Gesturing to the bag, I say, “Mom to the rescue.”
Mia smiles and nods her head for me to follow. “Come on, we’ll give you a ride.”
I notice her bodyguard doesn’t turn to follow her, but instead keeps an eye on me, waiting to see if I’ll follow. I had no intention to even before that, but now I’m damn sure not going to. I’ve been too trusting with this wily family, and while I got a certain amount of enjoyment from Sin kidnapping me, I also got my heart dinged up. I would rather sweat my ass off walking than get in their air conditioned car and risk ending up entangled with their family again. I haven’t even cut the last of the vines from last time they pulled me in.
“I’m okay, actually. It was nice to see you, but I really have to get goi
ng or I’ll be late.”
“You won’t be late if we give you a ride,” Adrian counters, sensibly.
I smile, considering another polite dodge, but I decide just to be honest. “You know what? I’m not going to get into a car with you because I don’t trust you. Every time I get into a car with anyone associated with the Morelli family, my life hits a brick wall. It was fun the first couple times, don’t get me wrong, but I’m over it. I would like to get back to boring, if it’s all the same to you.”
A strong arm settles around my shoulders and my gaze snaps to the wall of man suddenly standing beside me. “It’s not all the same to us, or we wouldn’t be here, now, would we?”
I narrow my eyes, staring at the dark-haired, dark-eyed devil beside me. “You.”
Alec Morelli nods his head, dragging me along with him toward Mia and Adrian. “Me. Long time, no see.”
I try to shrug his arm off me, but his grip is too tight. “Get your hands off me.”
Instead, he places the other one on my waist, on the inside of this unwilling embrace so no onlookers would think anything of it. “Why don’t you make this easy?” he suggests. “Obviously you’re going to get in the car and come with us. I mean, if you don’t, I’m going to have to follow you all the way back to your place, knock out your roommate, break into your apartment, and drag you out all by myself. You’re on the ground floor, which is nice, but since you’re pregnant, I’m disinclined to drug you. That means I’m going to use all my restraint on you and your roommate, so if you struggle and catch the attention of any other helpful onlookers on the way out, I’m just gonna have to shoot them. I’m not in the mood to shoot anybody today. If you would just get in the car with us now, I can avoid all that and take the night off. It’s Sunday. I really hate working hard on Sundays.”
I glare at Mia, since she’s the only one of the bunch who looks remorseful for her part in this trap. “Unbelievable.”
“I’m sorry,” she says sadly, like we’re old friends and she has thrust a dagger into my back. “I was doing a favor for Rafe. I thought you’d come more easily if another woman was here. I know how tired you must be of the men.”
“So fucking tired of them, you don’t even know.”
“No one is going to hurt you. We just want to take you back to the mansion. You can stay for dinner. Rafe is flying in and he wants to talk to you. Apparently you’re not taking his calls.”
I’m not taking any Vegas calls. “Do you know what it means when someone avoids someone else’s calls? It means they don’t want to talk to them, and they definitely don’t want to see them.”
“The Morelli men aren’t big on taking ‘no’ for an answer,” she informs me.
“How do they feel about getting stabbed? Because I’m feeling kinda stabby.”
“Knife play, huh?” Alec asks, winking at me. “Should’ve told me you were into that when we went for coffee, maybe I would have called you back.”
“I hate you.”
Alec grins, giving my shoulders a squeeze. “I know. I’m sorry. It’s fun to pick on you.”
Fun to pick on me, huh? “Well, if knife play excites you, you would really be kicking yourself if you knew all the things I will do in bed.”
That wipes the smile off his stupid, handsome face.
It brings one to mine, though. I feel a little better about this kidnapping if I at least got a good jab in at red car guy.
Mia grins at me, then shoots Alec a sassy smile. “I don’t know what you did to her, but I feel like you deserved that.”
“I’m the nice Morelli,” he insists.
I slide him a dry look. “That’s like being the least harmful demon in hell. No points for you, buddy.”
Now a little smile tugs at the corner of Adrian’s mouth. “Rafe really pissed you off, huh?”
“Rafe didn’t even piss me off, I just can’t do it. I can’t hang with this family. I can’t handle all the mind games and manipulation. You guys are so fucked up.”