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Alarm and something else, something fucked up, filled me. Was it flattery? Was I genuinely flattered that the hot, rich criminal was possessive as fuck over me?
“Why are you here? Do you want money for the doctor?” I scrambled back carefully, afraid to put weight on my leg but not dumb enough to stand still and watch a human tornado heading right for me. I tested my painful ankle on the floor, and a cry of pain escaped me.
Rafe came to an abrupt halt. His eyes went to my foot, and a deep frown etched itself into his features.“Money for the doctor? I told you. Giacomo is my family doctor.”
“Family doctor. I get it now. Brilliant.” A shrill laugh left my lips before I could stop it.“You failed to specify what kind of family you were talking about. I know all about you and what you do.”
He was still. Only the muscle ticking in his jaw revealed any emotion. He tilted his head to the side. His eyes were watchful as he tracked my every move, every panicked breath and heartbeat like a wolf watching a rabbit before it pounced.
“Ah, is that right? You know everything you need to know about me, then?” His tone was soft, and it caught me off guard.
“I don’t know. I don’t understand why you’re pursuing me if you don’t want money. I figured out why you helped me in the first place. You were at the ballet for Hugh James, weren’t you? Does he owe you money? You came looking for him and found me. If you think he’ll care that you took me, he won’t.”
Rafe considered my words and then shocked me by tipping his head back and laughing. This wasn’t a chuckle. It was a full-on belly laugh, throaty and deep, a rumble in his powerful chest. I wished I could lay my head against him and feel it in my ear.
“What’s so funny?” I demanded indignantly. I hated to be laughed at.
“You think Hugh James has any importance next to you, angel?” he asked, his voice warm.
The nickname melted my insides. “I don’t know. I don’t know you, or anything about you, except that you might have killed someone before. Isn’t that what people in the mafia do?”
It wasn’t advisable to have this accusatory conversation while alone with a dangerous man, in a building where no one would even throw a water bottle if they passed you in the hall and you were on fire, yet, I couldn’t stop myself.
Rafe let out a long breath and turned his attention to my apartment. I wasn’t sure what to make of his sudden silence. Was he looking for a weapon to bump me off? If there was ever a place that lent itself to becoming a crime scene, it was my apartment. I could almost imagine the chalk outlines of previous victims on the floor.
“This place is depressing,” he said.
I swallowed the lump of pride in my throat. I could argue with him, but what was the point? He wasn’t wrong.
“Come to dinner with me. Somewhere public and safe, and I will answer any questions you have.” Rafe’s eyes raked me from head to toe. I hadn’t changed when I’d gotten home. I must look a mess, yet something in his dark eyes told me he liked what he saw
“Somewhere safe?” I repeated.
Rafe smirked as if he knew I’d be far from safe with him. That there was nowhere I could go that he wouldn’t find me.
“And we’ll just talk,” I confirmed.
He nodded, giving me that same placid smile, like a sated crocodile. No teeth, and yet, the threat of them was imminent.
“And if not?”
His expression turned wicked, a dark gleam in his eyes as he grinned.“Then I’ll simply return you to my house, to my bed, and we’ll pretend that none of this happened. Nicoletta will have to answer for disobeying me, however,” he said quietly.
That threat chilled me to the bone, and the blood drained from my face.
Rafe nodded slightly. “I see we understand each other. Let’s go.”
