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I tell them where I parked near the club.
“That’ll be next. You have any loved ones?”
I shake my head wordlessly. No children. No siblings. No living parents.
“Good,” Romeo mutters. It’s the first time anyone’s ever said that was a good thing.
Mario doesn’t make eye contact with me. He seems… brooding. His lips are pressed together, his eyes dark and distracted as he stares at the wall above me and doesn’t talk to me.
And right then… I regret this.
And I want to go home.
“We’ve almost come to a decision, but I’d like to talk to my brothers first,” Romeo says.
Wait.
They’ve come to… a decision… regarding me, without consulting me. This is so many kinds of fucked up I’m not sure how to react. But when Mario comes to me and escorts me to the furthest end of the wine cellar, I remind myself of who they are. I remind myself of the stories I’ve read about men like them. I’m lucky I’m still alive.
I’ve walked on the wild side with the most notorious crime ring in New England and lived to tell about it. I should maybe not look a gift horse in the mouth and all that.
It doesn’t take them long. These seem like a rather decisive group of men. Mario walks back over to me and gives me a grim smile. Romeo nods and clears his throat, while they all assemble around me.
“You’ll stay here,” Romeo says. “We’ll allow you to live, under one condition.”
Allow you to live.
My heart thumps so hard I can hardly think straight. It’s hard to swallow. Mario’s hand comes around the back of my neck with a squeeze I’m not sure is warning or reassurance. I stand, frozen, as if waiting to hear my sentence.
“Under normal conditions, your life would be ours, we’ve covered that. But under these conditions, things are different, aren’t they?” Romeo strokes his chin. “You could be an asset to us, Emma.”
They are letting me live because… they want to use me?
I don’t respond but continue to watch him. Mario’s grip on my neck tightens. I feel it as a warning this time.
“You can use a gun,” Romeo says. “I’m guessing given your background, you’re skilled in other areas as well. You’re obviously nimble and quick on your feet. And we have no women in our ranks. It would definitely prove useful.”
Heat rises in my chest, and I keep my temper in check with some difficulty. I feel as if they’re talking about me, a human, as if I’m a commodity to be used.
Mario chuckles, and his brothers look to him. “What’s funny, brother?” Orlando asks quietly.
“I can feel how pissed she’s getting at the way you’re talking about her,” Mario says, clearly amused. “She doesn’t like that you’re talking about her like property.”
“She doesn’t like that you’re talking about her as if she isn’t here,” I say through gritted teeth. Seething.
Mario clucks his tongue, presses his fingers at my neck again, and draws me a little closer to him so I’m standing in his shadow.
“Hush, doll,” he says in a warning tone. “Watch it.”
Romeo continues as if nothing’s happened. “So what’s your answer, Emma?”
“Was there a question? I think I missed it.”
“We’re allowing you to live under the condition that you work with us.”
I turn this over in my mind. Work with the Rossi family. Get access to all of their inside information, earn their trust, and come out alive in the end? Sounds like a decent deal to me.
Something tells me it might not be as easy as I think it will be, but I ignore that warning. The choice is clear, and I’m not heading back to the office anytime soon. Not with Grady’s complete unpredictability to deal with, and the Rossis don’t look like they’re letting me go anytime soon.
“Fine,” I blurt out. “Yes, I accept.”
“Perfect,” Romeo says with a nod. “We’ll take care of the majority of the details. Your weapons, your car, whatever you need to continue your disguise.”
I nod numbly. My throat’s tight. I feel as if I’m about to embark on a journey, something monumental, and even though it isn’t anything I planned, I can’t help the flicker of excitement that tells me this is huge.
“Mario.” Romeo addresses him. We both turn to look at him. “Remember our purpose. Your job is to keep her prisoner. To keep her under lock and key. Can you do that, brother?”
Prisoner. I freeze, staring at him. I knew they weren’t letting me go, but hearing it in such bold, broad terms like that makes me put on the brakes.
“Am I working for you, or being kept as your prisoner?”
“Yes,” Romeo says.
Mario grips my upper arm. “Of course I can,” Mario says, answering Romeo. “Happily.” He turns to me. “You said you wanted a full tour, Emma? Let’s go upstairs.”
