AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Is working with me that bad?”
“It's not that,” he says, a little too quickly for my liking. “And it hasn't been bad. Interesting, but not bad.”
“Here y'all are, you two.” The waitress lays Antonio's card on top of a receipt and sets a small white container, a plastic spoon, and a to-go cup in front of me.
“Thank you,” Antonio says, sliding his card in his wallet.
“Sure thing, hun. Y'all have a good rest of y'alls day.”
“You too,” I say before he can. She walks away, and I look over at Antonio. “You haven’t been too bad to work for either.” I stand up and push my chair in.
Smiling, he scoots back in his chair and quickly gets to his feet. He's on the phone the whole drive to the hotel. The building is more lit up at night and the parking lot is fuller than earlier. Leaving my tea behind, we get out of the car and he holds on to my arm as we walk through the double doors of the hotel. I clutch my pie to my side as we quicken our steps through the lobby.
“Very protective of that pie I see.” We enter the elevator and I stand beside him, ignoring all the extra space around us.
“With good reason. It's going to be my dinner later.”
Chuckling, he reaches for his phone and calls Enrico, telling him we're staying at a hotel for the night and making our way back home tomorrow. It's a long ass drive too but neither seem to care. He's already shoving his phone back in his pocket by the time we reach the room.
“You're not as fidgety and restless as yesterday. I feel like I've been doing this job with two different people.”
Not the first time I've been told that. Anxiety and panic disorder can really hold a person back, making them less of themselves. Often I do feel like two people, and right now I'm the version who smiles easily and can breathe. I can't say he'll be here in an hour or tomorrow. I can only hope he is. “We're in a less stressful situation than yesterday. I feel safer.”
“You work for a cartel and we just completed a drug deal. You should never let your guard down. If anything, we might be less safe out here alone in an unfamiliar place than we were before.” Sitting on one of the beds, he shrugs off his jacket and I look around the large room, hating how far our beds are from each other. Yeah, that definitely won't do.
“I guess I didn't really see it that way at first but now that you mention it…” I plop down next to him with my pie and the plastic spoon in my hand. “We should sleep in the same bed because safety in numbers and all that.”
His lips press into a thin line and he pats me on the head. “Yeah, I don't think so, burrito. You kept stealing my covers after insisting all you needed was a sheet.”
“What can I say? In my sleep I have different needs than when I'm awake.”
“Like beating me up and getting too cold?”
“Yeah.” Laughing, I shove my spoon into my pie. “Want some?”
“Nah. I'm good. I thought you were going to save that for your dinner.”
“It's seven p.m. Isn't it already dinnertime?”
Standing up, he glances down at his watch. “Not for me. I usually eat pretty late.”
“I eat whenever they feed us at the warehouse. Which is scraps basically. Greedy assholes.”
“It's not meant to be a sanctuary or a lavish resort.” My breath catches in my throat when he unbuttons the front of his shirt.
“Yeah, I'm pretty sure people get treated better in prison.”
Chuckling, he peels off his shirt, exposing the muscles in his shoulder and chest. Fuck. He really is sexy and beautiful all at once. The more I look at all of him, the more I don't want to see any less. Standing in a muscle shirt and dark blue jeans, he kicks off his shoes, looking toward the bathroom. “I'm going toshower. Be glad you didn't come with me into that house earlier. The atmosphere wasn't pleasant. I was worried I took some of the smell and filth with me when I left.”
Placing my hands on the mattress, I push myself to my feet and move toward him.
“What are you doing?” He tilts his head when I stand on my tiptoes and shove my nose in his neck.
“Seeing if you're right.”
Dragging my face down the center of his chest, I tug on the front of his shirt and nuzzle between his pecs. His whole body shakes and I pull away, smiling up at him. “Nope. Still smell like you.”
“I…” He shuffles in place, adjusting his pants. “I think I'll still shower anyway. You should shower too since we'll be leaving at 2 a.m. Maybe you'll sleep better than yesterday.”
