by Mae Doyle
It’s almost impossible for me to argue with that, and besides, my bladder feels like it’s going to explode. When I point at the door, he turns his back on me, but he doesn’t leave.
Fine. He wants to hear me pee? I can’t hold it any longer without worrying about having an accident, so I drop down the blanket, throwing it to the ground, and slowly lower myself down.
God, it feels good to pee. If I just splash some water on my face here in a bit then I’m sure I’m going to feel better. Not all the way better, but good enough to actually think straight about how I’m going to get out of here.
I struggle to stand back up and pull up the blanket before hopping to the sink and washing my hands. As I do, Roque turns around, his eyes locked on me as I move.
“Where did you go last night?” I have so many questions that I want to ask him, and I’m not sure how he’ll take them, but I need to start somewhere. Will he even answer me? The navy blue towel by the sink is fluffy and I gratefully splash some water on my face before drying my hands.
He still hasn’t answered me, so I turn to him, propping one hand on my wrist to look as serious as possible. “Well? Why did you leave me here tied to a bed like someone in a bad BDSM film?”
Roque chuckles and I scowl at him. “You haven’t ever seen a bad BDSM film, have you, my Eva? Well, let me tell you, when you’re ready, I’ll introduce you, but I don’t think your sweet little cunt can handle that just yet. And I left you here to take care of the person who tried to kill me, or do you not remember?”
“Take care of him? What happened?” Quickly, I scan his body. He’s obviously here in one piece, but that would mean…that would mean that the other person wasn’t, right?
“He won’t hurt us again.” Roque sounds serious and I still, digging my fingernails into my own hip.
“How can you be so sure?”
In response he leans down, dropping a kiss on my forehead. I tilt my head up to him, wanting to see him when he answers me. I have to know how serious he is. I have to know whether or not this problem is really fixed.
His lips are hot on my skin and I immediately feel my body respond to his touch. Not now, I tell myself, although my core is already warming for him.
“Because I shot him in the head, Eva. I did it for me, and I did it for you, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat if I needed to.”
That was not what I expect him to say, and part of my body screams for me to pull away from him. He’s a killer, plain and simple, but the fact that he was willing to kill someone for me, just to keep me safe, resonates through my body.
I know that I shouldn’t lean into him. I know that I should pull back as he wraps his arms around me and snuggles me closer to his chest. His heartbeat is slow and steady and it eases me, although I know that I should be afraid and I should try to get away.
But then why in the world am I leaning even farther into him? It’s like something is pulling me to him and I can’t get away.
Honestly? I don’t know that I want to get away.
Chapter 12
Roque
Thank fuck Eva’s calmed down a little, although I’m not sure how long this is going to last. I keep thinking that I’m going to be able to get her to chill out a little, but getting drugged and tied to a bed doesn’t usually make people more willing to cooperate in the long run.
I can only imagine what she’s going to be like later when she realizes just what shit she went through. She tips her head up at me and I take a good look at her pupils, trying to see if she might be in shock. That would explain why she’s suddenly so pliable, although part of me really hopes that she’s just come to her senses.
But I don’t think that’s the case. I’ve flipped her world completely upside down, and while the sex is amazing, it’s probably too much of me to ask that she’s cool with me killing the person who tried to shoot me. I shouldn’t have told her that, and I know that Pops would be pissed at me.
Women aren’t supposed to know our business.
There’s just something about Eva that makes me want to tell her everything that’s going on, and at the same time protect her from the truth about my family. I don’t think that I can have both, and I’m not sure yet how I’m going to reconcile that.
“What do we do now?” She sounds casual, but her question makes the hair on my arms stand up. I know that she’s asking when she can go back home, she’s just too afraid to ask me outright.
Or she knows exactly what she’s doing and she knows that asking me that will only cause me to become suspicious of her. No, as much as I’d love to take her back home, fuck her brains out, and then leave, there’s no way that I can let her out of my sight until I know for sure that she’s good.
