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“Maybe there’s somewhere I can hide?” she asks.
I draw back, cross my arms, and hold my features into a neutral mask. “Hey, lady. I’m not looking for trouble. I just got out of prison. Hell, I don’t even know your name.”
“Please.” Her voice breaks. “I can’t afford to get arrested either. And it’s Emberly. Emberly Kay.”
Emberly stares up at me, her eyes pleading. She’d look even better on her knees, begging me for mercy. I want to draw out this moment, enjoy her desperation, but that might be pushing my luck too far.
“Okay.” I make sure to sound gruff. “There is a way to get you out of this club and away from the police, but it won’t be free.”
She hesitates, all traces of desperation vanishing like smoke, her eyes narrowing. Caution etches her pretty features, and her lips turn downward.
“What’s the catch?” her voice trembles. “What do you want in return?”
Stepping forward, I look her full in the face. “Another kiss.”
SIX
EMBERLY
Roman Montesano stands so close to me that I wither under his body heat. My gaze bounces from his full lips to eyes that bear down on me with an intensity that makes my heart stutter.
Mafia men are dangerous, especially those who’ve spent time in prison for murder. The New Alderney Times once wrote an exposé about a trafficking ring that stole women in clubs to sell into sexual slavery. If I’m not careful, I might end up the next victim.
I should make my excuses and leave. Walk out of the club and deal with the police. Isn’t that what they say? It’s better the devil you know?
Except I know exactly what will happen if I accept Jim’s offer of help. He’ll be the perfect boyfriend until he slips up and gets belligerent. Then the next time, I’ll wake up with more than a black eye and a cracked rib. Worse, Jim’s promise to help me evade arrest is bullshit. Without a second thought, he’d murder me in a cell as punishment for leaving.
Roman tilts his head and raises his brow for an answer.
My heart thumps against my ribs like a trapped animal desperate to break free. I can’t go back to a relationship I already know will be abusive.
Could I make a deal with a mafia boss? People don’t get shoved on death row for no reason. He’s either a killer who bribed his way out or an innocent man with enemies powerful enough to get him executed. Either way, getting involved with him is dangerous.
But it’s not like he’s recruiting me to transport drugs. He only wants a kiss.
“Why?” I rasp, my throat suddenly dry.
“Why would I risk my freedom for a stranger on the run from the cops?” he asks.
I shake off the loaded question. “Why do you want another kiss?”
“Because…” He leans closer, his lips looking so soft and inviting that I have to force my gaze up to meet his eyes. “When you kissed me, I froze. I never wanted my first kiss with a woman in five years to be because I was caught off guard.”
And with someone not of his own choosing.
Roman leaves out that part, but I hear it all the same. My guilty conscience asks why I had to molest a man with worse legal troubles than my own who held such value in kisses?
“Oh.” My gaze lowers, and I shuffle on my feet to shake off a rush of prickly heat. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your first?—”
“It was memorable,” he says with a soft chuckle. “Just not what I expected.”
My teeth worry at my bottom lip. He just wants a do-over to make up for the experience I ruined. He’s not asking me to join the Cosa Nostra.
It’s just one kiss.
One kiss and he’ll smuggle me out of the club, so I won’t get arrested. After that, I’ll never have to see Roman Montesano again.
“Just one?” I ask.
