The Bounty Hunters: The Marino Bros.: Box Set (30 page)

Thirty minutes later, when they pulled out, he knew there was no way in hell they were making the second flight.
Fuck! Fuck!
His hands slammed the steering wheel of the car again as he continued to watch them. When they finally departed, he followed them right back to the hotel. He was fuming. The only good thing was he was manhandling her again. He wanted to leave, but there was no way in hell he could. Not until he knew what the fuck was going on. He wanted Ronnie out of Maine, and the fucking bounty hunter too. Glancing at the clock, he decided to go back to his cabin and get a few hours of sleep and resume his watch tomorrow morning. A quick check on flights told him there was a late morning flight. They’d better be making that one, he fumed as he headed back out onto the road. They’d better. That’s all there was to it. There was no way he was going to be at peace until they were far the fuck away. The sooner the better.

*     *     *

Gary drove home
slowly feeling pretty confident they were staying put for the night. He had a lot of thinking to do. Ronnie had no clue he was deeply involved in the drug world. She thought he merely had done drugs on occasion. She had no idea he had also been dealing on campus. His parents gave him plenty for school, but it wasn’t the money that drew him in. He got a really nice allowance. It was because he despised living under the Campbell thumb, and his parent’s constant scrutiny. His life was all mapped out for him, and it ate away at him. His father pushed him to study forestry. Life in the family business was not something he wanted to pursue, and when the hockey thing hadn’t worked and his high school dreams faded when reality set in and his lack of real athletic talent had become apparent, he began to look elsewhere for the success that eluded him. He wanted excitement, and counting trees for the rest of his life wasn’t going to cut it.

His life before Ronnie and college had been fun. He was the local hockey star. Girls had thrown themselves at him. He’d done pot in high school, tried other things in college, but he hadn’t really been into the drug scene.

It was one night when he bought some coke for a party that it clicked for him. He paid a grand for the small vial he had gotten for a frat party. He stayed in the bar, and had a drink before heading to that party, and witnessed his dealer make ten more such transactions in the half an hour he had been there. Who knew Spragueville’s local tavern keeper Johnny “Boy” Brimeyer had such a lucrative little side business. That was ten G, easy money in a tourist town. He could do that. He could do it in Bangor with the college kids easy.

The following weekend, he approached Johnny Boy, his dealer, offering his services on campus. Johnny hadn’t thought he was serious at first and laughed him off. Why would the rich kid want to deal drugs? Gary practically had to beg the older man for the chance. He eventually wore him down, and the two struck a deal.

He earned very little at first, until Johnny and his brother, Freddy, who directly oversaw him, knew he could be trusted. In four months, he was earning five grand a month, and sometimes got bonuses. Yes, the Brimeyers had been pleased with him. He was helping to make them some pretty hefty profits.

But then, Johnny and Freddy soon came up with a new plan. They didn’t have enough drugs to meet the needs of their new expanded market. His family and their travels were well known, and soon they began to expect him to smuggle shit in for them from out of the country. He balked at first. He didn’t want to go that far, but the guys were really putting on the pressure. If he wanted to move up, he had to put in his part. He started small. Taking shit out from Canada, and bringing it state side. But for big scores you had to go further south. He brought some shit back for the Brimeyers from Mexico last summer, and over Christmas Break from Canada again. It was at their suggestion he go to Jamaica for them, and he came up with the cruise idea. A graduation gift from his parents to him and his friends turned into a shit load of dope, meth, coke, and pills for the Brimeyers. He researched on the net on how to smuggle it in inside the snorkeling and scuba gear. But, somehow the dog sniffers caught onto it.

Luckily, he put the shit in Ronnie’s gear and not his own, and doubly lucky he managed to sneak away making it look like he was just going to the restroom. He had always been a fast thinker. He felt guilty passing it off onto Ronnie, but there was no way in hell he could do jail time. Poor Ronnie had no clue the shit he was into.

When her name and face were all over the news, his parents controlled and watched his every move. They’d yelled and screamed at him for getting involved with such a low life, and used their connections to keep his name out of the papers. If they only knew! But they didn’t. They were just as clueless as Ronnie was.

Even the Brimeyers ordered him to lay low for a while. He knew enough to listen to them and that’s why he followed his parents’ orders. Last winter, another dealer of theirs just disappeared. He considered calling them now, but then thought better of it. If they thought trouble was brewing they might think it wise to get rid of him too.

He pulled into his parents’ garage with the Toyota he was using. It was used by the servants and maid for shopping trips to town, and he closed the garage door. He then walked back to his cabin to think. Maybe they would make the next flight, he prayed. No need to panic and bring in the Brimeyers yet. A good night’s sleep, and a drive into town in the morning to make sure the car was gone would mean the coast was clear. Nobody had anything on him. Not even Ronnie.

If he flew the coop now that would only make things worse and bring suspicion down on his head. He didn’t want the Brimeyers to worry either or send someone looking for him. He still didn’t know how far their reach went.

He opened the door to the servants two bedroom cabin and made his way inside. Yeah, a good night’s sleep was what he needed. Maybe a smoke too, he thought, as he pulled out a little baggie he stashed in the butter compartment of the refrigerator. That would calm him and allow him to get a little sleep. He sat at the kitchen table to roll his joint, and to think.

