Bow Down(154)

He was big and intense, muscular and tattooed. I knew what he normally did.

“I normally break skulls. I normally hurt people. Bad people, but still.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“Trust me. That’s all you can do.” He gestured at his car. “Come on. I’m going to give you a ride home.”

“I have my car here.”

“We’ll get it later. I want to make sure you get home okay.”

“And then what? You stay at my place forever?”

“No,” he said. “And then I leave. I need to go back to the compound and figure this shit out.”

“What compound?” I ground my teeth, frustrated as hell. “I’m over my head here, Rafa.”

“I know that.” He suddenly stepped toward me and put his hand on the small of my back. I froze, the twin feelings of fear and excitement surging through me.

Excitement won over. I didn’t move a muscle.

“I’ll take care of you,” he said. “Come with me.”

“Okay,” I practically whispered.

We walked toward his car, and I felt a tingling desire rush down along my back. As I climbed into the passenger seat and his engine roared to life, I wondered if I was making the right decision here.

I didn’t know this guy. He was intense and gorgeous, but so far all I had was his word for it.

But he knew my name. And he knew who Dasha was.

And he was definitely in the mob.

I knew I was screwed. There was no going back from that.

Maybe Rafa could keep me alive and get me through this.





10





Rafa





I drove Cassidy back to her apartment, checked to make sure nobody was waiting for her, and then left. As far as I could tell, I was the only one following her, and none of Ernesto’s guys were lurking around the building.

As much as I wanted to stay, I had to get back. I had to talk to Ernesto and see what he was thinking before I made any other moves. Maybe I could have brought the girl with me, but that was like pulling her into the hornet’s nest.

She was safest in her apartment. I told her that if anyone other than me came to the door, she should call the cops. That wouldn’t help in the long run, but it would keep her alive for a little bit. Long enough for me to try to help, at least.

I pulled into the parking structure and headed back inside. My mind was buzzing with a thousand different scenarios, but one thing kept coming back to me.

I wanted that girl. As soon as I had touched her body, I was reminded all over again. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about her that way. I couldn’t see her as just another civilian, an enemy of the mafia. I couldn’t think of her as a target.

Sure, she’d lied to me, but fuck, I lied all the time. I didn’t give a damn that her real name was Cassidy or that she thought she was going to use me for a story. She knew as well as I did that she wasn’t going to get shit out of me, that she was really just doing it because she couldn’t help herself.

I saw the way she had looked at me: afraid, but wanting it anyway. She looked at me like she wanted to strip my pants off and suck my cock and then run away screaming.

And that got me fucking hard. I couldn’t explain why. I didn’t want her to be afraid of me, but I also found that fucking fear exciting. I wanted to kiss her softly on the lips while slapping her ass rough. I wanted to make her beg and laugh and come.

But I couldn’t do any of that if Ernesto fucking tortured and killed her.

Once inside, I walked through the halls until I got to the office. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Vince looked up from his desk. “She okay?”

“She’s fine.”

“Good. Ernesto is on his way down right now.”

“What?”

“He called a minute ago. Wanted a meeting. I assume about you.”

“Fuck.”

“Relax.”

“I’m relaxed. But I’m afraid I’ll hurt that piece of shit.”

“Have a little fucking control.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

I sat down at my desk, but just then there was a knock at the door. Vince glanced at me and I got up, opening the door.

Ernesto stood there, a sour expression on his face. “Rafa.”

“Ernesto. Come on in.”

He stepped into the room. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“What can we do for you, Ernesto?” Vince asked.

Ernesto walked over to him and sat down in the chair in front of his desk. “Wanted to talk about this Spiders shit.”

“I figured.” Vince leaned back. “You know I don’t have much to do with it. They’re not my fucking problem.”

“They’re all of our problem,” Ernesto said. “Plus, your boy is involved.”