"You are making it sound easier than it is going to be, Astrid," Liv reminded her.
"Oh, you have always liked a good challenge," Astrid shot back as Camden came in, dropping the box on the table next to me, his eyes never leaving mine.
Silently intimidating, that was what this man was.
"Cam, it's alright," Liv consoled him, moving closer, close enough that her thigh brushed mine as she leaned forward, pulling open the box, grabbing an old-fashioned donut - the plainest of the bunch - and bit into it. "Maybe Roderick will excuse us for an hour? Go get himself some breakfast while we get a chance to talk things over?"
I looked between them, seeing consideration in each of their eyes, figuring it was safe enough to head out, let them talk, figuring they weren't about to skip town.
"An hour," I agreed, moving to stand up. "Thanks for the coffee, cariña," I told Astrid, saluting her with the mug before putting it down. "I will see you all in an hour."
With that, I walked out, hoping like hell they would make my life easier by agreeing to the plan.FOURLivianna"Astrid, Jesus Christ," I sighed when Roderick was in the elevator and the door was once again shut and locked.
"Oh, come on now. You guys didn't seriously think he was gone when you kicked him out last night, right?"
"If you knew he was staking us out, why didn't you say something?" I demanded, watching as Cam nodded in agreement.
"Oh, stop with all the furrowed brows. That man is a puppy dog."
"That man is an outlaw biker, Astrid," I reminded her, shaking my head. "Maybe he might be a decent human being, but he is not a damn puppy. Maybe like a dog on a leash. And all dogs snarl when you rattle their chain."
"So don't rattle his chain," Astrid suggested, throwing a blanket over her body, making me suddenly aware now that the warm of the shower and the heat of surprise was wearing off that Cam was clearly making us pay for jacking the heat up to seventy-four the night before, my nipples tweaking tight as I made my way across the room to see it was down to sixty-five.
"I tried everything to track down those guns the last time. It was impossible."
"Clearly not. The Henchmen tracked them down."
"They're a bigger, older organization. They have different contacts to pull from."
"So, we will double down."
"Why are you so keen to do this?" I asked, suspicious.
Sometimes, not always, but sometimes, Astrid had her own little motivations, ones that she wouldn't let on about until things went her way.
The sneakiness was what bothered me, the small sliver of lack of trust she still had. Not that anyone could blame her, but it bothered me at times, made me realize that for as much progress as we had made, there was still more to make, still strides to take.
"Look," she sighed. "I think it would be a hell of a lot easier to track down some guns than to owe The Henchmen MC. I don't know them, but I imagine being in their debt could prove unpleasant. Or labor-intensive. The puppy is giving us an out. That doesn't seem to involve his club at all unless we don't make good on this. Do I think this is the most logical path? Yes. Do I think it would be even better if you and the sexy biker dude end up in bed while you work together? Hell yes," she added, shooting Cam a scathing look when he scoffed. "What? You know she's been hard up for a while. So have you, I might add. Is it so wrong to think they would enjoy one another's company?"
"Him helping out wasn't part of the plan," I objected.
"Right. Like he is going to take his eyes off of us until he has his guns back. His rep is on the line. His ego has got to be bruised after getting mauled by that ridiculous dog and then getting robbed by a woman. His brothers are never going to let him live this down."
"What do you think?" I asked, turning to Cam who was fishing his usual jelly donut out of the box, sitting back in the chair, taking a bite, considering. His gaze met mine, eyes saying a million things at once. In the end, his shoulder shrugged, jerking his chin toward Astrid.
"See? He agrees. So, we should get to work," she decided, grabbing the laptop on the couch, pulling it open.
Astrid, as a whole, didn't do a whole hell of a lot of illegal stuff. She didn't do the pick ups or the drops. Maybe partly because Cam and I sheltered her, didn't want her to bear the consequences of a job gone south like we had needed to do more than a time or two. Especially in the beginning. She'd been younger. From a rough life, sure, but not the kind that I had led, that I had imagined Cam had led.