Free Beautiful Bounty (The Bounty Hunters: The Marino Bros. Book 1) by MJ Nightingale

They may have stopped to get something, gas up, eat, who knows. He’ll get her there.”
    Andreas just grunted.  Blaze was probably right, but still.  He should have called or sent a text.  He should have kept his damn phone charged.  God, he just hoped everything was okay.
    “He should have driven her straight home. Her mother and friends are blowing up my phone. Christ! Why doesn’t he just do what he’s told!” he slammed his palm down on the steering wheel, and turned off the highway onto State Road Fifty only fifteen minutes from the girl’s mother’s house.”
    Gio shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He knew to keep quiet when Andreas was on one of his tears about Nikko.
    “He’d better be at Lou’s place when we get there. He’d just damn well better,” Andreas spoke grimly, as his phone notification indicated he had yet another text, probably from the girl’s mom again.
    He grabbed his phone and gave it to Gio. Just three years younger than him at thirty-two. Gio was fiddling with the phone, and finally read the message to him. Gio smiled and let out his held breath.  “What’s it say?” Andreas commanded.
    Gio half turned to include Blaze in his announcement. “It’s Louisa.  She says they finally called.  Had a flat tire, and just had it changed at a garage on Forty-One.  Phone was dead like we thought. They waited for the tow-truck, and called from the garage. He will be dropping her off within the next half hour or so.”
    Andreas let out a sigh of relief.  He didn’t want to lose this bounty. He wanted the girl to wait for her day in court, and do what was expected of her. They had a lot of their own money tied up in this one.  A favor to Victor. He was still pissed at Nikko though. Making the mother wait, not calling.  His notification went off again.
    Gio read, “They stopped for lunch too, she says. She wants to know if we are still coming.”  Andreas didn’t answer so Gio continued. “Are we still coming?” he asked.
    Andreas nodded. “Might as well. We are nearly there anyhow. We can explain the situation to Miss Sears, what’s at risk, and Nikko is still not off the hook as far as I’m concerned. And what the hell was he doing on Forty-One? That’s the long way!” Gio nodded next to him, and sent the mom a quick text letting her know they were all on their way.
    From the backseat, Blaze chimed in his two cents. “Andreas, dude, take it easy on him. It could have happened to any one of us.”
    “I seriously doubt that. I keep my phone charged and so do you.  There is a charger in all the vehicles. No excuses.  Taking her out for lunch, and a joy ride. What the hell is that all about?” he shook his head in apparent disgust.  “The girl’s in serious trouble, and he is taking her out to fucking eat. Can’t he think with his head for once?”
    Blaze tried to suppress a laugh from the backseat.  Andreas looked at him in the rearview mirror eyes narrowing. “Thought you said nothing was going on?”
    “Nothing went on . . . last summer ,” he added after a significant pause and laughed again not bothering to keep it in this time. Blaze caught Gio’s smirk out of the corner of his eye.
    “Shut up,” Andreas cautioned his brother when his glance in the mirror told him Blaze was about to make a rude comment about the kind of thinking Nikko liked to do and with what body part.
    His face turned pouty. “Hey, I was just going to say maybe she was hungry,” Blaze offered, trying to sound innocent. Andreas gave him a look in the rearview mirror that ended all further discussion on that topic.  The eldest Marino was most certainly the toughest. Hard and hard to please.
     
    ***
     
    When Lou heard the next car pull up, she knew it had to be Veronica.  She jumped out of her seat at the kitchen table and headed straight for the door. Jay, Ana, and Monica were all at her heels. The Marinos, who arrived a few minutes earlier, remained where they were sitting in the