NaturesBounty(38)
The men burst into the office with the usual shouting and whirlwind of activity, but Nate couldn’t get close enough to see. Anxiety throbbed through his body, and when a slightly shell-shocked but smiling Lydia was hustled outside, the victory high he’d long forgotten flooded through him.
“Hi,” she said, red-cheeked and breathless after she was deposited in front of him. “How’d I do?”
“Fantastic,” he said with a grin.
“You were a natural,” Benny added. “Pissed him off just enough to get him to spill without losing control of the situation.”
“I hope I got him to say enough,” she said, hugging herself. “God, I’m shivering.”
“Adrenaline,” Nate said and pulled her to him and rubbed her arms vigorously.
“He said plenty,” Benny told her, shooting Nate a suspicious look at the way he was holding her. “Enough to get him on obstruction of justice, conspiracy and attempted kidnapping, maybe even racketeering. Turns out this wasn’t the first time he’s used his business to work around the system.”
“Speak of the devil,” Nate said grimly as Asa was escorted out in cuffs.
Nate let go of Lydia and stepped right in front of Asa when they reached the sidewalk. “Hiya, Ace. Good to see the cuff on the other foot, so to speak.”
“You.” Asa gave him a furious glower. “After all the jobs I shunted your way, this is how you thank me?”
“And I’m really hoping none of those other jobs involved your special brand of bullshit.”
The grin Asa shot him twisted his stomach. “Guess you’ll never know, will you?”
Nate’s nostrils flared. “I wonder what it means that I’m so far out of my prime and yet still good enough to collar you?”
He turned and walked back to where Lydia and Benny stood against the brick building, watching.
“That felt good,” Nate said. “Although I’d have preferred to punctuate my last sentence with a fist in his face.”
“You were right, you know,” Benny said. “You’re more than good enough to collar that asshole.”
“Maybe so.” Nate glanced at Lydia, and a pleasant jolt went through him when their eyes met. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She shrugged. “Couldn’t be better. In fact, I feel sort of happy-buzzed, if that makes sense.” She glanced over to where Asa was being loaded into a police car. “Does that mean I’m some kind of sadistic bitch?”
Benny laughed. “Bitten by the bounty hunter bug’s more like it.”
She turned to Nate, and his heart skipped at the look on her face. “Thank you, Nate. Without you, I wouldn’t be walking away from this free to live my life.”
He shrugged casually, but he swallowed when she took his hand and moved closer. “No, really,” she whispered. “You put yourself out there to get my life back, even after I ran out on you.”
“That’s exactly what you did when you confronted Waller and tried to work me into your deal. It’s only fair I returned the favor.”
“It must have been quite a risk, contacting the police when you were a wanted man.”
Nate glanced at Benny, who gave him a casual grin. “I couldn’t have pulled it off without help. Benny told them my story and said I’d be willing to help them catch Andrew Waller in exchange for dropping charges. Benny’s quite convincing when he wants to be.”
“And a man of stellar disguises,” Benny added, taking a deep bow. “Those guys working for Andrew didn’t know what hit ’em.”
“What hit them was your stench,” Nate said, eyeing the threadbare, dirt-encrusted army coat and stand-in-the-corner cargo pants. “Where the hell did you get that getup, anyway? Did you roll a real drunk for it?”
Benny shrugged. “A guy owed me a favor.”
“And a bath. But now I owe you the favor.”
“So do I,” Lydia added. “To both of you. I’d hug you,” she said to Benny as she eyed him up and down, “but well, you understand.”
“Save it for this lug over here.” He smiled at Nate. “He could use a hug. He was a wreck while you were inside. He was practically wringing his hands and pacing back and forth across the back seat.”
She flicked him a look. “Were you really that worried about me?”
“Benny’s also really good at exaggerating.” He let out a sigh of relief. “But I’m glad this is over.”
With that, she grabbed him by the front of his jacket and pulled him to her lips. Benny cleared his throat and wandered off while Lydia almost kissed away his memory of why they were even standing there.