Page 25 of Rescued By the Mafia

There was a beat of silence before the man in the passenger seat said, “Yes, ma’am.”

The SUV made another turn as Dante shifted his attention to her. “Does that mean something to you?”

A strange twist of guilt tangled in her gut and Iris nodded. “My roommate, Elise, works here. She was supposed to have a shift tomorrow, I think.” And Iris was horrified with herself to realize she’d not given her roommate more than a passing thought. She hadn’t exactly told Elise she was moving out. Elise might have returned home and had a terrible surprise waiting for her and it would have been entirely Iris’s fault.

“Well that might explain the woman…” the guy in the driver’s seat said as the SUV came to a stop.

“Woman?” Dante repeated. He swung his head the other way and leaned forward, angling to look out his own window, but beyond Iris’s line of sight. Dante made a low sound, like a hum. “Carlo, stay with Iris.” He released his seatbelt and popped his door open seconds before the man in the driver’s seat did the same. There was still someone else in the SUV with her—named Carlo, apparently—but Iris felt an immediate chill of loneliness when the doors slammed shut again.

Iris unbuckled, set down the folder she’d partially crumpled, and slid across to Dante’s side for a better view. Mostly it proved to be a better view of Dante’s broad shoulders and the mouthwateringly perfect fit of his suit coat and slacks, and while that was nice, it wasn’t what she’d been aiming for.

“Ma’am, it’s dangerous.”

Iris frowned, debating between staying in the backseat and climbing forward where she knew she’d be able to see. “I just want to see who it is.”

Carlo shifted around, his phone went up, and the unmistakable click of a camera echoed in the cabin of the SUV. Then he handed the phone over to her.

“Oh. Thank you.” Iris took the phone, zoomed the image in a little, and something sharp stabbed through her chest. There was no mistaking it. That was Elise.

eight

First Blood

Iris shoved from the SUV, Carlo’s voice calling after her to stop. She wasn’t sure if she was angry, terrified, or drowning in guilt, but whatever the surging emotions inside her were, they wouldn’t let her listen to reason. She marched right up to the trio at the front of the SUV, one of whom had turned to look toward the source of the slamming door sound, and came to a stop at Dante’s side.

Or, rather, he reached out and curled an arm around her when she was near enough. But that was fine. It anchored her.

Elise cut herself off in the middle of whatever she’d been saying, right arm up over her shoulder. She blinked several times, looked between Iris and Dante, and exclaimed, “Iris? What are you doing here?”

The question made Iris rear back. “What am I— Why are you driving around in my car?”

Elise laughed. “Oh, were you trying to find me? I left my charger at my friend’s place, so my phone’s like way dead.” She motioned to the store on the far side of the parking lot. “Thought maybe this place would have one for cheap, you know?”

Iris lifted a hand to massage her temple. It had only been a few days since they’d last interacted, but in truth, she hadn’t missed attempting to have a coherent conversation with this woman. “No, Elise,” she said. “I actually want to know why you’re driving around in my car.” She sort of also wanted to know a few other things, but not badly enough to ask about them.

Confusion dulled Elise’s features. “What’re you talking about?” Her head tilted to the side. “He said it was cool.”

The hairs on the back of Iris’s neck stood up and her entire body went taught.

“Who?” Dante asked.

Elise studied him. “Uh, no offense, Mr. Sexy, but maybe this should be a ladies’ only conversation. If you know what I mean.”

Mr. Sexy?

“Not happening.” The words were barely out of Dante’s mouth when another SUV pulled up parallel to theirs, on the front side of the Corolla, as if he’d summoned it. Four men jumped out and, not unlike the scene when he’d sent men to shield Iris at the garage, they circled around behind Elise, forming a sort of human wall.

Discomfort finally sparked in Elise’s eyes. “Seriously, what the hell’s going on? No way I’ve done anything this bad.”

Iris dragged in a breath, bracing herself for the answer she knew she’d get and didn’t want to hear. “How did you get possession of my car, Elise? Who ‘said it was cool’?”

Elise looked back at her, hesitating now. “Didn’t you … say it was cool?”

Iris ground her teeth. “My tires got slashed on my first night at the restaurant. It had to get towed to a garage and my shift manager had to take me home. I literally haven’t seen my car since that night until just now.”

“Oh shit.” Elise tapped her fist against her lips, a restless habit Iris had learned meant she was struggling to hold herself still. “But it was in the spot when I came back this morning,” she said. “And your—” Her gaze flicked again to Dante, then around to the two men on either side of them, before returning to Iris. “A much less impressive-looking guy who said he was your boyfriend was there, locking up. We talked for a couple minutes and he’s the one who told me you said you’d be away for a few days and that I could use your car if I needed.”

Iris shook her head, despite that the motion only made the world spin faster. “No.”

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