Neil (The Uncompromising Series Book 2) (9 page)

“Shit,” Conner mimicked.

I glanced in the rearview mirror and almost choked. The back was filled with beach chairs and towels thrown all over to make it look casual but the chairs were too high up. They were covering something. “Don’t swear, Conner.”

My cell buzzed with an incoming call from Viking but I sent it to voicemail.

“Mama, Cheerios.”

Anxious to get away from the cops, I pulled into traffic then rooted in the diaper bag. “Conner, where did you and Daddy go?” My voice shook.

“Boats!”

I glanced at him in the rearview mirror. “You and Daddy went on a boat?”

Conner shook his head. “Boats, Mama.” He spread his hands out and his eyes went wide. “Big ships.”

Oh my God. The port? “Do you remember when we took a ride on a cruise ship?” I asked carefully.

“Yes!”

“Was it a big ship like that?”

“No. No white ship. Red.”

“You went to go look at cargo ships?”

Conner nodded enthusiastically like only a toddler could. “And the bear house.”

“A warehouse?” I handed him the Cheerios.

“Bear house.” He stuffed a handful of the cereal in his mouth.

Oh, my God. “Good job, baby.” What had Jason done?

I wracked my brain for somewhere secluded to go so I could search the back. I wasn’t bringing this, whatever
this
was, back to my place. Or to work.

Checking my rearview mirror to make sure I wasn’t being followed, I circled a mall with a parking structure a few times before pulling in. I drove through all the levels until I was almost to the top then I backed into a corner slot. I checked for security cameras but the only one I saw was at the opposite end by the elevator, and I figured it wouldn’t be able to see through my tinted windows.

I undid my seatbelt and glanced at Conner. “Sit tight for a minute. Mama’s gotta look at something.”

Conner munched on his Cheerios and watched me curiously.

My heart in my throat, my hands sweating, I steeled my nerves and opened the back hatch.

Oh my fucking God
.

G
UNS.

Lots and lots of guns. Big, black, lethal-looking guns. Dozens of them in three large crates.

I started to hyperventilate.

“Mama?”

I frantically dropped the lid on the crate and threw the towels back over them. “Right here, baby,” I whispered, fighting tears of rage. How could Jason do this?
With Conner in the car?

Oh my God.

I sucked in a shallow breath, then another. I needed to get rid of the guns. No way was I holding on to assault rifles until Jason was released. I didn’t even know if they were legal. What the fuck was I supposed to do now? Go to the cops and get arrested? Track down an LC and ask if they were missing something?

Oh my God.

I got back behind the wheel and turned to look at my son’s worried expression. “Everything’s okay, sweet boy.” Then I did the only thing I could think of. I called André.

He answered on the first ring. “What happened? Conner okay?”

I squeezed my eyes shut and hoped to God I wasn’t making a mistake by involving him. “Yes. But I’m in trouble.” I knew André wouldn’t hold the guns for Jason or give them back. And that could put me and Conner at an even greater risk, but I didn’t have any other options.

“Don’t say anything more. I need a half hour before I can come to you.”

Two cars came up the ramp and pulled into spots a couple rows down. “I don’t have a half hour.” The parking lot would start to fill up the closer it got to lunchtime.

“Go to the office.”

“Um… that’s probably a bad idea.” I was already asking too much by involving him. I couldn’t risk his business too. Someone was going to come looking for all that hardware and Conner and I needed to be as far away as possible when they did.

“Jesus,
chica
.” I could practically see him rub his hand over his head.

“I’m sorry.”

André exhaled. “It’s okay. Give me a minute. I’ll call you back.” He hung up.

It was the longest minute of my life. Conner fussed, my mind raced, and I thought of every scenario that could’ve happened with the police and I started to freak, like seriously,
freak
.

My cell buzzed and I answered immediately. “Hi.”

“Six minutes. Sit tight.”

“I’m—”

André stopped me. “I know. We’ll talk later.”

