Page 217 of Hell Hath No Fury
Suddenly, two hands land on my shoulders, making me jolt up and down.
“Don’t be frightened of me,” he muses, his voice soft, almost… seductive. My body erupts into goose bumps.
But it’s hard not to be afraid, knowing the kind of power he holds. “Your men wear guns.”
“It’s for protection,” he answers softly.
“Whose?”
He leans in, whispering into my ear, “Mine … and yours.”
I struggle to even breathe at all. He’s right there, breathing into the nape of my neck, every hair on my body aware of his presence so close I could feel his aura rub against mine.
“Are you scared?” he whispers.
I suck in a ragged breath. “Maybe.”
“I won’t harm you,” he says. I could listen to his soft and seductive voice for ages, and it still not be long enough.
How is he, a man I barely even met, able to have such an effect on me?
“Who … who are you?”
“You know my name,” he responds. “Ask the right question.”
“What do you do to make all of this money?”
“I am the don of the Ricci Mafia family,” he says, the words creating a visceral throbbing in my heart.
“A mobster,” I say under my breath.
Oh God. I really have gotten myself into some deep shit.
“Yes. But I don’t operate like any other mobster.” He stares at me through the glass of the window.
“How so?”
“I sell my goods only to the rich and powerful at exorbitant prices and rob them of their wealth.” He slides aside a few strands of hair and tucks them behind my ear, exposing my neck. “Their wealth I give to people in need.”
“The Robin Hood of the Mafia,” I say.
“If you want to call it that,” he replies.
And I’m his next altruistic target.
“Does it frighten you?” he asks.
After a while, I shake my head.
“You’ve seen much worse, haven’t you?”
I lower my eyes and gaze at my own belly, which seems so big now that I really know what’s been growing inside me all this time while I just thought I was getting fatter.
Even if this man is dangerous, I’m in no position to say no to the things he’s offering me. A room, a warm bed, delicious food, a hot shower.
And I definitely want all of those things.
“You can stay here for as long as you like,” he says.
