Page 70 of The Trouble With Bad Boys

“I told you to wait by the door.”

I shrugged as I turned away from the view. “Looks safe to me.”

A second door off to the other side drew my attention, and I spied a large bed. “Oh, good. You’ll get your own bedroom.”

His glower intensified, but he didn’t say a word. Instead, he retrieved our bags from where he’d set them next to the door, then carried them to the large bedroom. I bit my tongue. I would cross that bridge when I came to it.

I’d been so furious earlier that only now did something suddenly occur to me. I didn’t even know the man’s name. I followed him into the bedroom. “I guess I can’t call you Smith anymore.”

He met my gaze and shrugged, his expression blank. “You can call me whatever you want.”

“What I want,” I bit out, “is to know who the hell you are, and what the hell is going on.”

He stared at me for several beats before responding. “My name is Rodrigo.”

I glared him when he refused to elaborate. “You dragged me out of my own house. I think I deserve more than that.”

His lips pressed into a firm line as a heavy sigh filtered through his nose. “I’m originally from Chicago. I was helping a… business associate… look for someone.”

My gaze narrowed. “Look for who?”

He blinked long and slow before speaking. “A criminal.”

When I continued to stare at him, he continued reluctantly, “Goes by the name Araña. Just like a spider, vicious and unforgiving, capturing innocents within their web.”

I’d never heard such vehement contempt in his voice, and the hairs on the back of my neck prickled. “Wh-what do they do?”

“Everything.” His eyes flashed. “Anything. They’re human filth, little better than animals. We specifically were concerned about the human trafficking.”

I dropped my arms to my sides. “You were trying to stop human trafficking?”

He gave an abbreviated nod. “We’ve been following them for several years.”

He shook his head. “I think I figured out who it was, but… I was a little too late. Araña’s men knocked me out and took me captive. I had a young woman under my protection at the time.”

He swallowed hard, regret etched deep in his dark eyes. “My boss’s wife. I don’t know…”

He trailed off, and my heart pinched at his dejected expression. I took a seat next to him. “You didn’t see her after that?”

He shook his head. “I think they might have…”

He trailed off again, unable to complete the thought. God, I couldn’t imagine. “How long were you…?”

“A little over a month.” Those cold, dark eyes flashed to mine. “One day bled into the next. I wasn’t even certain myself until I saw your phone and noticed the date.”

“And now the men are after you because they’re afraid of what you know.”

He nodded. “They can’t afford for me to relay a message of their whereabouts.”

“To the police?”

He quirked a wry smile. “No. The police can’t—won’t—do anything.”

“But…”

His sharp look cut me off. “Trust me. These people… They’re too powerful.”

I stewed over that, examining the information he’d revealed. “Your business associate. You said he’s powerful, too. You need to contact him?—”

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