Page 18 of Reluctant Surrender

“Sammy Bertonelli is looking for you, Maggie. Did you know that?” Something about his voice going that low to where it was more of a roar than speech made my stomach flutter. But the black anger in his eyes, that sent a cold shiver right through me.

“He’ll give up and move on to something else.” I waved a hand, though I wasn’t entirely convinced. He’d killed Stanley for his part in that game, and if Sammy wasn’t out to kill me for participating, he might want to get rid of me because I knew.

“Move on to something else?” Lukas repeated my words as though I’d spoken in a different language.

He dug his hand into his hair and marched into the living area muttering to himself in Polish. I couldn’t understand some of what he said because he was speaking too fast, but I understood enough to know I should stay away from him until he calmed down. The phrasesred ass,my damn belt, andgoing to spank her rawwere popping out of his mouth at record speed.

When he fell silent, I leaned against the counter watching him, unsure if it was safe to talk yet. He turned around, the expression on his face answering my question.

I kept quiet.

“Sammy Bertonelli doesn’t forgive cheats, Maggie. He won’t just forget what you did. And even if he didn’t care about the game, you were witness to what happened to whoever the fuck you were helping.” All points I’d already figured out. “He won’t stop until he finds you.”

“But he won’t find me, Lukas. No one knows my real name. No one has my real contact information, and no one knows where I live. There’s nothing for them to trace. I’m on the west side of the city, while he’s eight miles north of here. He’ll never find me.”

Lukas’ left eyebrow arched. “My men found you in four hours.”

“You knew my real name,” I argued, but it wasn’t much of an argument.

“They have your first name, and they know what you look like. A sweet little Polish girl with the name Maggie who likes to play poker. You don’t think they’ll find you soon enough?”

I plucked the sunglasses from my hair and dropped them on the counter.

“It’s all right, Lukas.” I kept my voice steady while my insides trembled. “I’m going to find a new apartment. Maybe in the suburbs. I’ll change jobs if I need to. Don’t worry, he won’t find me, and he will get bored looking. I’m a nobody.”

“How many times have you played this game? How many idiots did you help win at these games?”

My mind did a quick calculation. “About a dozen.”

“And how many of them were run by the Bertonelli family?”

“I have no idea. If I’d known last night’s game had anything to do with them, I would have turned the guy down. I wouldn’t have taken the job.”

His jaw tensed. “Taken the job? Why the fuck were you doing it anyway? It has something to do with why you’re living in this shithole, doesn’t it?”

He wasn’t wrong.

“I’m not talking about this while you’re pissed. When you calm down, we can talk, but until then…” My words fell away as he took his first step toward me.

“What did I say would happen if you lied to me, Maggie? What was the promise I made you yesterday morning?”

“Lukas, no. Don’t even—”

“Boss.” A man opened the front door and peeked his head in.

Lukas froze and turned his attention to him. “What?” he barked.

“Sammy’s men stopped at the club this morning asking about her.”

My throat closed around my plea for Lukas to calm down. If Sammy had figured out that I frequented that bar, he was only a few steps away from finding out a lot more about me.

Lukas nodded and his man left the apartment, shutting the door again. When Lukas turned his dark, angry eyes on me again I took a protective step back.

“You have two minutes to throw shit in a bag.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you can’t stay here, Maggie. You can’t be alone right now. You’re coming home with me.”

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