“Now is not the time for you to start lying to me. Now is the time for you to start finding that necklace.”
“I don’t know where it is.” He’s on the cusp of tears, getting to his feet, making as if he’s going to tug on my arm but stopping himself just in time. “I’m sorry, Enzo. Please don’t tell the Don.”
I slap him across the face. “Don’t ever tell me what to do again. Not unless you want me to bring your kid in here and shoot him in front of you.”
I walk out of the room and back into the office. The file is there on the corner of Walter’s desk waiting for me.
Only one problem. There’s an elbow leaning on the file and that elbow belongs to Chloe Bennett.
She’s sitting there staring straight at me as I come out, looking shocked to see me here. She licks the corner of her lips again as her eyes scan involuntarily down my body.
She’s got the necklace on. Actually got the thing on. My eyes go to it and continue down of their own accord to her hint of cleavage. She’s gone with a white blouse, virginal and pure, like her. Top button undone though to hint at what lies within.
I get an overwhelming urge to tell the whole place to empty, grab hold of her, rip that blouse of hers, send buttons flying, bury my face in her tits while she begs me to fuck her.
I’m halfway toward her before I stop myself. One more step in that direction and I won’t be able to resist claiming her. I’ve got to keep some distance between us. Got to do it. For both our sakes.
She looks like she’s about to speak first. I’ve got to say something before her smart mouth unmans me and I’m forced to show her who’s the boss around here.
I open my mouth to say something that’s guaranteed to get her hating me. But what comes out instead is, “I guess you were right. Looks like I am stalking you.”
9
CHLOE
* * *
One look at him and everything inside me melts. I want to tell him to get lost but I say nothing. From the moment he appears in front of me, I’m no longer in charge of my own body.
There’s a tingle between my legs that I don’t want. There’s an urgent need for him to kiss me. Hell, even my nipples have hardened, pressing painfully into the fabric of my blouse.
Can he tell? I sure as hell hope not. The last thing I need is someone this arrogant finding out the effect he’s having on me.
I’ve no doubt he does this to a lot of women. Every girl loves a bad boy, right?
Well, I know better. My first time is not going to be a notch on his bedpost. It’s going to be meaningful. It’s going to matter.
Sure, Maisie tells me you can just have a one-night stand with someone. The first time is damage limitation, she says. After that, the pressure is off and you can start to have some fun.
I’m not having fun with him. I’m not doing anything with him. He told me the things he’s into and I don’t want to do any of that kind of stuff.
At least, that’s what I try to convince myself while he stares at me with an infuriating smirk on his face. “Looks like I am stalking you,” he said what seems like a lifetime ago. I’ve still not replied. This is the longest anyone has not replied ever.
Behind Enzo, Walter limps out of the corridor at the back of the office. He’s got his hand over his nose and there’s blood dripping onto his uniform. He looks like a wreck.
Enzo turns his head to see what I’m looking at. He turns back to me, smirking a little.
“Did you do that?” I ask him.
“You sure you want me to answer?”
“You heartless bastard. How could hurt him like that? You’ll get arrested for this, you know that, right?”
“You don’t know a thing about my world, Chloe. You know about garden centers and diners and that’s just peachy. My world is a fucking mountain of shit and the only way to get to the top is to climb over everyone else. Just because you don’t have to deal with the dark doesn’t mean it’s not out there. Don’t tell me what’s going to happen to me. I decide that, not you.”
He sounds furious. It’s the most he’s ever said to me, except for when he said all the sex stuff that’s been keeping me awake at night.
I’m not impressed. “You think that bullshit justifies beating someone almost unconscious, you fucking asshole?” Walter slumps into the nearest chair. A couple of deputies are looking at him, not sure whether or not to approach, like they’re scared Enzo might do the same to them. No one seems to think of arresting him. None of them so much as reach for a gun.