I watched Bruce and Jimmy trade a look that spoke volumes, but they didn’t say anything.
“This is what you call cleaning up loose ends,” Jimmy said. “We told you back when Charlie started snooping around that this could be a problem. We were going to take Charlie out then, but he up and died of a heart attack. And you said it wasn’t a concern.”
She shrugged. “It’s not. At least not to me.”
“You wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t something in those files that had you worried,” Bruce said. “I wonder what it could be?”
Angelica crossed her arms under her manmade breasts and leaned against the Corvette.
“I’m just here to make sure you don’t screw up the job like you did in Miami. Estúpido.” She made a hand gesture that was understandable in all languages. “How could you miss him? Twice? It’s embarrassing. But now you gotta bigger problem on your hands.”
“What’s that?” Jimmy asked.
“Come say hello, Addison Holmes,” she called out.
My eyes widened and I froze where I stood. Surely she wasn’t talking to me. How could she possibly know I was there?
“I can see your shadow,” she said, answering my question. “You are like that rodent.” She looked at Jimmy and Bruce for clarification, but they just looked confused. “You know the one,” she said. “The big rat that sees his shadow. And then they cook him for a feast until winter ends.”
“I think you mean groundhog,” Bruce said. “And no one eats him. You’re getting your holidays confused.”
She flicked the pesky details away. “Whatever,” she said.
I hadn’t noticed as the sun was setting that my shadow had shifted and was visible. I’d been too engrossed in the conversation to pay attention. Maybe she’d forgotten about me.
“Hurry, slothful cow,” she said. “I do not want to be here in the dark. Too many creepy-crawlies. I’ll give you to the count of three before I put a bullet in my Vinny. Uno…”
I saw Vince move slightly and I wondered if he was conscious. I had no choice but to do as she said. I put the safety on my gun and tucked it into the back of my pants. And then I stepped out from the cover of the building with my hands up.
Boy, was Nick going to be pissed.
Chapter Eighteen
“Yikes,” Angelica said, looking startled when I came out from hiding. “Have you been playing in the sewer?”
“Pretty close,” I said. “I fell into the bayou.”
She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “You should take better care of yourself. It’s not good for baby girl. You already look like death. Where is your mama and your baby daddy? Is no one taking care of you?”
The irony of the situation was not lost on me. I’d never had a woman holding a gun on me so concerned with my life.
“I’m supposed to be retired,” I said. I’d slowly walked the distance until I was standing closer to her than I was Bruce or Jimmy. Oddly enough, she made me feel more at ease than the two men did. “It hasn’t worked out like I planned.”
“Niña,” she said, clearly exasperated. “That is because women like me and you are not meant for retirement. We are meant for adventure and excitement, however you must get it.”
“Yeah,” I said, slightly deflated. “You’re preaching to the choir.”
“I do not know what that means,” she said. “But I like you. Now, where are your friends? The child in leather pants and the old lady dressed like Elton John?”
I raised my brows in surprise. Scarlet hadn’t been with me when I’d met with Angelica the day before, which meant she’d been watching us.
Angelica waved the gun at Jimmy and Bruce and said, “Go find them. They’re here somewhere. I want them alive.”
Jimmy and Bruce shared another look, and then they skulked off to find Scarlet and Rosemarie.
“You should be careful,” I told her. “I don’t like the looks those guys are giving each other.”
She laughed and checked her nails. “I’m very careful. Those two would sell their own mother if the price was right. Fortunately, I know what their price is.”
It didn’t take long for Vinny and Bruce to come back with their captives. I almost felt sorry for them. Scarlet was screeching like a banshee, and Jimmy was holding her under the arms so her feet didn’t touch the ground. She was kicking him in the shins, and she’d obviously gotten a good swipe across his face because his cheek was bleeding. I stifled a smile as she swung up and whacked him in the head with her handbag. He dropped her and grabbed his head.
Bruce wasn’t faring much better. He and Rosemarie were doing some bizarre wrestling dance that looked like a full nelson cha-cha.
“Dios Mio,” Angelica said. “Did that swamp monster eat your friend in the leather pants?”
“That’s my friend Rosemarie,” I said. “She’s very nice. She’s just not at her best right now. She owns a wedding planning business in the Savannah historic district. You should recommend her to your friends.”
“I like a good wedding,” she said. “I wore red when Carmen and I got married. I never looked good in white.”
There was a whump, whump, whump in the distance. I had no idea how far out the FBI was, or if Nick had managed to persuade the sheriff in Whiskey Bayou to stop napping long enough to come to the rescue.
I saw Vince move again out of the corner of my eye, but there was no use relying on him for help. Even if he did manage to stand on his own two feet, I had a feeling his brains were pretty scrambled.
“Let me go!” Scarlet screeched. “I’m an old lady. I fought Nazis. I’ll cut out your gizzard and eat it raw. I’ll put your privates in the blender. I’ll make a