But how in the hell am I supposed to know that for sure?
Her sweet tits are pressed up against my chest and I can feel them heaving as she breathes. My cock responds instantly, thickening in my pants as she presses her body against me. Normally, when I off someone, I like to sink my dick into the closest pussy asap, but I’ve managed to hold off this time.
If Eva keeps breathing like this and doesn’t take a step back, though, I’m not going to be able to hold off much longer. Bending my head, I kiss her, biting her lower lip and pulling back until she gasps.
Fuck. I don’t want to hurt her, but I know that my little Eva can handle it rough. I need to sink my cock in her, I need to feel her cumming on me. She kisses me back, reaching up and running her hands through my hair. Fisting her hair, I tilt her head so that I can run a line of nipping kisses down her exposed neck.
She’s going to make me explode.
Just as I slip a hand up under her shirt, there’s a knock on the door and she pulls back from me, her eyes wide, like she’s been caught doing something that she shouldn’t. Yeah, she got caught almost being fucked by the mafia. Again.
“Who the fuck is it?” I growl, not moving. I still have my fingers digging into her hips, and if she thinks that I’m going to let her step completely back from me, then she’s fucking crazy. Her heat is pressed up against me through the blanket, and I know that she can feel my hard cock begging to get into her.
“Pops wants to see you.” It’s Arlo, and I groan, leaning my head back and taking a deep breath. I haven’t slept all night and a good fuck and nap sound amazing, but I know Pops. There’s no way that he’s going to let this rest until we figure out what’s going on and how we can mitigate any danger to the family.
Family always comes first.
“Back to your room, Eva,” I tell her, picking her up in a fireman’s carry before she can squeak out a protest. She hangs limply over my shoulder, but when I deposit her back on her bed, she sits up quickly and wraps her arms around her knees.
“I want to go home.”
Her voice makes me turn around, but she and I both know that there’s nothing I can say to that. She can’t go home, not yet. Not until we get this all figured out.
“Johnny will watch you,” I tell her, nodding at the kid. He’s got to be damn near dead on his feet, but he nods at me and takes up his position by her door. I make a mental note to get the kid some pussy at the first possible opportunity. He deserves a treat for all the work he’s putting in this weekend.
Eva doesn’t say anything as I walk out the door. As soon as I’m in the dining room with the family, I know that I’m going to have to put any thoughts of her behind me. I can’t keep dwelling on what she wants.
I can’t worry about what I want.
Family comes first.
“What is she doing?” Pops waits until we’re all seated at the table before asking me about Eva. He doesn’t have to look at me, doesn’t have to address me. Everyone knows who he’s talking about. All of the guys know that she’s stashed in the spare bedroom, but what we don’t know is how long she’s going to be allowed to stay here.
“Resting. She needs a shower or something, but that will come later,” I tell him.
Pops nods and spreads his
hands on the table, sighing loudly. I can’t believe that he hasn’t been don for very long and yet he’s already dealing with ridiculous shit like this. “Vince is gone,” he says suddenly, his voice breaking the silence in the room. “But you know that we have to deal with Benito.”
Nobody moves. It was bad enough when we had to take out our own uncle, but we didn’t have a choice. Just like right now we don’t have a choice. If we don’t take out Benito then he’s going to keep calling for hits. Hell, we may have to take out that entire branch of our family.
Prune it off. Fuck, even the Bible tells us to cut off that which does not bear fruit, and let me tell you, that part of the family is not bearing any fucking fruit.
“He made the decision himself,” Pops continues, drawing my attention back to him. Nobody around the table has moved. I’m the only one who’s having trouble concentrating, and that’s just because I have Eva in the back room. “Today I want everyone to rest for a bit and then find him. Ricky, Valentino, you two start working your contacts now, before you take a nap. We don’t want Benito to realize that we’re coming for him with guns blazing, but it’s fucking hard to do that when we’re dead on our feet.”