Before I could ask how he knew where I was, I remembered him telling me he tracked all his employees for safety reasons. Cell phones or vehicles, I didn’t know which, and right now, I didn’t care, I was just grateful. “Okay. And I’m sorry. I didn’t know who else to call.”

“All good. Five more minutes. You need me to stay on the line with you?”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Copy that. Later.” He hung up.

I cradled my phone and bounced my knee for four more minutes. No one showed. Too edgy to wait there another second, I started the Land Cruiser up again. It turned over and a huge truck pulled up beside me.

I didn’t think it was possible, but my pulse ratcheted up a notch.

Viking got out and glanced around the parking structure. Unbelievably austere, he took two steps and opened my door. “Leave it running. Get in the truck.” He didn’t raise his voice or sound pissed but he also didn’t look at me, not my eyes, not me, not even a glance in my direction.

“Conner,” I squeaked.

“I will get him.” He continued to scan the parking garage. “Get behind the wheel. Now.”

I did exactly what he told me to do.

One minute later, Conner was buckled in the same car seat Viking had before and the diaper bag was beside him. Looking as shell-shocked to see Viking as I was, Conner didn’t let out a peep.

Viking put his hand on the truck and looked at me for the first time. “Were you followed?”

His eyes were the color of the parking garage—cold and gray. I shook my head, too afraid to speak.

“What am I dealing with?”

I shrunk a foot in the seat and whispered, “Three crates of guns.”

He didn’t even blink. “Make?”

“Assault rifles, like the kind soldiers use.”

“Did you touch any of them?”

I shook my head. “Just the one crate closest to the back.”

“Stolen?”

“I don’t know.” I sucked in a deep breath then exhaled in rush. “My ex showed up this morning and asked to take Conner to the beach. We switched cars. A few hours later, I got a call from the cops saying he was being arrested for a traffic infraction. When I picked Conner up, the crates were in the back.”

Lines formed between his eyes. “Drive straight to Luna’s. No circling. Park in the garage. Luna’s second-in-charge is waiting.” Viking stepped back.

Oh God. “Tyler knows too?”

Viking paused and met my worried gaze. “No one knows anything except Tanner was arrested. Say nothing,” he ordered.

“I won’t.” I started to put the window up.

“Ariella,” he barked.

I glanced up and his expression this time was clear as day. Eyes narrowed, nostrils flared, jaw set—he was pissed as hell.

“Do not hang up on me again.”

I wanted to disappear into the seat or apologize about a thousand times but Viking wasn’t someone you said
I’m sorry
to. In his world, I was pretty sure if you had to apologize, you shouldn’t have done what you did to begin with. Not that it mattered if I did want to say I was sorry. He was already in my Land Cruiser with three crates of my problems, pushing the seat back as far as it would go.

He spared me one more glance. “Go, now.”

I drove straight to work.

Tyler was waiting and opened my door for me as soon as I parked. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Seeing a familiar face, being in the secure underground parking, my heart rate slowed marginally. “Listen, I’m sorry about—”

A huge smile spread across his face. “No way. Is Ariel Walsh apologizing? I didn’t think I’d live that long.”

His jab, his easy demeanor, it almost cut through my tension. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He grinned. “You’re not the apologizing type, sweetheart. You’re more a take-no-prisoners kind of woman.”

I cringed at the mention of prisoners and my tone came out way more snappish than I intended. “I am not.”

Tyler laughed. “Case in point. But don’t take offense, all the guys love it. You’re the best hire Luna ever made.”

I scowled at him. “I’m not in the mood for your bullshit, Tyler.”

“It’s the truth.” He took my arm and helped me out of the truck. “All the guys upstairs trip over themselves every time you walk through the offices.”

“That’s because I’m the only female at Luna and Associates. And I never walk through the offices.” I was always downstairs in the lobby.

“You’re right.” One side of his mouth tipped up. “You don’t walk, you strut.”

My eyes narrowed. “Did you just say I
strut
?”

