“Why not? It looks comfortable,” Shamrock asked, inspecting the material. “Real soft, too.”
“Yeah Remi, I’m sure Reaper would like that one.” Snake added.
“Really?” I asked, walking over to check out the material myself. It was soft. Even the corset was made of a fabric that wouldn’t bind or itch.
“I say you get it, step on the wild side,” Shamrock said, handing me the outfit. The outfit was definitely out of my comfort zone. I usually would never wear anything that risqué, but I was trying to live my life to the fullest, and sometimes I would just have to take a leap of faith. I wondered what Max, crap…I really needed to start calling him Reaper. I wondered what Reaper would think of the outfit. Would he like me in an outfit like this? I mean, I’ve been wearing his t-shirts and boxers to bed. They were comfortable but too big. I couldn’t go on forever wearing his clothes.
Nope, Shamrock was right.
I needed to embrace my wild side…whatever that was.
“You know what, I think I will,” I said, putting the outfit in my cart. Grinning, I asked, “Now, what about the rest of me?”
For the rest of the day, Shamrock and Snake took me to every store in the mall. We shopped, talked, laughed, and had a blast. By the end of the day, I was when Snake asked, “What about your hair?”
Quickly touching my long curly blonde hair, I questioned him. “What about it?”
The sun was setting by the time we left the salon, and though it was getting late, I didn’t want to head back. I was having so much fun. Shamrock and Snake were hilarious, and though Deloris and Beulah had long since crashed, their owners kept the fun going.
Walking to the large SUV Reaper insisted we take, Shamrock was regaling me with his childhood back in Ireland. He and his mother came to America when he was twelve years old after his father was killed by a lory walking across the street. After his father’s funeral, his mother moved them to California for a fresh start, where she opened a bakery in San Francisco. He hated attending American schools but loved American music and muscle cars. Shamrock was about to tell me how he found the Golden Skulls when someone grabbed my arm, yanking me back towards a rigid body. A hand instantly covered my mouth.
Fear.
The all-familiar feeling flooded my system.
My heart raced as I struggled against him.
The man holding me was strong—his grip like iron. I couldn’t move, and his hand was constricting my airway, making it hard for me to breathe.
Another man came up beside him. He too, covered in tattoos with a shaved head, wearing a suit, looked out of place and dangerous.
“I wouldn’t do that little fella,” Shamrock growled, dropping the shopping bags he was carrying at his feet.
“Why they only send two. Why not four?” Snake asked, shutting the back hatch of the SUV after putting Deloris and Beulah in their travel cages. He then reached for something behind his back. “Six would have been a party, huh Sham?”
“Don’t do it,” the man in the suit grinned and pulled out two guns, one in each of his glove-covered hands, and spoke. “We just want the girl.”
He was Russian. His accent was thick, almost making it hard to understand what he was saying. They were going to take me. There was nothing Snake or Shamrock could do. These men had guns, and from the looks of them, they weren’t afraid to use them.
“Don’t give a fuck. She ain’t leavin’ with ya,” Shamrock said, leaning against the SUV as he pulled a wicked-looking knife from his back. “Gonna give ya one second to release her, or I won’t be responsible for what happens next.”
The man in the suit replied, “Girls worth a lot of money. Just business.”
“I’d listen to my friend here,” Snake added. “Because what he doesn’t finish, I will.”
“See, there ya go,” Shamrock sighed. “That’s why Reaper won’t let us work together. Why’s everything gotta be more with ya’?”
“It’s not more. It’s just proficiency.”
“Big word their Snake,” Shamrock said, flipping his blade in his hands as if it were a toy. “Spell it?”
“You know I didn’t finish my learnin’ like you did, but I can read!”
“Yep, I know man. I buy you those Goosebumps books every year.”
“Good readin’ too,” Snake grinned, then looked at the man in the suit. “Well, ya just gonna stand there all day, or what?”
“The girl is coming with us.”