Ricky and Valentino nod at Pops, but besides them, nobody moves. We all know that we don’t get to leave until we’re excused. That’s how my grandfather ran the family, and it looks like my dad’s going to run it the same way.
“Roque,” he says, turning to me, “please give me good news about that little broad you have stashed away. What does she remember? Are we going to have to take care of her?”
Across the table from me, Arlo shifts in his seat, the movement drawing my attention. Nobody here wants to see something happen to a woman, but we all know that we’ll do whatever we have to in order to protect the rest of the family. I’m just not willing to let that happen, not to her.
Why I feel so protective of her, I don’t fucking know. It’s not like it’s rare for us to find someone to let us get our dicks wet. But I’m not willing to let her get hurt.
“I’m going to take care of her,” I tell Pops, looking him square in the eye. “You don’t have to worry about her. Everything’s going to be fine and I can promise that she’s not going to talk.”
For the first time since we killed my uncle, Pops’ face softens a bit as he looks at me. “You don’t have to take care of her on your own, Roque. I’m happy to be the one to do it for you, or Arlo can, if you’d prefer.”
My heart flips in my chest as I realize what he’s saying. Shaking my head, I grit my teeth before I respond. “No, Pops. That’s not going to happen. I promise you, she’s not going to squeal. She’s going to be fine, okay?”
The look that he give me tells me that he doesn’t believe me. Before, that look would have devastated me. Everyone wants Pops to believe them and appreciate them, but for the first time in my life, I’ve found something that’s even more important to me than the appreciation of my family.
Eva. That dark-headed, spunky, mouthy woman I have hidden away is something that I’m willing to fight for. When Pops doesn’t respond, but instead turns back to the rest of the table to keep talking, I release the breath I was holding.
She’s mine, and I’m not going to let something happen to her. I have the distinct feeling that I’m playing with fire here, but I’m determined not to get burned.
I’m Roque Torenti, dammit, and things work out for me. I’m going to have my family and my Eva, and there’s not a damn thing that can stand in my way.
But first, I really need to take a fucking nap. I think about curling my body around Eva’s and holding her curves close to me while I sleep, but I know that I’m not going to catch a fucking wink if I do that. When Pops dismisses us, we all wander off to separate rooms to get some shuteye.
As I walk past Eva’s room I pause, tracing my fingers along the wood of the door, wanting to go in. My cock throbs for release in her tight little cunt, but it will just have to wait until later.
Chapter 13
Eva
I can’t sleep. Realistically, I should be exhausted, but I feel like there’s pure adrenaline pulsing through my veins. My stomach growls and I glance over at the boy – Johnny – to see if he’ll notice or say anything, but he’s staring past me, lost in his own thoughts.
It would have been nice if they’d stashed me in here with someone who would talk to me, but he apparently takes his guardian job very seriously. Then again, if I were working for the mafia, I probably would too.
The mafia. Just the thought that I’m in the house of cold-blooded killers makes me want to be sick. I don’t know how in the hell I ended up here, except for the fact that I apparently can’t trust my libido around a sexy man. Why that sexy man has to be a murderer, I don’t know, but it must be karma for some fucked-up shit that I’ve done in the past.
Without thinking about what I’m doing, I stand up and walk to the window, grab the bars over it, and yank on them. They don’t even rattle. Someone knew what they were doing when they turned this room into a prison, and that thought chills me.
Am I ever going to get out? My phone and my purse are still at work, so there’s not even any way for me to contact Cherie and let her know that I’m okay. Not that she’d come to the house of the fucking mafia, that’s for sure, but she may be able to send the cops to save me.
Turning around, I’m surprised to see that Johnny is watching me. It’s the first time that he’s actually made eye contact with me all morning, and while I’m not exactly keen on hanging out with someone in the mafia, it is nice to feel like I’m not invisible.
