Page 61 of Hot for Hostage

Don’t ask. Don’t ask. Don’t ask.

I cleared my throat and traced a circle over the granite countertop, trying my best to sound nonchalant. “Are Dav’s… er,lady friendsnot usually sweet?”

Antonio shrugged and slid the diced onions into a large bowl. “Don’t know.”

I frowned. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

“Not much time to entertain lady friends here when the boss works as much as he does.” He cocked a brow, looking at me. “Another reason I was surprised to hear about you.”

Oh. It was getting warm in here.

“But that doesn’t change that this is no place for a sweet girl.” Antonio’s frown returned. He studied me for a long moment before pointing his knife at me. “Do yourself a favor,dolcezza. Go back to your culinary school and forget all about the boss.”

His candor struck me speechless—was it normal for employees to warn girls off their bosses?—but I recovered quickly and lifted my chin. “I appreciate your concern, Antonio, but I can take care of myself. I’ve done fine so far.”

Aside from the parts where Davian had used the hostage-reverse card on me and the thugs had shown up at my apartment, I thought I’d handled everything quite admirably.

“I’m sure you have.” Antonio pulled out another onion and started dicing. “But you’ve barely scratched the surface of what goes on here. And girls like you belong with nice boys. Boys who appreciate you and have time for you.”

I frowned, getting a little annoyed with Antonio—especially since Davian seemed to appreciate me just fine. “To be honest, you don’t know me and you’re making a lot of assumptions. Did those Nosy Nellies even tell you how Davian and I met?”

His eyebrow crept higher, and the knife paused in its chopping. “No, they didn’t.”

I crossed my arms and lifted my chin, doing my best to look intimidating. “I stole Vince’s gun and took Davian as my hostage in Bruno’s ice cream shop. I’m basically a criminal myself.”

Boom.

Except… it wasn’t the mic drop moment I’d been hoping for. Instead, Antonio’s lips twitched like he was trying not to laugh again, seemingly unimpressed with my budding rap sheet.

“My mistake. I shouldn’t have judged so quickly.” He bent his head in apology and cleared his throat. “May I ask what prompted the whole hostage situation?”

“Well.” I shifted my weight. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought that up. But he needed to understand I wasn’t as sweet as he thought I was. “One of the shelter dogs was taken from Happy Tails Haven, and I needed help getting him back. It was time sensitive.”

He blinked slowly. “So, you chose Davian Reed to help you?”

“Yes. He has a reputation.”

Antonio’s bafflement only grew. “…For rescuing dogs?”

“For getting things done,” I corrected, pursing my lips.

Antonio’s mouth opened and closed, and there was a long pause before he returned to his chopping. “…Indeed he does. Now, care to share why you really came down to my kitchen? I know it wasn’t to visit an old man like me.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. His tone had warmed since I first arrived, but I still felt like I’d overstayed my welcome.

“Well, I was hoping to bake a few things, but I can come back later.” I eased back from the counter and tried not to send a longing glance at the ovens. “I didn’t expect anyone to be here.”

Antonio’s brows rose. “You want to bake?”

I shrugged. “Yeah. Just some cupcakes to thank Davian for his help.”

All chopping halted, and he looked at me like I was an alien visiting from another planet—which didn’t feel too far off.

It took a beat before he spoke again, brows pulled together. “…You want to bake cupcakes for the boss?”

I shifted my weight. Did Davian host seminars to train his men on how to stare someone down? They were all really good at making me squirm.

“And dog treats for Bear,” I added, hoping I wasn’t overstepping. Maybe the idea of letting me use his kitchen didn’t sit well with Antonio. I couldn’t blame him. Kitchens were sacred. “He picked up a bad habit recently, and I’m not opposed to using bribery to fix it. You know how dogs are.”

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