Page 24 of Mated into the Mob

“Nope.” I stood my ground. “Not until you tell me what’s going on.” Flint was the kidnapper, but I needed answers, though I couldn’t ignore the tension that I could almost see, touch, and taste that made his body shimmer.

“We’re going to meet my business associates.”

No, no, and no. That didn’t sound like fun. I was reasonably safe here with Rudy and Flint, or as safe as I could be with my kidnapper and his dad. Going into the unknown with a bunch of mobsters, some like Emilio who wanted me punished, that wasn’t on my bingo card.

“No way. Sounds scary. I’d like to return to the basement, please.”

“Do you ever do as you’re asked?” His eyes blazed as he towered over me, with something close to… not passion… irritation or maybe hostility.

“I don’t recall being asked,” I snapped. “You said we were going. I didn’t get a choice.” I needed to piece together what was happening but didn’t have enough clues. “Bring your business associates here if you’re so worried I’ll escape and alert the police. I’ll stay in the basement so you’ll know exactly where I am.”

He growled, it came from deep inside him, and goosebumps paraded over my skin. Outwardly, I reacted the same as last night when we first met. But now, instead of being deathly afraid, I was… not. I couldn’t pinpoint the difference. Maybe that was part of his plan. But for what purpose?

“Rarely does anyone other than family come to the house.”

The silence yawned and stretched between us as the synapses fired in my brain. Family. That photo of my father was taken onthe grounds, Rudy said. Was he blood family or just in the family business? And that led to me. I was neither.

“So why did you bring me here?”

He opened his mouth and closed it, then looked at his dad. Maybe this was his first kidnapping and he wasn’t sure of what to do next.

“You’ll see.” Rudy hustled me into the basement and chose a button-down and a nice pair of jeans that fit from the closet. He mumbled something that sounded like, “These were left here once.” That wasn’t weird. “Your lip is healing, but your nose is still swollen.”

“No way can I meet the mob when I look less than my best.”

He studied me. “Is that a defense mechanism?”

“What?” I pretended to be ignorant about what he was referring to.

“Using sarcasm and humor to deflect from real life.”

I shrugged. Now it was my turn to change the subject. “Where are we going?”

“To La Luna Noir headquarters.”

The nightclub had a headquarters? That was odd, but then what wasn’t about this situation and his family. But I was going out in public. I could slip through the crowd or steal someone’s phone. Or just ask someone to phone 911 and I’d be out of Flint’s clutches. I did want to get away from him. Yes, I absolutely did. I reran that sentence over in my head as Flint took me into the garage while his dad headed out the front door to his vehicle.

“No handcuffs?”

“Not today.” He stared straight ahead as we drove around the long driveway. Outside the gate, two cars were waiting; one went ahead, one behind, sandwiching us in between. “My security detail.”

I side-eyed him. He sounded like a president or monarch. Gods, he had a huge ego. I tried the door but couldn’t unlock it.Not that I was prepared to leap out on a lonely road or in the middle of traffic.

He pulled into a parking area under a tall building. I’d been past this place many times. The reflective glass changed color depending on the angle and the position of the sun. It wasn’t how I’d conjured a mob meeting place.

The shadowy darkness in the parking garage seemed more akin to the mafia. Flint cut the engine and turned toward me. “You’ll hear a lot of things you don’t understand.”

“That’ll be a first, because since we met, everything has been crystal clear.” Damn, that was what Rudy was talking about. I deflected, covering up confusion and fear. Ugh, I should have my head examined at meeting a bunch of mobsters who… wanted my blood? To string me up to the ceiling? My crime was just a little snooping. I didn’t find anything. That had to count.

“They’re not going to hurt me, are they? If they’re baying for my blood, I’ll sit this meeting out.”

He drew in a sharp breath. “It’s interesting you used the word baying.”

I couldn’t get a handle on this guy. Before his big old important meeting, he was ready to discuss my choice of words.

“Because there might be some of that.”

“People want to hurt me?” My heart sped up, and I fumbled for the door again.

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