He held his hands up. “Hey, I’m just calling it like I see it.”

“Mama!”

“See?” Tyler opened the door to the extra cab. “Even he thinks I’m right. Don’t you, buddy?” He stepped aside so I could get Conner.

“Come on, sweet boy.” I took Conner out of his seat.

Tyler ruffled Conner’s hair. “Did you have fun in the big truck?”

“Truck!” Conner smiled his toothy grin.

“Yeah, trucks are awesome, buddy, aren’t they? One day maybe you’ll drive one.”

His easy demeanor with Conner, the fact that I was desperate to take my mind off what was happening, it made me break one of my own rules and ask a coworker a personal question. “Do you have kids?”

“Nah, just a bunch of brothers.”

“A bunch?” I grabbed the diaper bag but Tyler took it from me.

“Yep, six.”

“Your mother had seven boys?” I was an only child. I couldn’t even imagine that. “Where did everyone sleep?”

Tyler chuckled. “Bunk beds in two rooms. Now you know why I joined the Marines—for solitude.” He laughed.

“I’m sure that worked out for you.” I glanced at the garage entrance, but there was no sign of Viking or André.

A frown clouded Tyler’s features. “Better for me than some of the other guys.”

I didn’t comment. A lot of the guys at Luna and Associates had served with André and all of them had lost friends. “Did Viking tell you what I should do with his keys?”

“Viking?” Tyler tickled Conner’s belly and Conner giggled.

“Neil,” I corrected.

Tyler whipped his head up and looked at me like I had two heads. “Does he know you call him that?”

His expression pissed me off. “What do you care?”

Alarm spread across his face then bled in to disbelief. “You and Christensen?”

“What?
No.
” Definitely no.

Tyler shook his head. “You need to be careful, Ariel.”

“I’m not dating him. Not that it’s any of your business.”

He ignored me. “We all have a healthy dose of fearful respect for Neil Christensen, for good reason. You should too.”

Tyler probably knew Viking better than I did, that is, if anyone actually
knew
him, which I wasn’t so sure about. But his
fearful respect
comment and telling me to be careful irritated the hell out me off. Viking hadn’t put three crates of guns in my car. “Drop it,” I warned. “I’m going to wait upstairs for André. Are either of the small conference rooms open?” No way was I going to hang out with Conner in the glass-enclosed lobby. I didn’t know who the hell would come after the guns. I felt relatively safe at work with all the guys but I still wasn’t going to risk it.

“Got you covered.” Tyler put his hand on my back. We turned toward the elevators and suddenly, Viking was in front of us.

A sharp breath of surprise escaped my lips. “Hey.”

Tyler stiffened. “Christensen.”

His chest heaving like he’d been running, his glare trained on Tyler, Viking bit out one word. “Leave.”

Tyler turned to me and opened his mouth to speak.

Viking cut him off. “Now.”

Conner squirmed and held his arms out to Viking. “Neil!”

Silently reaching for my son, his eyes on Tyler, Viking took Conner and held him high on his chest. He murmured a few words in Danish and Conner tucked his head against Viking’s massive shoulder.

Tyler watched the interaction and his frown deepened before he turned back to me. “Ariel, if you need anything at all, call—”

“I said,
now
.” I’d never seen Viking lose his cool, but in that moment, I would’ve bet good money that if he weren’t holding my son, he would’ve leveled Tyler.

“Thanks, Tyler,” I managed through the testosterone-fueled tension.

“No problem.” Tyler handed me the diaper bag then turned on Viking and dropped the polite pretense. “Luna’s on his way. He said to wait for him.”

No nod, no reply, not a single sign of acknowledgement. Viking didn’t even blink.

Tyler took three steps backwards then pivoted and disappeared into the stairwell.

I said the first thing that popped into my head. “Well, that’s one way to piss a line in the sand.”

His gaze cut to mine, sharp and unforgiving. “I was claiming nothing.”

“Of course you weren’t.” I ignored the sting and stepped toward the elevator.