Beautiful Bounty (The Bounty Hunters: The Marino Bros. Book 1) (27 page)

Despite his infidelity, she had begun to really care for him. No, she had fallen for him. So that part of the nightmare would remain with her for a long time.  It would take her a very, very long time to forget him, and an even longer time to ever be able to trust a man again. Her heart hurt.  He said he might help, and that she took as a good sign.  Her words had sunk in. Yes, it was just a maybe, but it was a start. She would continue to work on him in the hotel, tell him her plan. He could help her tweak it, and they all would be out from under this mess. His agreeing and his frustrated sighs, told her all she needed to know. He too wanted to move on, and put this and her behind him.

***

Inside his hotel room, Nikko flicked on the interior lights, and ushered Ronnie in before him.  This room was not as nice as the one he had in Spring Hill.  It was a simple, typical hotel room.  She heard the door, shut behind her with a soft click.  She turned to him, and was about to speak, but the fury she saw there stopped her cold.

“What?” she muttered.  He remained mute.  He just looked at her strangely for a moment more. She stared at him with her mouth open.

“Don’t say anything,” he cautioned.  He was at the end of his proverbial rope.

She closed her mouth. It was suddenly dry.

He took two steps and stood beside her.  She trembled at the anger she saw.  She felt his hand at the button on her jeans.  He pulled the material away and she felt the waistband release.  She was too dumbfounded to speak.  What was he thinking? She felt a downward tug and then heard the zipper.

“What?” she whispered clearly not expecting this.

“Say nothing,” he repeated, eyes boring into hers, smoldering. He pulled her jeans down around her hips, and then she felt the cold air of the room on her exposed flesh.  She stood silently, waiting.  What was he thinking? He wanted to fuck? She was shocked into silence by her body’s traitorous reaction to him.

He took a step back, and then looked her up and down, blue eyes on fire, molten.  She swallowed several times.  She felt the excitement begin to build.

He began to walk behind her, and she felt his hands at her waist, as he gently pulled her back towards the bed.

If she had to sleep with him one more time, she thought, she would do it.  In the intensity of the moment her heart raced.  She felt Nikko sink to the bed behind her, and then before her mind could make sense of what was happening, he hauled her to him. She was over his knees and he had panties down, and without warning, he struck. He was spanking her.  Hard!
He had meant it.

“Ow,” she yelled.

“Don’t scream,” he threatened.  “And, that was for drugging me,” he breathed.  She began to struggle.

“Oh, no you don’t,” she cried out after the initial shock from the first strike had passed. His arm lay over her back like iron pinning her to him.

Whack, came his hand again. “That was for the barbecue sauce.”

“Ouch, Nikko, please,” she begged as her other ass cheek flamed from the intensity of the slap he gave her. She continued to struggle, but kept her voice down despite the pain and humiliation.

Whack!  “That was for stealing my car,” he breathed as she cried out his name softly begging him to stop. The force of the blow took her air for a moment.

Again, his hand descended.  “This was for making me worry.”  She gasped and cried and took it.

Whack! “This is because I care god dammit,” and he hit her again with all the ferocity he thought she could handle.  Her cheeks were on fire. She jumped each time he hit her, and by the sixth and final strike, she was crying and lay in a heap over his legs.

He slowly turned her over, and the tears he saw there were genuine.  “Look at me, Ronnie,” he whispered softly, brushing the hair out of her face.  She looked at him sadly, the tears streaking down her beautiful face.  His eyes lost their anger, she noticed even though she couldn’t meet his gaze for long. His tone softened. “Ronnie. You deserved that.”  She sniffled and nodded.

She couldn’t look at him still. She did. She knew it. His hand began to stroke her back, and still she could not meet his eyes. Guilt overwhelmed her. But when his lips brushed her shoulder, she turned and saw something strange and startling there in his eyes. She couldn’t look away if she tried.

