Page 26 of Ruthless Mafia Heir

"And when you couldn’t get any cash for it, you decided you were going to try and expose me and my family," I go on, cutting her off as I rise to my feet. She backs away from me, pressing herself against the wall of the office, clearly terrified.

I push my face close to hers. I can feel the heat between us again, but this time, it’s far removed from the sheer passion that consumed the two of us before.

"You want to see how far this goes? I’ll show you. Get your shit. We’re leaving."

"Blake, I’m not going anywhere with you when you’re like this," she protests, her voice trembling helplessly. "I… I…"

I stare at her.

"Did I offer, or did I tell you?" I snarl. "Get. Your. Shit."

"Where are we going?"

I ignore her, pushing open the door and gesturing for her to head to the staffroom. She does as she’s told, seemingly giving up on any attempt to defend herself now. She can tell that it’s not going to work, not when I’m like this.

My head is spinning. I can’t believe I let her so close, close enough that she’s started investigating on her own. She wouldn’t have known a damn thing if I hadn’t been so interested in her. She’d have just been some girl I met at a party and never thought of again. But her defiance, her sharp tongue, they drew me in. But they come with a sharp mind attached, and I don’t want to find out what happens when she turns that mind to my family’s business.

The eyes of the staff turn to her as I follow her, and they seem to be able to read how serious the situation is. She shoots a few looks around, imploring someone to help her, but they all just look away. They know better than to get involved with something I’m in the middle of. While all of them might not know the details, they know enough—enough to keep their distance when it’s something heavy.

I pull her outside, where it’s just started to rain. She digs her heels in when she realizes that I’m actually serious about this.

"You can’t just… you can’t just drag me out of here!” she protests. "I have a shift to finish. I don’t want to let anyone down, I—"

"Trust me, they’ll understand," I growl as I reach my car and pull open the door for her. "In. Now."

"Blake—"

"I said now."

The tone in my voice doesn’t leave any room for argument, and finally, she seems to get it through her head that she’s not going to get away with this. She reluctantly climbs into the car, and I slide into the front seat next to her.

I can feel her staring at me, her chest rising and falling quickly, but I don’t look at her. I’m not giving her that, not now. I’m not letting her off with this. God knows I’ve already done that too many times already, like letting her get away with stealing from me—what the hell was I thinking? I’m furious with myself for believing for an instant that I could trust her when it’s so obvious the kind of person she is.

I tighten my grip on the wheel and drive a little faster, pressing my foot down on the pedal. I know how to control this car, know it like the back of my hand, but I want to see her sweat. I want her to understand that she doesn’t get to play with me the way she has without some kind of payback.

"Please, Blake, slow down," she begs me, but I ignore her. The streets are whipping by outside, the lights blurring together into a mess in the corners of my vision. I can hardly hear her.

It doesn’t take long till my father’s mansion looms up on the horizon in front of us. I screech the car to a halt outside the front gate, which slides open almost at once. I roll the car slowly along the gravel driveway, my knuckles nearly bursting out of my skin from how tightly I’m holding on to the wheel.

She’s stopped trying to reason with me now. She seems to realize that it’s a lost cause. Whatever I’m going to do to her, I’ve already decided on it, and she knows it.

She stares up at the mansion before her and the enormous estate that overlooks the edge of the city. A huge garden, immaculately kept, surrounds it, maintained by the same gardeners who’ve worked for my father for decades. Because I know, damn well, that I’m not going to bring in anyone new, anyone I don’t know I can trust… anyone like her. Fuck!

With the car at a halt, I push her door open and nod for her to get out.

"Blake," she tries one more time, her voice low. "You… you can just take me back to my dorm. You can just let me leave. That’s all I’m asking you to do, really, you don’t have to—"

"Out."

She steps out, and I follow her, a hand on the small of her back as I lead her up the steps. I swear, I can hear her heart pounding even through her skin, every inch of her on fire with terror.

The front door is opened by the porter before we even reach it, and I push her over the threshold. She stumbles slightly, her shoes squeaking on the marble floor, and she straightens up and wraps her arms around herself. The porter doesn’t say a word as she stares at him, silently imploring him for help.

"My office," I order her, pointing her down the corridor at the far end of the entrance hall. I stalk after her, trying not to notice the sway of her ass in her jeans. She has no idea, no fucking idea, who she’s pissed off, but I’m going to make sure she knows.

When we reach the office, I pull the door shut behind us and turn on her before she even has a chance to sit down.

"You’re going to be staying with me for a while."

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