Page 49 of Married to the Mafia

She blinked at him for a beat before smiling again. “I’ll wait inside until someone pulls up, and have them drive me up to the gate. I’ll be fine. You said he got shot, too, right? It’s only been a day and a half since then.”

He knew she had a point, but the risk didn’t seem worth taking.

Brandi laid her palm on his chest, her touch light. “Obviously if there’s word of him popping up this afternoon, I’ll change my mind.”

He blew out a breath and spun her around before he could do something more distracting, like kissing her in front of anyone who wanted to look into the office. “Remember I promised you freedom from Miguel?”

“I had forgotten, actually…”

Mikey leaned in, hands on her shoulders, and placed his lips beside her ear. “Find some time to do a little shopping. You get a nice new desk to go with your new setup, and once it’s here, we’re sharing this office. We can redecorate the rest of the space to accommodate.”

He felt her sharp intake of breath. “You’re having me work in here? With you?”

“I am.” Because, as always, Dante had been right.

She let him take a little of her weight. “Can I have a bigger system? More monitors?”

He grinned. “You can. Trust me to handle that for you?”

“Well now I’m not so sure my ten-minute break is long enough. I feel like celebrating again.”

Mikey grunted, his nose slipping into her hair for a deep breath before he released her shoulders. “You’re a distraction. Get back to work.”

She stepped forward but flashed him a grin. “You’re looking forward to having me at your elbow all the time and you know it. See you after work, handsome.”

She hadn’t lied. When she’d originally insisted on handling her own transportation like a grown woman, Brandi had fully intended to do as she’d explained and go straight from the office to the manor. Even as she stood in the lobby, phone in hand, waiting for her rideshare driver to appear, she knew that was still the smart plan. She understood that just because Mikey hadn’t seen any sign of George or a lingering vehicle that might contain him didn’t mean the man couldn’t be just around the corner.

The problem was, she’d had just enough time near the end of her shift that day to scroll around and she’d very quickly found the perfect desk. So perfect she’d verified the specs with Mikey and placed an order. And now she had an itch. She needed newer, nicer, better stuff to use with that shiny new desk she expected would be delivered in forty-eight hours. Mikey was handling the tech end, so there was no point in her worrying about that.

A car pulled into one of the open spots outside the building seconds before her phone chimed, indicating her ride had arrived. Brandi hefted her purse a little higher on her shoulder, sent a short reassurance to Mikey that she was leaving, and stepped out the door.

Just a couple small things. What work desk was complete without the proper pen holder? Also she needed to find some file storage that would fit within the parameters of the storage shelf, for the inevitable hardcopies she had to keep for various clients. Her current storing system would be in the way. Probably she could find all of that at one location if she hit the right store. She checked her phone again to verify the time after ducking into the car. As long as she didn’t let herself get distracted, she could absolutely pull it off and still be home before Mikey.

“Off work for the day?” her driver asked. He flicked his gaze to her only briefly via the rearview mirror before easing the hybrid Toyota into motion.

Guilt momentarily clogged Brandi’s throat. She’d been so focused on the purpose behind her choices, she hadn’t thought about what she was doing. Her gaze immediately darted out the window and she nearly demanded he let her out before they’d even left the parking lot. Instead, she held tighter to her phone and forced the fear down. There had been no sign of her stalker since Saturday. For all they knew, he’d bled out somewhere from his wounds—though she did doubt she was so lucky. Regardless, she couldn’t let herself go through life assuming everyone she ever interacted with was in danger. It was bad for her health.

Brandi exhaled and managed a small, strained smile. “Yes. Although I do have an errand I need to run before I get home.” She paused, the guilt still gnawing at her. “Can you swing me by a store if I promise to be fast? And pay for the wait time, of course.” The question was barely past her lips when she realized they had already turned out of the parking lot, though she hadn’t given him any destination at all.

He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I know where you need to go.”

“Excuse me?” Brandi jolted in her seat as her driver accelerated around a corner, taking them off the main road. The move immediately thinned traffic, allowing him to maintain an obviously high rate of speed that sent her pulse skyrocketing. “What the hell is going on? I’m not paying to be fucking kidnapped!” She could not possibly be so unlucky. Right? “Stop this car and let me out right now!”

“Mind shutting up?” her driver said. He reached for the stereo, dismissing the GPS display and switching on the radio. “G wants to talk to you. I don’t ask questions, means I don’t have answers.” He cranked up the volume to make it extra clear he was done.

G? What the hell? She was beyond confused. They were driving much too fast, this was completely insane, and she couldn’t for the life of her think of who her driver-turned-abductor might be referring to. It was all so crazy and overwhelming that even the fear felt hesitant. What the hell did I walk into?

Her phone buzzed in her hand, the low tone of the ringtone indistinguishable over the screaming metal grating through her ears. She had already let her purse fall to her lap, so she was able to shift her phone enough to view the screen without dropping her chin. It was a text from Mikey. She assumed he was acknowledging the message she’d previously sent him, but suddenly she realized this might be her only chance to get out of whatever was happening unscathed. If she could figure out a way to articulate the situation without being obvious.

His message was not what she expected. It was both helpful and stupidly, irrationally heartwarming.

Mikey: Tell your driver to slow the fuck down. Or I will personally remove his lead foot.

For a split-second, she actually felt the urge to smile. Then it passed and she realized she still needed to figure out an efficient response. Not sure what else to say to signal her problem, Brandi opted to send four small messages in quick succession.

Brandi: H

Brandi: E

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