Heat bloomed on my cheeks again, and I dropped my forehead against the hood.
Nico was back a heartbeat later, dabbing between my legs with something. Then he pulled my jeans back over my hips.
“I know something happened,” he murmured, turning and lifting me. He carried me to the driver’s seat, set me inside the car, and bent in front of me. “And I know it wasn’t because we were almost caught tonight.”
A short exhale huffed past my lips. What could I say? He was spot on.
“Tonight was on me,” he added. “It won’t happen again, but if you think you can run away from this, you’re wrong. You can’t.”
I lifted my eyes to the roof of the car, as if the molded interior held the answers. “I have to leave.”
“And you’re going to tell me why,” he coaxed.
I can’t!
He laughed roughly and without humor. “I won’t lose you, Rae.”
“Why?” I snapped, because it was either get angry with him or end up crying again. And I sure as hell wasn’t doing that.
“Because.” He kissed my right knee. “You’re.” He kissed the left. “Mine.”
Chapter 25 – Rae
Nico straightened, closed the door, and came around to the passenger side. I narrowed my eyes at him, and when he climbed inside, I lifted my shoulders.
“What are you doing?”
He sighed. There was so much weight in that wordless noise. “Start the car, Rae.”
I looked around in confusion. He wasn’t coming with me. This was his home. What did he think he could gain from this? I would drop him off at the house?
“Rae,” he warned. “I’m trying to respect your rule about who drives this car, but if you don’t start the damn engine and start driving, I’m going to tie you up, throw you in the backseat, and speed out of here to the tune of your screams.”
Well, in that case….
The Camaro purred to life, and I began to creep it out of the garage.
“Take a right out of the front gate,” Nico instructed and buckled his seatbelt.
I obeyed. What choice did I have? We drove in silence, except for his occasional direction, for twenty minutes. The route took us into the heart of the city. It might be the middle of the night, but the city was alive and active.
My fingers kept a death grip on the wheel, until we pulled up to a high-rise right in the heart of downtown Boston.
“Take the parking ramp,” Nico instructed. “The code for the gate is 7869.”
It must have been the brutal exhaustion, because I snickered like a tween at the number.
Nico shot me a look. He probably thought I was losing my mind. Which, clearly, I was. It wasn’t even five in the morning, and I was driving with a ruthless mobster into the belly of a strange building. Anything could happen!
“Park here.”
I did. Nico left the car a second later. Going around the back, he tapped the trunk. I frowned at the rearview mirror.
“Open it, Rae,” he barked. His voice was loud enough to shake into the interior.
Already far down the crazy train, I popped the latch. As Nico removed my suitcase, I cut the engine and vaulted out.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I shouted.