“And that was because I fucking love you, Ronnie. God help me, but I do.  I came because of that, and I was scared to death you were going to get hurt.  Not for my brothers, not for the money. I came because the woman I love was putting herself in danger.” He saw her eyes go from pain to shock to surprise.  He had one more thing to say. “Ronnie, baby, please believe me. I never slept with that woman.”

She saw stark, bleak desperation in his eyes. Could it be? Ronnie ran the gamut of emotions. His words. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  She saw his eyes, and more than his words, she saw the honesty there. Suddenly, she didn’t feel the pain his hand evoked, and she reached her hand up to touch his face, as a single tear formed in his eye.  She swallowed. He watched her.

“I . . . believe you,” she whispered. She did. But she couldn’t find the words to express what she was feeling. Her shock was just that great.

His lips descended and the kiss they shared said it all. Ronnie grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down with her to the bed.  This time what they did wasn’t fast, and even though it felt like their time was running out, he wanted to show her with more than words just how much he loved her.  And she let him.

***

An hour later, Nikko was on the phone with one extremely pissed off angry Marino.  Ronnie could hear Andreas pitching a huge ass fit through the receiver.

“You fucking bring her to Florida, now!” Andreas screamed into his phone.

“Andy,” Nikko started trying to explain again what happened and what they wanted to do.

“Don’t fucking Andy me,” he yelled.  “Don’t screw this up.”

“I’ll bring her back. But there were no flights tonight.  We couldn’t make the last one. I just need twenty-four hours. This plan will work. I know it will.”

His brother was lost, Andreas thought.  Andreas raked his hands through his jet black hair trying to calm the fuck down.  He was in complete shock. His brother woke him up to tell him he and Ronnie had gone to Maine.  They wanted to set up this Gary, and get a confession out of him. 
What the hell were they thinking?

His baby brother then tells him, he loves the girl. 
Holy fuck?
  What a way to wake up!  Blond hair, big boobs, and the kiddo thought he was in fucking love. He knew he wouldn’t be able to talk his brother out of it. And here he was in Florida over a thousand miles away. He knew his screaming wasn’t going to change Nikko’s mind either. He was a man, and not the boy he once could boss around. And Andreas had to admit, his plan was okay, but hell, he didn’t want his brother to get in over his head with no back up. But, still.  He should have included him from the get go. 
In love?
  He shook his head to clear it.  His brother was still rambling about the merits of the plan.  He was going on about her possibly going to jail.  He could hear it in the kid’s voice.  He did fucking love her.  That was what shocked him the most.  Yup, he knew there would be no talking him out of it.

He finally relented.  “Okay. Okay!” He sighed into the phone glancing at the clock, and thinking of all that had to be done.  “Just don’t do anything till I get there, you hear me, you stupid ass,” he threatened.

“What?” Nikko stammered unsure of what his brother meant.

“If you stupid morons who think you’re in love after a few weeks are going to do this, then you are going to have back up.” Andreas sighed.

“What?” Nikko was at a loss.  “Back up?”

“I’m renting a plane first thing in the morning, and I’m bringing Blaze and Gio. I don’t want you two going halfcocked on this thing. If it’s gotta be done, it’s getting done right,” he exclaimed, rubbing his temple with his free hand. 
His baby brother was in fucking love. Fuck this shit!

“Hey, I can handle it,” Nikko added defensively.

Yeah right.
  When love gets in the way you make mistakes, he thought to himself. But he kept those thoughts to himself.  “Yeah, small potatoes. But I’d rather be there when this shit goes down.  Just in case.  We ought to be there by noon, hopefully earlier. Think you can sit on her for that long,” he added sarcastically. He was sure the love birds wouldn’t be doing much sitting.

“Yeah, but . . .” Nikko trailed, glancing back to Ronnie and shrugging his shoulders.  She heard everything so he didn’t have to repeat it.

She nodded her approval. Might as well have more help, she thought.  It couldn’t hurt.

