“I know you have other prospects to weed through, but I’m hoping this will help convince you that I’m the best choice.” He leaned in, and before I could react, something whipped over my head, and I stumbled sideways into someone’s hard hands.
“Sienna!” Salvo’s voice came from a distance, and I cried out as I took a swing at whoever was holding me. I connected somewhere on their body, but I was being hauled off somewhere, nonetheless.
“Salvo!” I yelped as cool air whooshed over my hyper-aware skin. I felt myself being pressed into a car. Once I was seated, the car took off, and I scrambled to rip off whatever was over my head, hardly registering that my arms and feet were free.
“What the hell?” I snapped as I focused on the faces that grinned at me. “Are you all insane?”
“She’s got a good right hook.” Niccola rubbed his chin and looked at Vinni.
“You sure you took care of Salvo?” Vinni asked him as he glanced uneasily out the back window
“Yeah, Gain is tying him up right now.” Vinni glanced at me. “Don’t be pissed—”
“The hell, I am pissed!” I shouted, trying to settle my nerves. “What the hell’s going on?”
“Elio needs to see you.”
“So, jumping me at the restaurant like I’m gonna be sold on the black market was your idea of getting me out of there?”
“We needed to make it look like a snatch and grab.” Niccola tried to calm me down.
“Couldn’t you have told me?”
“No,” he shook his head, “your reaction needed to look legit.”
“Let’s try it again, and I’ll give you legit,” I snarled, and he fought his grin.
“Oh, I really missed you.” He chuckled, further pissing me off. “The house is just not the same.”
“Well, at least you have something to remember me by.” I pointed at his chin, and Vinni laughed as he texted someone.
We took a hard corner and pulled into a driveway, then through a still-rolling-up garage door. We disappeared into the dark, leaving no trace we were even there.
Vinni reached for the door handle then turned back to offer me a hand.
“Oh, now he’s a gentleman.” I snickered, but at the same time, I was beyond relieved at who was behind my kidnapping. “Are you going to bind and gag me too?”
“No,” Elio stepped into the light, looking dark and sexy as ever, “that’s my job.”
“She’s pretty feisty.” Niccola popped out of the car, holding his jaw dramatically. “If you were at all concerned she didn’t have any fight left in her, you were wrong.”
“Right, so don’t do it again.” I laughed at him.
“Come here.” Elio slid his hand around my neck and tugged me to his mouth.
I didn’t have time to think as he kissed my open mouth and commanded control over me. Giving in to Elio was exactly what I needed, but the only problem was once I let my mind go, it brought back all the unwanted thoughts I had forced aside this evening.
He must have sensed my hesitation and pulled away. He looked down at my dress and made a primal noise of approval. “Follow me.”
He opened the door to a room that had a hazy look like someone had just finished a box of cigars, but there was no smell. Black leather benches and oversized chairs created a horseshoe around a roaring fireplace. It was classy and dark all at the same time.
“Are we in a warehouse or something?” I made my way over to the desk and took a seat. I crossed my legs and admired a bottle of whiskey then scooped up his drink and smelled the contents. Yikes, it was strong. I set it aside and watched him.
“It’s a meeting place.” He locked the door behind us. “A friend of mine owns the place.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked, suddenly worried our entire plan was going to crash down around us. “You have to stop showing up like this.”
“Hey,” he cupped my face and stared into my eyes, trying to read me, “I have more soldiers here than I do at home.”