Read Online Nautier and Wilder by Lora Leigh - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Lora Leigh
Ads: Link
pants,
or to make such an outrageous demand.
He would have simply told her he had changed his mind the first chance he had, which
would have suited her fine.
Stepping into the elevator, she told herself it didn’t matter. If it was meant to
be, it would be; it was that simple.
That phone number glared back at her, though, until she snapped the planner closed.
She didn’t push it back into her purse, however. She held on to it even though she’d
already both memorized the number and programmed it into her smart phone.
Yes, if she had brought Jed, she had no doubt the night would have been far less disappointing
and much more interesting.
One thing was certain: Jed so did not stuff his crotch with anything but what God
had given him. And God had been generous.
* * *
Rudy Genoa stared at the disgusting, bloodied face of the car rental agency manager
with bitter fury.
He was tied, in a rather clichéd style, to an old-fashioned wooden office chair, because
he was too damned cheap to buy the nice, if inexpensive, computer chairs that were
so easy to find.
It had worked to restrain him, though.
Duct tape secured his wrists to the arms of the chair and his ankles to the legs.
His face was swollen and pale beneath the blood that marred it. The top of his balding
head was splattered with his blood, calling attention to the fact that perhaps he’d
lost more hair since the last time Rudy had seen him several months ago.
Chester’s head lolled to the side a bit, while small, bloody bubbles filled and deflated
at his nostrils with each breath.
He really was a distressing sight, but it couldn’t be helped. Rudy was furious. The
loss of the delivery had the potential to do far more than just embarrass him. The
loss of that delivery could bring some very nasty individuals into his town looking
for him. The type of men one preferred not to piss off. Even one with Rudy’s power.
He couldn’t believe the stupidity.
This was what you got for trying to trust family to do a job right.
“Did you think I would just let this go, Chester?” Rudy asked as he straddled the
chair he’d pulled over to the balding, overweight little bastard.
“Rudy, please.” Sloppy, bleeding, one eye swollen shut, his lips split by the heavy
fist that had pounded into them, Chester wept pitifully. “I did like you said; I swear.
It was that new girl. She rented the car out.”
“And now the delivery that came in with that car is missing,” Rudy stated softly.
“We checked it thoroughly.”
“Please.” Chester choked. “You owe me, Rudy. You owe me. I’ll get them back. I swear
I will.”
He owed him.
Rudy agreed with his cousin for a change.
A six-year stint in prison for a crime he had been nowhere near had earned Chester
a hell of a boon. But this . . .
Rudy shook his head as he propped his arms on the back of the chair he was straddling.
Six years in prison for the rape of Rudy’s rival’s mistress came nowhere close to
the millions of dollars in diamonds, sapphires, and rubies that were now missing.
The slightest awareness of another presence behind him had Rudy waiting patiently,
the familiar lack of sound in his son’s movements pleasing.
“I checked the security tapes. She arrived about ten minutes before we did, messed
around in the backseat, looks like she knocked over a bag onto the back floorboard.
We found a receipt pushed beneath one of the seats for a craft seller for colored
crystals and stones. There’s a chance the woman doesn’t know what she has.” There
was no opinion either way in the boy’s voice.
Well, perhaps Andre wasn’t a boy anymore, but as his mother would say, he would always
be Rudy’s boy.
“And her name?” Rudy asked.
At his son’s lack of an answer, Rudy turned to stare back at him with a frown. Rarely
had Rudy seen this expression on Andre’s face.
That look of concern.
Trepidation began to tingle in
or to make such an outrageous demand.
He would have simply told her he had changed his mind the first chance he had, which
would have suited her fine.
Stepping into the elevator, she told herself it didn’t matter. If it was meant to
be, it would be; it was that simple.
That phone number glared back at her, though, until she snapped the planner closed.
She didn’t push it back into her purse, however. She held on to it even though she’d
already both memorized the number and programmed it into her smart phone.
Yes, if she had brought Jed, she had no doubt the night would have been far less disappointing
and much more interesting.
One thing was certain: Jed so did not stuff his crotch with anything but what God
had given him. And God had been generous.
* * *
Rudy Genoa stared at the disgusting, bloodied face of the car rental agency manager
with bitter fury.
He was tied, in a rather clichéd style, to an old-fashioned wooden office chair, because
he was too damned cheap to buy the nice, if inexpensive, computer chairs that were
so easy to find.
It had worked to restrain him, though.
Duct tape secured his wrists to the arms of the chair and his ankles to the legs.
His face was swollen and pale beneath the blood that marred it. The top of his balding
head was splattered with his blood, calling attention to the fact that perhaps he’d
lost more hair since the last time Rudy had seen him several months ago.
Chester’s head lolled to the side a bit, while small, bloody bubbles filled and deflated
at his nostrils with each breath.
He really was a distressing sight, but it couldn’t be helped. Rudy was furious. The
loss of the delivery had the potential to do far more than just embarrass him. The
loss of that delivery could bring some very nasty individuals into his town looking
for him. The type of men one preferred not to piss off. Even one with Rudy’s power.
He couldn’t believe the stupidity.
This was what you got for trying to trust family to do a job right.
“Did you think I would just let this go, Chester?” Rudy asked as he straddled the
chair he’d pulled over to the balding, overweight little bastard.
“Rudy, please.” Sloppy, bleeding, one eye swollen shut, his lips split by the heavy
fist that had pounded into them, Chester wept pitifully. “I did like you said; I swear.
It was that new girl. She rented the car out.”
“And now the delivery that came in with that car is missing,” Rudy stated softly.
“We checked it thoroughly.”
“Please.” Chester choked. “You owe me, Rudy. You owe me. I’ll get them back. I swear
I will.”
He owed him.
Rudy agreed with his cousin for a change.
A six-year stint in prison for a crime he had been nowhere near had earned Chester
a hell of a boon. But this . . .
Rudy shook his head as he propped his arms on the back of the chair he was straddling.
Six years in prison for the rape of Rudy’s rival’s mistress came nowhere close to
the millions of dollars in diamonds, sapphires, and rubies that were now missing.
The slightest awareness of another presence behind him had Rudy waiting patiently,
the familiar lack of sound in his son’s movements pleasing.
“I checked the security tapes. She arrived about ten minutes before we did, messed
around in the backseat, looks like she knocked over a bag onto the back floorboard.
We found a receipt pushed beneath one of the seats for a craft seller for colored
crystals and stones. There’s a chance the woman doesn’t know what she has.” There
was no opinion either way in the boy’s voice.
Well, perhaps Andre wasn’t a boy anymore, but as his mother would say, he would always
be Rudy’s boy.
“And her name?” Rudy asked.
At his son’s lack of an answer, Rudy turned to stare back at him with a frown. Rarely
had Rudy seen this expression on Andre’s face.
That look of concern.
Trepidation began to tingle in
Similar Books
