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I’m expecting an average car door, but when I go to open it, it’s like pulling on a wall of concrete.
What the hell?
“I’ve got it, Miss Bradwell,” Hugh says, grabbing the handle and pulling the heavy door open.
Why is it so heavy?
Mom climbs in, but I remain on the sidewalk, frowning at the thick door, noticing things I didn’t last night. I knew it was thick, of course, but I didn’t think much of it. I’ve never been in a limousine before, so I figured it was standard. Maybe it is. Are all limos like this?
“Is that… armored?” I ask, glancing at Hugh.
His lips thin, and he gives a curt nod. “Yes, ma’am.”
I’ve heard of like presidents and dignitaries having armored cars, but I can’t imagine Silvan needing something like that. What did he say his family did? Shady business in the 1920s, sure, but did he specify what they do to make so much moneynow?
Not for the first time, an awareness that I don’t really know anything about this guy washes over me. I glance down the road in the direction Hugh came from absently, torn between asking more questions and knowing he likely won’t answer if I ask anything too juicy.
Hair stands up on the back of my neck. I don’t know why, but then I turn my head and my heart stalls as my gaze locks with Dylan Prescott’s.
He’s standing on the sidewalk a few yards down, outside a candy store. He’s talking on his cell phone, but rather than do the polite thing and look away so we can pretend we didn’t see each other, he starts walking in my direction.
Is he seriously coming over here?
Panic swells up and I feel sick at the thought—and even worse because Mom’s in the car. “Hugh, can you please close the door for a moment?” I ask, barely able to keep the panic from my voice.
A frown flickers across his face, but he obeys without question.
“Thank you.” I try swallowing, but my mouth is dry. “Can I also get some privacy?”
“Privacy?” he questions, his gaze flickering as Dylan approaches.
“Yes, can you… leave us for just a moment?”
He straightens, directing his gaze forward. “I’m afraid not, Miss Bradwell. I’m under strict orders to ensure your safety while you’re out with me this evening. One can reasonably surmise that precludes leaving you alone with strange men.”
I shoot him a look, doubtful that his orders to keep me away from strange men has anything to do with myprotectionand everything to do with Silvan’s ridiculous and utterly baseless possessiveness over me.
There’s no time to argue, though.
“Nice ride,” Dylan says, his gaze sliding down the gleaming black stretch limo.
A grudging, polite “thanks” tries to escape, but I bite the word back just before it can slip past my lips.
“Certainly an upgrade since the last time I saw you,” he says, his gaze flicking to me. “I thought you were a scholarship student.”
And I thought you were a decent human being.
One of us was wrong.
“My financial situation is none of your business,” I inform him. “In fact, everything to do with me is none of your business, so if we ever encounter one another in public again, I would very much like for you to keep walking and pretend you didn’t see me. I’ll offer the same courtesy to you.”
The corners of his mouth tip up. “Yeah, you’re already being real courteous to me, aren’t you? Like telling my girlfriend I’m an attempted rapist?”
My heart stalls, and my gaze jumps to the window. They’re tinted, so I can’t see inside, but panic swells up at the thought of my mom overhearing.
Grabbing his arm, I pull him away from the car. “We both know that wasn’t a lie.”
He glances back at the limo. Ignoring my comment, he brags, “Yeah. My financial circumstances have improved since the last time we met, too. That’s why Elle and I can have little getaways like this. Got a good job working for my uncle’s company, 80k to start, benefits and tuition reimbursement while I’m in school.” He waits for me to be impressed, and when I’m not, malice flickers through his eyes. “There was some fucking specialty chocolate shop over here Elle wanted to come to. Expensive as fuck, but I’m a nice guy,” he says, smiling cruelly. “I take my woman’s wants into consideration.”