“No God damn buts,” Andreas interrupted. “You wait for me. Got it?”

“Yes, I got it,” Nikko answered. He knew that tone from Andreas. He would wait for back up. He shut the phone and turned to Ronnie.  His brother had already hung up.  He knew he could have handled it, but the idea of using Ronnie as bait, well, it just made him more comfortable to know they’d have more back up . . . for her.

“Ronnie, you okay with waiting?” he asked sitting next to her.

One more day, she thought and this would all be over.  Too emotional to speak, she nodded silently. At least they would have tonight, and he leaned down for a kiss.  And again, they made love, him showing her and telling her again and again just how precious she was to him. But despite it all, she couldn’t find the nerve, or the courage to say it back. 
Not yet. Not now.

Nikko winced sympathetically when he turned to face Ronnie. He’d just gotten off the phone with his brother. Andreas called back to let Nikko know their flight would be arriving at early in the morning. He also informed him they were renting a vehicle in Bangor, and then they would make a pit stop at a friend of a friend of Gio’s who lived in the area to get some supplies, and would then proceed to their location. Andreas still hadn’t sounded happy on the phone, but he was pleased they’d waited and hadn’t gone off half-cocked on their own. He again reminded them to wait for his arrival.

“What did he say?” she asked.  “I mean I’m sure I heard most of it, but is there anything I missed. Does this change anything?” she asked, suddenly nervous.

It was nearly midnight and he and Ronnie talked more about other things.  Nikko admitted he loved her, repeating it often during their two love making sessions.  He also reiterated his promise to help her.  This would be over soon. They would all come up with a fool proof plan together. But, she didn’t know if she could trust his brothers. What if it was just a ruse to make them wait and then they would nab her and bring her in. She was nervous, and didn’t know who to trust anymore. Even Nikko.

Nikko watched the play of emotions across Ronnie’s face. The woman he loved. The woman who had yet to admit her feelings to him. That worried him a little, but he did know she’d been through a great deal in the last twenty four to forty eight hours. He hated to admit to himself he’d like to hear the words, but he knew she cared, was definitely jealous, if he was reading the barbecue sauce incident correctly, and he was pretty sure it couldn’t mean anything else. He just had to keep reassuring her.

He walked over to her as she dressed after making love. “Obviously, he still wants us to sit tight. They will be here early, so we have tonight to tweak this plan of ours.” He saw the doubt. He pulled her to him, holding her, and looking down into her eyes, he spoke. “Ronnie, I told my brother I loved you. He will keep his word.”

She licked her lips and he was sorely tempted to kiss her again, make love to her. “Are you sure? He won’t just turn me in?”

He saw the fear wash over her. “No, baby, he won’t. My brother is a man of his word if he is anything. He may be harsh, and gruff. He’s got reason to be, but he is all about family. I love you and that means your family now too, Ronnie.”

She lay her head against his chest and let out a small sigh of relief. He felt her relax, but still she didn’t say the words back.

Time. Time, he told himself. She is afraid to trust right now. Her whole future, their future, depended on Gary confessing. When he and his brothers helped to clear her name, and she was truly free to make her own choices, then he would know for sure.

They stood for a moment, just holding each other. The silence in the room grew. But it wasn’t awkward. It was comforting until he heard Ronnie’s stomach growl. Amused, he looked down at her and they both laughed.

“Wow, that again,” he teased, reminding her of the drive from the Courthouse. She blushed. Her stomach always betrayed her.

“The stomach wants what it wants. I didn’t eat too much today,” she admitted, “but I could wait for breakfast.” Ronnie knew it was too late for room service in this hotel.

Nikko thought for a moment, then, “I can run and get something,” he suggested. “But, I really don’t want to leave you. How about we sneak out and grab some takeout.” He didn’t want to risk leaving Ronnie alone. If anyone reported seeing her the authorities would come.  Being with her, he could show his credentials and say he would be bringing her in.