Page 29 of Mob Princess

8

Israel

“Doyou know how many times you could’ve been killed out there today?” I asked as the elevator came to a soft stop.

Bonnie stepped out of the cab as she sighed. “I know. But you said it yourself. I know what I’m doing.”

When had I ever said that? “I never said you knew what you were doing. I said what you did was impressive. There’s a difference.”

She tossed her things into the chair. “So, you don’t think I can take care of myself.”

“No, I don’t. Not against men like that. Not against men who were stalking you in that store.”

“You know they probably got that information from your phone, right?”

I looked over at her. “I’ve already addressed that issue. I did it in the car.”

She nodded. “The phone call you made.”

“It’s already being handled. In the meantime, you need to understand just how easy it could have been for a hitman to follow you the second you stepped out of this building.”

“Like the guys at the grocery store.”

“You didn’t notice them until I told you to, did you?”

“I would’ve noticed them…” She clicked her tongue and winced. “…eventually.”

I huffed a breath. “That’s cute. But I don’t think you would have.”

“Then, you obviously have no faith in me.”

“Right now, I still don’t think I can trust you. Screw having faith in you.”

“You might not realize it, Israel, but it hurts when you say that.”

I glared at her. “And it hurts whenever I convince myself that you can be trusted, only for you to go off and do shit like this under my nose.”

She swallowed hard. “To be honest, I didn’t think you were actively trying to trust me.”

Her words gave me pause. “Fair enough.”

“So, what now?”

I had no idea. “Do you really think you can defend yourself?”

She held her head high. “I know damn good and well I can.”

“Good. Because once I get my hands on you, you’ve got less than two minutes before I kill you.”

Her face fell. “Wait. What?”

I charged her, my hands at the ready. Her eyes widened as she backed up, already cornering herself. Already doing half of the work for me. “Israel! Stop!”

“You said you could defend yourself. Now, show me.”

I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her away from the wall. She flailed around and twisted out of my grip, falling to the floor. But when she tried crawling away, I stepped onto her back, pinning her beneath my boot while she struggled.

“Damn it, Israel. I wasn’t ready!”

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