Page 54 of Becoming His Pet

He took another step.

“I want to protect you, and you want to protect me, so instead of working with me, being honest and letting me be involved, you decided to take the reins on this.” He crossed his arms over his chest. She stood only a step away. He could grab her whenever he wanted to, but he wouldn’t. Not until she came to realize it was what she wanted.

“But this isn’t your mess,” she continued.

He laughed and shook his head. “I think when I walked into that back room and aimed my gun at those assholes, it became my mess too. I may not be the one the cops are looking for, but I promise you Anthony and Teo aren’t going to forget about me.”

She wasn’t stupid. She couldn’t actually think they’d let him just walk away from that flower shop with her in tow when they wanted her.

“So, you see, pet, this isourmess. And I’m glad you want to protect me. But when you lie, when you misbehave, when you break my toys, you aren’t protecting me. You’re putting distance between us—distance that will get us both hurt.”

The heat in her gaze started to simmer.

“You shouldn’t have taken me up here,” she said in a pitiful voice.

“Why?”

“Bernie could have had me somewhere safe and you wouldn’t have needed to get involved.”

“Well, if that’s true it doesn’t matter. I did bring you up here. I did take you away from the bad guys, and now you’re under my protection.”

“I can protect myself,” she said.

“I don’t doubt that. The one thing you are not is a damsel in distress. But, you are a woman who finds herself being chased by a crime family that doesn’t hold much respect for women—especially ones they think crossed them. What do you think will happen if they catch up to you?”

It was time for some reality to make its way toward her thinking.

“They’ll kill me,” she said with a shrug. It wasn’t that she wasn’t afraid of that happening; it was that she wanted to not fear it.

“That would be a waste. How much do you know about the Santinellis’ businesses?” he asked.

“I don’t care.”

“They run one of the largest sex trafficking rings in the city. They pimp out girls on the south side, sell them to the porn industry, or just keep them locked up for their own private use. Now. Why would they kill a gorgeous woman like you when you could be added to their supply chain?”

Her vibrant color drained from her face as he continued talking.

“They might kill you, after you’ve earned them a shit ton of money.”

“And if they catch you?”

“You don’t get it, do you? You don’t understand what you’re up against here, Nora. If you did you wouldn’t have gone into that flower shop even considering revenge for your father’s death.” He took a breath. “Why didn’t Bernie help you with that? You said he knew the business.”

“He couldn’t move against Antonio. As far as he knew Antonio had permission to go after my father, and Antonio was untouchable,” she explained.

Greg didn’t say anything more about Bernie. She wasn’t ready to hear it, and he already had one obstacle to overcome at the moment.

“You really want to work with me on this?” Her question came out soft, uncertain.

“I don’t particularly like women who play the doormat.” He tried to sound gruff; the punishment she had coming was going to be unpleasant, and he couldn’t be swayed by anything she said.

“And you’ll let me make decisions?”

“I’ll let you explain what you want to do, but final call is mine.” He shook his head. “Between the two of us, I have a hell of a lot more experience with bad guys than you do.” He’d only served one tour in the marines, but he’d flown up the ranks and had been put in some serious shit while deployed. The Santinellis were nothing compared to what he’d seen in the desert.

She huffed.

“You can’t do this on your own,” he finally said.

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