Page 50

“Go away, it’s too early.” I grumbled, snuggling further into the bed.

“Not happening, Love.” Az replied just before I felt a sharp tug ripping the blanket away.

I flopped onto my back, arms and legs spread, resembling a starfish, as my eyes popped open wide in shock. Craig’s chuckle drew my attention to him first. He stood near the dresser, wearing a pair of basketball shorts with a T-shirt in his hand.

“Move it, Princess.” Az barked, dragging my attention to him. He was dressed similarly to Craig and clearly ready for a workout.

“Fuck off, Az-hole. We barely went back to sleep an hour ago after you two wore me out.” I snarked, sitting up and reaching a hand out to try and snatch the blanket back.

Az jerked the blanket further from my reach before tossing it toward the bedroom door. “I told you, you’re trainingto be one of us starting today. You can get your ass up and dressed, or I’ll be left to assume that you’d prefer to sit at home when we conduct business. And just so we are crystal clear,ifyou aren’t dressed and ready in ten, this is done. No more going with us on interrogations, no training beyond your basic self defense, you will, for all intents and purposes, be a mob girlfriend and nothing more.”

The urge to needle him died under his intense stare, and I found myself climbing from the bed instead. Craig offered me a sheepish smile and a kiss on the cheek before bending down to grab his sneakers and strolling from the room.

“Ten minutes, Victoria. Be out front in ten minutes or we leave without you.” Az said, following Craig from the room.

I hurried to throw on undergarments, yoga pants, and a t-shirt, making a mental note that I would have to educate Az on how much time a woman actually needed to get ready. Grabbing a pair of socks, almost as an afterthought, I rushed to the bathroom. It was like I couldfeelthe time counting down as I brushed my teeth and fought to get a brush through my curls. Stomping my foot as the brush caught on a particularly rough snarl, I tossed it down and used my hands to gather my now poofy hair into a messy bun on top of my head.

“Ten minutes, fucking hell,” I grumbled to myself as I headed to the living room to put on my socks and shoes. “I need ten minutes to deal with my hair alone.”

I made it outside just in time, based on how Az scowled when he looked up from his watch and saw me exiting the front door. Shooting him a self-satisfied smile, I strolled toward the SUV we’d taken to the warehouse the day before.

“Uh-uh, Love. We’re not driving.” Az chuckled darkly.

“What do you mean? I thought we were supposed to be hiding out. Walking out in the open doesn’t make a whole lot of sense if we don’t want to be seen.” I shot back.

“We’re fairly safe here, Bunny.” Craig interjected. “We’re a little more than an hour outside of Sacona, and when Rich bought this place, I did a deep dive on all the residents. No gang connections, no felons, just good, wholesome people. Between that and all the work I did to keep the deed from ever being connected to us, we can safely wander around town.”

“Oh really?” I asked, with a brow arched in his direction.

“Yes, really,” Craig laughed. “Just take a burner with you to be safe if you decide to go exploring. There’s a stash of them in the top right drawer of my dresser.”

“All this time and I could have taken a fucking walk.” I muttered.

“Enough chit-chat.” Az barked. “Let’s get moving. We’ll run to the diner, stop there for breakfast and then head over to the boxing club to work on some refreshers, they have an MMA setup that’s perfect for takedowns.”

Everything he said sounded miserable, and we were only halfway to the diner, by Craig’s estimation, when the misery started to set in. I’d never been a distance runner, even my treadmill workouts were focused more on bursts of speed and high inclines. It didn’t help that the concrete under my shoes wasn’t nearly as forgiving on my joints as the moving belt.

The boys might as well have been out for a routine morning jog through the park, the way they chatted while eating up the pavement ahead of me. Craig’s gait was easy and fluid, even with the fresh white bandage peeking out beneath the hem of his shirt where the fabric had ridden up. Az kept pace beside him, perfectly upright, the bastard, barely even sweating.

Meanwhile, every step I took sent a dull throb up through my ankles and into my knees like I was being punished for some long-forgotten crime. My lungs burned. My mouth tasted like pennies. And the early morning chill had nothing on the heat radiating off my skin.

“You’re doing great, Bunny!” Craig called over his shoulder, turning to jog backward for a few paces to flash me that annoyingly sincere smile. I knew he was trying to be helpful, but I hoped he’d trip. Az reached out and whacked him in his shoulder, which caused him to stumble a little, and I almost felt vindicated until Az opened his big mouth.

“That’snottreating her like every other initiate, dude.” Az called out loud enough to know I heard him.

Craig grinned at Az, then held up his middle finger like he was doing all this for fun.

“Fuck off,” I panted, more breath than voice. Craig might have been lying, but it was a nice lie.

Craig and Az both chuckled as Craig turned back to face forward. I could have sworn they picked up the pace as the road curved into a slow incline. My feet started to feel like lead, and my pace began to slow as my stomach revolted. I managed to pull a mocking face at Az’s back and flip him off with both hands just before my stomach forced me to stop and dry heave on the side of the road. This was it, this was how I died. Not a kidnapping, not a fire, not some random gangster taking me out. No. This fucking run that Az insisted I go on to learn the ropes. The only ropes I was learning were the ones that lined the staircase to fucking hell because this definitely wasnotheaven.

“I’m dying.” I whimpered just as another dry heave wracked my body. “I’m just gonna lay down here and die.”

“You’re not going to die,” Craig’s voice came from behind me before I felt his hand on my back rubbing in comforting circles. “You’ve already done the hard part. You just have to keep your feet moving.”

“I can’t,” I whimpered, debating whether my stomach was done trying to turn inside out. “Just leave me, let the vultures have me.”

“That’s not very gangster of you, Love.” Az snickered.