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“Because he’s jumpy as hell and it’s hilarious to make him scream like a little girl.”
I was still considering what to do - especially since I didn’t have a way to call for help. My phone was plugged in on the bar at Corrie’s, and I was alone in the building since the other condos were empty right now.
“Shit,” I whispered to myself, not sure if I should trust the man in the hall and terrified of what he would do when he saw how I had greeted his friend.
Suddenly, Boogie shot through the gap in the door, her tail wagging excitedly as she nosed the man on the floor and attacked his face with her tongue.
Since I didn’t have any other option, I flipped on the bedroom light and used the man’s free leg to pull him away from the door. It took all my strength to move him even a few inches, but it gave the man in the hall just enough room for his head to fit.
He looked down at the man on the floor and burst out laughing, loud guffaws that would have woken the neighbors if Navy had any.
“Oz! You’ve gotta see this shit!”
The man’s head disappeared before another man poked his head in for a look and started laughing just as loudly. He stuck his hand through the gap to hand me his phone as he said, “Take a few pics for us, babe. Please?”
“What?”
“This is hilarious, and I can’t wait to tell everyone !”
“You’re not angry?” I asked as I took a few pictures of the man on the floor, making sure I got his whole body in the frame and then took another that included both men’s faces that were now poking into the room. “Who are you?”
“I’m Oz,” the clean-cut man said.
The one with the long hair and beard grinned before he said, “And I’m Chewie from before.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Dalisay.”
The man on the floor started squirming and screaming into his gag. I looked down at him before I winced and asked, “Is he going to hurt me if I untie him?”
“Nah. He might not be your biggest fan for a while, though,” Oz assured me.
“He got his ass kicked by a girl,” Chewie said cheerfully. “This is so great.”
The man was still yelling and flopping around as he tried to pull his hands out of the bindings. I looked up at Chewie and asked, “If I move him out of the way, will you come in and untie him?”
“He won’t hurt you.”
“If I was in his position, I’d certainly jump up and kick my ass, so pardon me if I don’t exactly trust you . . . or him, for that matter.”
“That’s completely understandable,” Oz assured me. He looked down at the man on the floor and ordered, “Move your big ass over so I can get inside.”
The muffled sounds coming from the man reminded me that he had a dirty sock in his mouth. I bent over and earnestly apologized as I removed it.
Once he started cursing me in at least three languages, I had to resist the urge to shove the sock back in. Without thinking, I held it over his face and yelled, “Shut the fuck up, or I’ll put it back!”
The man on the floor took a deep breath, probably to keep himself from screaming, and in the brief silence, I heard one of the men in the hall say, “Fuck Navy. I’m marrying this one.”
◆◆◆
NAVY
I hurried up the stairs, excited to get back in bed with Dali, but stopped short when I heard men’s laughter coming through my front door.
“What the fuck?” I whispered. The first person I saw when I opened the door was my old friend, Donner, sitting on the couch, holding an ice pack to the side of his head. “Donner? What the fuck are you doing here?”
“I took hostages and then escaped in a guard uniform. I need a place to lay low until the heat . . .”
“Shut up! You got your ass kicked by a girl, and there’s no reason to lie about it,” Dali yelled from her perch on the counter across the room. She lifted her wine glass and motioned toward me as she said, “Navy, I met your friends!”
“Oh, shit!” I said as I smiled at the men seated at the bar. Oz, Sully, and Chewie didn’t look any worse for wear, and they also looked a lot more cheerful than Donner. “Hey, guys!”
“We picked up a few stragglers on our way down,” Chewie joked. “I didn’t figure you’d mind.”
“Not at all, although it looks like Donner’s latest stint in prison has made him soft.” Donner flipped me off, and I laughed before I said, “I didn’t realize you were out.”
“I’ve been getting acclimated to life on the outside.”
“We were visiting him in Truckee when we got the call,” Oz explained.
“That explains how you got here so quickly,” I said as I walked around the counter to get to Dali. I gave her a quick kiss before I said, “I’m really sorry I didn’t warn you. I thought they wouldn’t be here until tomorrow.”
“Are more of your friends going to appear out of nowhere?” Dali asked.
“A few, yeah.”
In a stage whisper loud enough for everyone to hear, she replied, “I’ll try not to hurt any more of them.”
The men were all laughing as I gave her another kiss. When I pulled back, I asked, “Did he scare you?”
“He was sneaking into your bedroom to scare you . I heard men’s voices in the hall and acted accordingly.”
“Good girl.”
Dali hissed before she whispered, “I didn’t know I liked hearing that until just now.”
“Since they came here to help my family, and now yours too, it would be really rude to kick their asses out so I can take you to bed, wouldn’t it?”
“The height of rudeness.”
“Well, shit.”
Dali laughed before she said, “But if I can spend the night at your place, you can send them all to Corrie’s, and we can have some time alone.”
“That sounds like the perfect plan.”
“Gentlemen, let me show you where you’ll be sleeping,” Dali said as she nudged me aside so she could hop down off the counter. “I’m sure you’re exhausted after your trip.”
“Actually, I was going to . . .”
“Come on! Time’s wasting! Let’s move.”
“I’ll give y’all a few hours to sleep before I wake you up for breakfast so we can sit down and make a plan,” I said as I walked over to the couch and offered my hand to Donner.
He grabbed it, and I pulled him up to stand in front of me before I gave him a quick hug and back slap.
“It’s good to see you back out in the free world. ”
“I don’t plan on leaving it again.”
“Good.”
“Your girl is a miniature badass.”
“She is, isn’t she?”
“Watch out, or I might try to steal her away.”
“I’d almost like to watch you try just so I can have a front row seat to watch her kick your ass.”
“She beat the shit out of me with a lamp!”
“If you think that’s bad, you should hear what her cousin can do.”