The Boys are Back in Town

R
onnie woke early.
She was nervous, and as soon as she began to move, Nikko’s eyes fluttered open. She didn’t think she would ever get over the startling blueness of those penetrating eyes. His complexion dark, and his angular chiseled face broke out into a sexy smile. He was just too handsome. And, he’d told her he loved her again and again in the night. Each restless turn she had made resulted in him pulling her close to him and murmuring those words to her soothingly. And, she had yet to say it in return.

Despite their late night and their lovemaking, she was wide awake. His brothers would be here early to come up with a plan to get Gary to confess. It could all be over today, but she didn’t feel relief. Because it still could all come crashing down upon her. There was the very real possibility this plan of hers wouldn’t work.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Nikko smiled down at her. “You okay?” he added when she just smiled sadly at him.

“Just nervous,” she admitted.

“I understand,” he murmured and nuzzled his face into the top of her head drawing her closer. “Whatever happens, babe, I am here. I’ll be with you.” He tried to instill as much courage into his words as he could muster, but he was afraid too. For her. Her idea to get Gary to talk with her, to record a confession, was rife with risk. Risks he didn’t know if he wanted to take. But he, too, saw no other options at this time. She had no evidence, and no witnesses to testify she hadn’t put drugs in her gear other than Gary. Him testifying on her behalf was beyond a longshot at best. His family probably feared it would tarnish their name. The guy had no record, no priors, and was from an upstanding family with lots of money and lots of pull.

Last night, after Nikko spoke to his brother and uttered those concerns, he encouraged Ronnie to call her mother so she wouldn’t worry about her. Lou needed to keep their lawyer unaware of her daughter leaving the state for as long as she could. He also hoped to warn her the police may come looking around on occasion to ascertain Ronnie’s whereabouts on behalf of the prosecution. No one could know she had skipped bail.

Ronnie had done that. Her mother was greatly relieved to know Nikko was with her, and his brothers were also on the way, and planning to set up some kind of sting. She also reluctantly informed Ronnie her attorney had called again to report that Gary’s parents were successfully preventing the local PD from questioning their son. Her lawyer, Mr. Stimson, was working through the red tape, getting court orders to require him to testify and submit a deposition, but it took time to get the subpoenas signed by local Maine judges who were greatly influenced by the very generous Campbell family in their political campaigns.

Louisa also informed them that Mr. Stimson asked about Ronnie, and wanted her to call him the next day. Lou avoided two of his calls, or rather made excuses for her “out of town” daughter by saying she was spending the first night with Nikko, which technically had been true, but the night before that and last night when he called to update, she lied and said Ronnie had been out with friends and had left her cell phone at home. So, now Ronnie had to squeeze a call in to her attorney sometime today to ward off any suspicions he might have as to her whereabouts.

Luckily, Nikko was with her, and she would be able to use his cell phone to make the call. Hopefully the lawyer would be none the wiser that she’d skipped.

“Thanks,” she murmured, shifting so he could fully embrace her, and nestled into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her tightly. She felt his strength and was glad for it. Again it reminded her that she knew she was in love with him, but she still couldn’t fully trust herself to say the words. Her future was so uncertain. She still could very well end up in jail, and admitting her love to him would force him to wait, for some time, and then eventually he would move on. She couldn’t expect him to wait out her prison sentence. It would be easier for him to go on with his life, if she didn’t admit her feelings. She didn’t want to ruin his life. It was bad enough her going to jail would destroy her mom, and her grandparents. She couldn’t do that to Nikko too. That would break her.

And it wasn’t about trusting him which is what he was probably thinking. She reacted strongly to seeing him with the barbecue bombshell because she hadn’t been in a good frame of mind when she went to see him. Fears about her mom, the baby, her future, and her past mistakes in trusting Gary clouded her judgment. She did believe him now. His story made perfect sense. Still, she couldn’t give that to him yet. It was all so complicated.

*     *     *

Holding her felt
good. He didn’t want to let her go, but knew his brothers would be here soon. Reluctantly he spoke and broke the moment of shared intimacy. “Let’s take a shower,” he suggested, beginning to move.

“Okay,” she whispered.

Nikko could tell that she, too, didn’t want the moment to end. He helped her out of bed and holding hands they walked quickly to the bathroom. He switched on the light, and then she let him pass as he made his way to the shower. Pushing aside the curtains, he began to fiddle with the water gauges to set the temperature. Both completely naked, he stood aside to let her step into the tub, and she immediately felt a bit of tension slip away as the hot water began to cascade down her body. He stepped in behind her and grabbed a washcloth and the bottle of shower gel. Squeezing a generous amount onto the cloth, he placed it under the spray for a moment then began to massage the wet cloth over her body working it into a lather.

Ronnie turned to face him when he announced her backside was spotless. He was leering at her with a goofy grin. She smiled at him and dropped her arms, an invitation to what she knew he wanted to do. He reached for her with the washcloth and began to massage the foamy lather across her torso and then delicately washed each of her breasts paying close attention to her areolas, and tugging her nipples with the cloth until they formed peaks and stood at erect attention to his ministrations. His eyes feasted on her beautiful body.