Ramsey Security (Ramsey Security #1-3)(120)

Stuck Between a Fucking Rock and a Fucking Hard Place

I manage to dodge Dino all evening in Ellsberg, and we take separate cars the next day. Even with him following me on the road, I still somehow feel him looking at my ass the entire two-hour drive. Before we check into the first of the hotels we have reservations at, I decide to drop in on our helpful host.

Angus Hayes’s office is a small building in the middle of an industrial area of White Horse, Tennessee. The parking lot is empty except for two cars. One is a monster truck horror show. The other is a tiny blue compact with flower decals in the back window. I sense the latter doesn’t belong to Hayes.

“Let me do all the talking,” Dino says while we walk to the front door.

“No f*cking way. Just shut up and let me handle everything.”

“We’ll see who wins this round.”

Inside the office, we find a woman crying behind messy brown hair. She’s sitting at the front desk, and her name plate says “Donna.” Not great with crying women, I awkwardly wait for her to pull her shit together.

“Hey, doll, why the tears?” Dino asks in a sexy, smooth voice. “Is someone giving you trouble?”

Donna looks back at the office door belonging to the boss.

“He yells,” she whispers. “I don’t like yelling.”

On cue, a booming voice yells, “Donna, send in the f*cking outsiders!”

Crying, Donna hides behind her hair again. Dino hands her a tissue and whispers something reassuring. She nods but seems unconvinced.

“Save it, Romeo,” I mutter, walking away.

Dino follows behind me, and I can feel his gaze on my ass. Glancing back, I frown hard at him. He grins back and wiggles his eyebrows.

I open the door to a small office complete with wood paneling and shag carpet. The place looks like a 1970’s relic. Who gives a shit about the décor when there’s an honest-to-goodness giant puffing on a cigar behind the desk?

I thought I knew big guys, but Angus Hayes is a f*cking tank. Owning the room isn’t even an option since he literally breathes it in. Next to Hayes, Dino is a twerp. Well, a nearly irresistible twerp anyway.

“Don’t even think about it,” Dino says to me while we stand in the doorway. “His dick would tear you apart. Not worth the risk.”

My mouth opens with a really snappy response ready to go, but he interrupts me.

“Fine, f*ck him. I only ask that you wait until I’m done with your * so that I don’t get the ruined remains.”

My snappy comeback never materializes as we take our seats. The dark-haired Hayes glares at us with his raging, nearly-black eyes. In another world, I might find this jackass attractive, but Dino has blinded me to other men.

Like a drill sergeant, he doesn’t remove his cigar before barking at us. “Why in the f*ck are you f*ckers dressed like that?”

“We’re incognito, big guy,” Dino says, adjusting in his chair like his dick isn’t fitting right in his stupid dress pants.

“Please ignore him, Mister Hayes.”

“Kiss ass,” Dino mutters.

“Would you two shut the f*ck up?”

“Hey, this is a lady over here,” Dino says, jutting his thumb at me.

“Don’t defend me, Linguini. I can handle my own shit.”

“I was raised to be a gentleman.”

“Where’s the f*cking off button with you two cunts?”

Frowning at Hayes, I kick his desk. “Watch your mouth. This idiot might be professional enough not to shoot you, but I’m starting my period soon, so all bets are off.”

“Sexy,” Dino says, and he isn’t kidding. Adjusting in his chair again, he acts like his dick is very impressed by my period declaration.

“Idiot.”

Hayes leans back in his chair, causing the poor thing to groan in agony. With the big man angry with us, I feel like a scolded child. I’m a professional, but this guy scares me. If he makes a sudden move, I’ll likely shoot him and run out the room screaming.

“You two f*cks finished?”

Dino leans forward. “In school, did the kids ever call you anus?”

I smack Dino as soon as he finishes his insult. Hayes still narrows his eyes, and I suspect we might die soon.

“Here’s how it works,” Hayes says, breathing too heavily to be healthy. “I run White Horse. Nothing happens here unless I sanction it. As long as you shits remain in my territory, you won’t get shanked. I can’t protect you outside of White Horse. I made that fact perfectly f*cking clear to Johansson.”

“We’ll be fine, steak man,” Dino says.

When I roll my eyes, Sausage gives me one of his deliciously smarmy grins.

“What are your thoughts about this new sheriff,” I ask Hayes, hoping to find an ounce of professionalism in this train wreck meeting.

“I think he’s a f*cking con. Everyone thinks he’s a damn saint, caring for old ladies and Girls Scouts and shit. I know he’s a killer, and his new, better cops are *s.”

“Know how?”

Dino leans over and loudly whispers, “You’re sexy when you work.”

I ball my hand, ready to punch him, but he only leans back and snickers. Hayes chews on his cigar, and I again think we might need to shoot our way out of this office.