Page 8 of Fearless Protector (Ruthless Guardians #3)
Mason
P J looks flustered as she and Jules get the meal and plates on the table. “I’m going to get Bobby Ray settled into one of the bedrooms for the night. These handcuffs will be a lot easier to deal with than untying and retying him.”
Bobby Ray glares at me. “I was just doing a favor for a friend. Just to scare Lacy into giving Jake what he wants. That’s all. I wasn’t going to hurt her. I may be an asshole, but I’m not an asshole like that.”
My eyes narrow. “News flash. You are that asshole. You’re just lucky PJ and Jules are here, or that I don’t want them to see anything that would keep them up at night.
” I finish untying him and keep a close eye on every move he makes with the point of my gun.
I’m not about to take chances with the lives of the ladies with a man who would probably do anything not to face the consequences he has coming.
I frog march the asshole down the hall to one of the bedrooms with a twin bed, cuffing him to the wrought iron headboard. “You even try to get out of that cuff, and”—I tap his chest with the point of my gun—“I won’t fucking hesitate.”
I walk back down the hall and dish up a bowl of spaghetti, then grab some utensils and a bottle of water from the fridge to bring back to Bobby Ray. The minute I leave the dining room, the ladies start whispering again. I smirk, turning to go give the man some food.
It’s not like I’ve never been the topic of a lady’s conversation, but not PJ’s. The one who seems to have wiggled herself right into my mind and doesn’t want to leave, no matter how many reasons I give myself for not getting involved any deeper than a kiss.
I place the food on the end table next to Bobby Ray, just close enough that I’m sure he can smell it and get good and hungry.
“We have some friends who took Jake and his buddies away. They’re going to be spending tonight learning the plan for Lacy and Jules.
I’m going to give you a chance to tell me your side of the story before I decide what to do to you tomorrow. ”
His big beady eyes narrow. “I know who your friends are. I don’t want any trouble with the Larussio crime family. What do you want to know?”
“What was the plan for Lacy and Jules?”
He inhales a deep breath and gives the spaghetti a sideways glance. “They were going to take Lacy, and I was going to grab Jules. They were supposed to call me when they had Lacy, and then they were going to drive here, pick her up, and take them both to Chicago.”
Those Chicago boys don’t quit. I’ll give them that much. “The Bernatelli family?”
He glares at me. “What about them?”
I narrow my eyes at Bobby Ray. “Don’t play with me. Were they behind it?”
Bobby Ray let’s out a loud huff. “You’re going to make me say it? Do you know what they will do to me?”
“Do you know what I will do to you, or the Larussios will do to you if you don’t?”
His eyes dart around the room, taking in his position, contemplating a few minutes before he decides that battling with me or the Larussios is just not going to be in his best interest. “They thought Lacy and Jules could be used as a bargaining chip to get Cole to sell some of his land. They’re still looking for a way to get their casinos into the area. ”
“Yeah, and their drugs, women, and guns too. Cole won’t sell.”
His head snaps up. “One of these days those Bernatellis are going to give you what’s coming to you for sticking your nose in business that doesn’t have anything to do with you.”
“If I were you, I’d eat your dinner. It may be the last hot meal you get for a while.”
“You said you wouldn’t turn me over to the Larussios if I gave you what you wanted,” he whines.
I walk to the door and open it. “Right, but I didn’t say anything about not handing you over to Sheriff Cates,” I tell him, closing the door and rigging up an outside lock with another of the cuffs.