“You want some breakfast? You know that you’re just going to wear yourself out trying to get through the window. There’s no way that Pops would let you stay in here if there was a chance you could sneak out.” He shrugs a little, like he’s sorry for the news, but I latch onto what he said.
“No chance of getting out?” There’s a flash of panic in my veins, but I force it down. “And, yeah, I’m hungry. Can I get some breakfast?”
“Ma will bring you some, hold on.” He turns like he’s going to open the door, but then looks back at me, a warning on his face. “Do you remember what happened yesterday when you tried to get past me?”
I flushed. Yeah, I remember. I remember being knocked down and tied up by a freaking teenager. Instead of saying this, though, I just nod. “I won’t do anything dumb, I promise.” As much as I want food, I also really want to see Roque. Swallowing my pride, I ask, “do you think that Roque could come in here?”
“He’ll be asleep. Sit down and relax a moment.” With that, he slips out the door. Straining my ears, I hear the click of the lock engaging as soon as the door shut.
Okay. I have a moment to myself. Even though he’d told me that there wasn’t any way that I was going to be able to get out of the window, I still go to the bars and give them another shake. They hold fast, so I drop to my knees and glance under the bed. It’s stupid to think that they would hide weapons in here, but I have to look.
Nothing. Same in the dresser drawers and in the closet. It’s slow going for me moving around the room because of my ankle, which is really starting to throb. I’m about halfway back to the bed when I hear the lock click and the door opens.
It’s Roque. He has a plate of food, which instantly makes my stomach rumble, and is looking at me like he caught me doing something terrible. Ignoring the look on his face, I hobble to the bed and sit, staring at him while I wait for him to talk.
“Johnny said you’re hungry, so Ma made some breakfast.” He acts like it’s nothing, but when he brings me the plate, I can’t stop my stomach from rumbling. The plate is piled with toast and jam, scrambled eggs, a bowl of fruit, and even some sausage. Roque holds a fork out to me, but when I reach for it, he pulls it back a bit, a frown on his face.
“If I give you this, you have to promise that you’re not going to stab me in the thigh.” His strong fingers are wrapped around the fork and there’s no chanc
e of me being able to wrestle it from him, so I nod.
“I promise. I’m just…hungry, Roque, please.” I’m sure that he’s going to think that I’m just asking him for the breakfast, but I need more from him. Not sex, although just the sight of him makes my core heat uncomfortably and I have to clench my thighs together, but just to protect me. To be here with me.
I don’t know what’s going to happen to me, and I’m honestly not sure that I can handle whatever is coming on my own.
He doesn’t say anything, but hands me the fork and then sits down next to me. His weight on the bed makes me lean into him a little and he slides his arm around my shoulder and pulls me tight.
For the first time, I feel safe. I don’t know how long it’s going to last or long he’ll be willing to sit with me, but I’m going to take everything that I can get from him right now.
“Listen, Eva,” he said, and at the sound of his voice, my heart drops. I can’t help but think that they’re going to kill me. You don’t learn about the mafia and then live to tell the tale, right?
It’s like he doesn’t know that I’m upset, because he continues, even though I stiffen a bit as I eat. “I have to take a nap or I’m going to fall over. You need to be in here, but I can bring you a book or something so that you’re not bored. When I’m up and rested, we can talk about what we’re going to do about you.”
“Let me go, right? You’re going to let me go, right, Roque? I mean, you can’t keep me here, can you?” I swallow hard, forcing down panic.
I sound ridiculous, and I’m half expecting him to chuckle, but Roque only runs his hand through his hair and then stands up. “Eva, you know too much right now. I shouldn’t have told you how I handled things this morning, but now that you know, you could do a lot of damage to the family, do you get that? Fuck.” His face twists a little and he turns away from me so I can’t see him.
“Roque?” I ask, putting my plate next to me on the bed. “Talk to me. I promise you, if you let me go, I’m not going to tell anyone about this. I swear, I’ll even move if you want me to. You’ll never have to see me again and you won’t have to worry about me.”
