. I shrugged and held the taco bag out to her.
“Well, it’s just my experience that if a man’s bad mood can’t be solved with food, then a blow job will do the trick. And based on the ‘murder anything that moves’ vibes that he’s projecting, I’m going to guess that you’re way beyond the food stages. Man is definitely backed up.”
Rue’s jaw hung open as she looked at me like I’d just grown two heads, but then she took the bag of tacos from me, muttering, “There’s no way that’s a thing….” Then trailed off into unintelligible French before moving toward the kitchen island and setting it down. But I didn’t miss the heated and curious way she snuck looks at Michael as he prepared a homemade guacamole with the ingredients he’d taken out of the fridge.
I pulled out a stool and sat next to Rue as she took out the tacos and portioned them out to the three of us. For a moment, I felt a sense of peace, like this was just a normal evening meal shared with friends. As if all the worries and the heavy weight of the information I’d gathered tonight were a problem for some other person and some other lifetime. But then Rue pinned me with a pointed glare. “You know you’re being hunted by two international criminal organizations, right?”
I took a bite out of my taco and groaned. There was nothing on this earth that tasted better than a fried to perfection tortilla stuffed with flavor explosions of carne asada and pico. I realized I’d gotten lost in the taste when I opened my eyes from my blissed out state to see both Michael and Rue glaring at me.
Reluctantly, I set the taco down on the plate Michael shoved under me and sighed. “Yeah, I know. But before you say anything, I was careful. I had to meet someone who could get me the info I needed. And I can guarantee you they would have made sure I wasn’t watched or followed.”
Michael arched a brow and scoffed, “Hannah, they caught you outside of our safe house. What makes you think they wouldn’t have been able to follow you from here or back?”
I smiled, “Because the person I was meeting just happened to be Jonathan Abrams, and if the head enforcer of the Enigma group can’t keep a tail off my ass for a couple of hours, then I’m not sure I want to consider his proposal.”
Rue pulled the guacamole to her and began to pile it on her plate next to a handful of tortilla chips. “What proposal? You mean joining the Enigma team?”
I nodded and took another bite, swallowing before I answered. “Yes, partly. But before we talk about that, I need to know what Michael’s familia is willing to do about the hit on me. Did you get a chance to talk to them?”
Michael crossed his arms across his massive chest, looking for all the world like the Italian version of the incredible hulk and nodded. “It’s complicated, but I think we’ve managed to work out an agreement. The fact that you have evidence that could put José Hildago in federal prison didn’t help.”
“What? But I thought they would want him out of the way!” I straightened in my stool, worry clawing at me. My plan hinged on Michael’s familia and the other criminal syndicates backing off just long enough to allow me to have room to breathe.
“They do. They just also don’t want him spilling any information in a plea deal that could see them ending up in the cells next to him.” Michael finally seemed to relax and inhaled the tacos in one bite. I tried not to pout when he grabbed the last one, but I couldn’t complain since I’d eaten six myself.
“So what’s their solution, then? I don’t care if they want to go after José for other reasons. I just need them to back off me for a while so I can handle what I need to.”
Rue turned to me, “And what, exactly, do you need to handle?”
I gave her a cheeky grin and winked. “It’s a secret.”
She frowned. “Hannah, this is serious. You’re taking a lot of risks right now. Do you really think it’s smart to leave the people who can help you out of the loop?”
I reached out to grab her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Rue, I promise I’m not doing this intentionally, but right now, it’s best that you don’t know what’s happening. I’ll fill you both in when the time is right. But for now, I need you to trust me.” My eyes pleaded with her. Her words from the other night about trust echoed through my mind. I needed her to have that trust in me now.
