Angelina Bonaparte Mysteries Box Set Nanci Rathbun (i love reading books txt) 📖

Ninety minutes with nothing pressing to do. Ninety long minutes to think about all that I learned this afternoon. My head ached and my stomach felt queasy. I started to shake. I took my phone into the conference room and set the alarm for four-twenty. Then I lay down on the love seat and covered myself with the crocheted throw. A picture of Adriana, lying here the first day we met, came unbidden to mind.

Maybe Wukowski was right. Maybe I wasn’t cut out for this kind of investigation. I wiggled against the back of the loveseat, somehow feeling more secure with its cushions against me. I wished it were Wukowski behind me, spooning me, wrapping his arms around me. Dear God, keep us all safe, I prayed.

The cell phone alarm sounded. I was surprised to have dozed off on the office love seat. My mind needed to escape the harsh reality of the situation, I decided. After folding and replacing the afghan, I went down the hall to the ladies’ bathroom, used the facilities, and freshened my makeup and breath. Then I gathered my briefcase and purse, secured the office and waited at the door to the building lobby.

It was almost full dark. It would be March before Milwaukee saw twelve hours of daylight again. I missed the sun waking me in the morning and keeping me up and alert in the evening. The cold murky night made me shiver. Spider pulled up and I exited the building.

The bottom of the Ram door was at knee height to me. Even with slacks on, it would be ungainly to boost myself into the truck. I needn’t have worried. When Spider reached over and opened the door, a bar with LED lights lowered from underneath the carriage. “Use the granny handle on the door,” he told me.

I climbed in and slammed the door. It’s true, I was a grandmother, but I was no granny! “Granny handle?” I challenged him.

“Don’t get your undies in a bunch, Angie,” he said, smiling. “It’s a joke between me and my wife. She’s height-challenged, too. Nothing personal.”

Hmph. Height-challenged! I decided to ignore it. “Do you push a button to raise and lower the step?” I was curious.

“It’s wired to come down when a door opens and retract when it closes. And it’s called a nerf bar.” He pulled out onto Farwell Avenue, driving south toward the Third Ward and Bart’s office. “I spoke to Bram while I was on surveillance. Seems that Bobbie and Adriana met up for some shopping this afternoon.” He laughed and shook his head. “York and Malone must’ve felt like a couple of pit bulls at a poodle grooming salon. Neither one of them is domesticated yet.”

I was a bit ticked off that Bobbie pre-empted my plans to outfit Adriana. Then I reasoned that he was probably more in tune with what a twenty-something woman would wear than I was. I worried, though, about the expedition. “After what I heard this afternoon, their being out in public was a bad idea, Spider.”

“They didn’t go out. Bobbie’s, um, friend, Stephano, set up a private session for Adriana in a meeting room at her hotel. Mad Man said that Bobbie called Stephano with the size specs, including cup size.” He laughed. “I could almost hear Malone blushing over the phone. He’s not used to women. He joined up at eighteen.”

We arrived at Bart’s building and a Family guy stepped out to raise the security gate to the building occupant underground parking. There were about thirty spaces. “Bart cleared it for us,” Spider said as he drove around a row and put the truck into Park, facing the gate and still running. “Stay put while I run recon.”

I cut my eyes toward the beefy guard.

Spider replied to my unspoken question. “I don’t trust someone else’s work until they prove themselves to me. There’s too much at stake here. Scoot over and get behind the wheel. If you hear any commotion or if I’m not back in three minutes, take off. Drive through the gate if necessary.” He tapped his watch and pointed at me.

Irritating alpha male! I checked my watch and nodded agreement, but there was no way I’d leave if he wasn’t back in three minutes. I did lever myself over the gigantic console and into the driver’s seat, though, glad that the guard watched the street and not my butt in the air.

Spider was back in two minutes, eighteen seconds. I lowered the window.

“Pull it over next to the stairs and park facing out,” he said, then hesitated and reached for the door handle. “Maybe I should …”

I raised the window and deftly slipped the Ram into the spot closest to the stairway. Just because you’re small, it doesn’t mean you can’t park with the big boys. Spider trotted over and waited. I grabbed my purse and briefcase from the passenger side and handed them to him, then took hold of the granny handle (there must be a better name!) and stepped down onto the nerf bar and then the pavement. At this point, I didn’t care if my backside was toward him. It was spooky underground and I wanted out of there.

There were Family soldiers at every landing. Spider told each of them “massima allerta” as we passed. High alert. Apparently DEFCON 2 didn’t translate into Italian. My already jangled nerves did another little dance. Bart had a man outside his office, too. I hesitated, but decided not to leave my briefcase or purse in care of the guard. I did, however, fold my jacket and place it on the hallway floor, next to the door. The guard gave me a “whaddya, crazy?” perusal, but said nothing. The same password gained us access.

From her desk, Bertha gave me a steely stare and nodded toward Bart’s door. “He’s waiting for you.”

Spider walked over and offered his hand. “Evening, Mrs. Conti. I’m sorry we’re keeping