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The rest of the ride was silent. Emiliana kept watch for threats out the window and mirrors, as did the guards, while I’d shifted my hands to the seat, tucked them under my thighs, and held on for dear life as we sped back to the mansion.
As some of my terror eased, I was able to think rationally about how the New York Mafia family had found me. It had to have been that picture from when Mr. Cartier was escorted from the building back in California. That was what I’d seen on my phone at the precise moment Luc had spotted me at my desk. He’d assumed he’d caught me verifying his drained funds when in fact, I’d spotted the article—posted too quickly—that showed my face. All Lauralee’s thug boyfriend had to do was see it, and he would have known where to find me. It seemed he had.
As for how they’d learned my new location, the only thing I could think was that they’d been watching the building I worked in or the place I stayed. They would have seen Luc. I could understand why they didn’t approach. He was intimidating.
We came to a screeching halt in the mansion’s driveway, positioned so that the passenger door was adjacent to the entrance. I hadn’t even realized we’d exited off the highway or pulled into the subdivision.
“Snap out of it, Summer,” Emiliana commanded as she nudged me to follow the guard who had climbed out of the car and held the door for us.
I hurried out of the car with Emiliana’s hand on my back the entire time. She herded me to the door that had flung open. Fierce men poured out of the mansion, and I shivered at the Mafia bosses’ expressions. When they moved aside, my gaze landed on Luc, and for the first time, a sense of calm settled over me. Before I knew what I was doing, I launched myself into his arms. Steel bands wrapped around me, and I sank into the security of his large body, burying my face in his chest. One arm wound around my waist, and he covered the back of my head with his other hand, holding me tightly.
The door slammed, and silence surrounded us. I had to get control of myself. One by one, I forced my fingers to release their death grip on Luc’s shirt then pushed back slightly. He eased his hold, letting me step away. Heat stained my cheeks because of how I’d clung to him. And even though Emiliana said they were bringing me to the house to protect me, doubts clouded the back of my mind. No one had ever protected me before. Alison, my sweet next-door neighbor in the trailer park, had let me crash there on occasion when it was too dangerous for me to stay with Ma. But even she hadn’t stood up to Ma and told her to do right by me.
I was vaguely aware that we’d moved deeper into the house. We gathered in the kitchen. But my mind strayed once more to the past. Lauralee was the closest. She would have protected me. And look what’d happened with her—she’d gotten me into the mess I was in. I snapped out of my thoughts when Luc squeezed my hand, and sound once again registered.
“We need to know why the Amato family wants us to turn you over to them.” Stefano’s deep voice sent a volley of panic-inducing tremors through me.
Luc slipped his arm around my waist, and I leaned into him, needing the familiarity and strength he offered. We weren’t friends, and we didn’t even like each other all that much, but we were both virtual outsiders from the others, which tied us together. It was enough. My guard lowered, and I could appreciate his strength where I’d resented it before.
I sank my teeth into my lower lip before releasing it. I had to give them something, just not the evidence. I liked them, but I didn’t know these Mafia people, and if I’d learned anything by growing up with a crackhead mother, it was how to look out for myself. “There’s not much to tell. Ben Amato was my best friend’s on-again, off-again boyfriend. Lauralee and I lived in an apartment in Georgia, and she saw him when he came to town for business. A few months ago, she overheard Ben and another guy talking, but I don’t know what about.”
“Ben is a soldier for the Amato family?” Stefano crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the island.
Nicole entered, squeezed my arm, then went to the wine rack and selected a few bottles, which she handed to El, who got to work opening them.
I accepted a glass of Cabernet, needing something to do with my hands. “A cousin, I believe. Lauralee didn’t know a lot about the workings of the Amato family… until the night she was supposed to leave his place but was running late and ended up overhearing something she shouldn’t.” I stole a glance at Luc.
He stayed silent.
I drew in a deep breath before continuing, nervous from the fierce expressions of the bosses and wives as they waited for me to talk. “Lauralee planned on blackmailing Ben over what she’d heard. She wanted money.” I clamped my lips together, unwilling to say more, worried that if I told them about the video, they would have everything they needed to cast me aside and put me in even more danger.
“Oh, wow.” El frowned then looked to Marco, who mirrored her expression. “Lauralee is the friend you said died recently.”
I swiped more tears from my face and cleared my throat. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure that he was the one who killed her. And now, he’s after me.”
“Do you know what your friend knew to blackmail Ben?” Marco asked.
“No.” In truth, I didn’t. She hadn’t confided everything in me, and I couldn’t watch the video on her phone without the password. But I did have a working knowledge about who the Amato family was. I’d looked up the New York Mafia families with Lauralee a few weeks before and learned all I could about them. There were times when knowledge was power, but I wasn’t sure whether showing all my cards was the smartest thing.
“You’re an enigma, Summer.” Enzo narrowed his eyes on me, and I stiffened under the scrutiny.
Luc must have felt my reaction. “If she is, she’s my puzzle to figure out, as she’s my employee. The interrogation is over.”
I could have kissed him for his defense.
* * *
Luc
Ididn’t like how Enzo looked at Summer. Sofia smirked. I ignored the rest as I took Summer by the hand and practically dragged her to my room. The only thing that soothed my agitation was how she clung to me. Once we were in my room, I closed the door then faced her.
“This is what you were hiding?” I released her and paced to the window before turning back to her. “Is there anything else?”
Wariness clouded her expressive eyes. “No.”
There was. I could hear it in how she hesitated over the denial, but unlike the day before, I had a better sense of who Summer was. The reports had come in from John, and they revealed everything I’d already come to find out about her skills. Not only that, but she was kind. He’d heard from the other staff while gathering information from them. Summer’s living environment, the lack of personal items, and the way she dressed also painted a picture I was familiar with, as it was very similar to what my circumstances had been for longer than I would have liked.
“Have a seat.” I waved her toward the chairs in front of the fireplace to my left. After she settled in one, I took the other. “I don’t believe that you aren’t hiding anything else.” I held up my hand to stop her when she opened her mouth to protest. “But I also think that whatever you’re holding back… you’re keeping quiet because you don’t trust anyone here, and it has to do with the Amato blackmail situation.”
