He relaxed a little, but shot her a speculative glance. “Don’t suppose that’s a knockoff, huh?”
“It’s a few years old,” she said. A truth, before the lie. “I got a deal on it.”
He looked away, rolling his eyes. She could see the calculation on his face. Let him think some rich boyfriend bought it for her. So what?
“Ah, here we go,” he said, opening the door wider.
A huge black SUV pulled up, sat idling. Grabbing her bag and the keys out of the door, she paused to lock the door.
Then, not knowing what to do with the keys, she stuck them in the pocket of her jeans and followed Callum to the car.
He’d already tossed her suitcase inside, and now stood with the door to the back seat open, waiting impatiently.
Staring at the open door, she froze up for a second.
If I get in this car, my whole life is going to change, she thought.
A note of certainty sounded in her heart as she thought the words, along with a shiver of fear.
Callum might protect her from the Valettis, but if he found out who she really was…
She opened her mouth, preparing to back away, to apologize and run to her car.
Callum gave her an impatient look, reaching out and grabbing her arm. He yanked her toward the car, shoved her inside.
“Callum, no!” she cried. “I don’t—”
Callum's rough hand closed over her mouth, muffling her protests. He slid his other arm around her waist and picked her up, forcing her inside the SUV.
His lips found her ear. “Shut the fuck up, Viola. Not a fucking word. Don’t make me do something I’ll regret.”
Icy fingers of fear squeezed at Vi’s heart as Callum released her. He pushed her across the SUV’s back seat, up against her suitcase, before he slammed the car door behind them.
The SUV took off with a squeal of tires. In the front seat, she saw Dec and Cor exchange glances, though neither said anything.
Dead silence fell in the car as it sped away from Snake’s Bar, a simmering and angry tension seemingly shared by all the passengers.
Vi glanced out the window as Savannah’s waterfront whipped by, wondering just what the hell she’d got herself into.
7
The silent car ride to his apartment gave Callum time to brood. Mostly, over what a terrible idea it was to bring Viola home with him.
Cormac was in the driver’s seat, doing precautionary maneuvers like circling the block extra times, making sure they didn’t have a tail. It turned a ten minute drive into thirty minutes.
All the while, Callum stared out the window, pointedly not looking at her. Already this morning he’d bickered with her enough, over everything from her pop culture knowledge of the mafia to her panties, for fuck’s sake.
The problem was, he kind of liked to fuck with her. Her cheeks turning red, her eyes flashing… chest rising and falling a little faster, drawing his gaze down to her amazing tits…
Correction. The real problem was that Viola was hot as hell. A fact he knew all too well, seeing as how he’d already fucked her.
So why the hangup on his part? He usually forgot about chicks the second he slipped out of their beds. Viola… if Callum was honest with himself, he’d certainly planned to fuck her again.
He groaned internally. She’s one hot girl in a fucking whole sea of hot girls. Get the hell over it.
Then there was the fact that she’d shot a man to save Callum’s life…
His lips thinned. Doesn’t matter. You can’t fuck her again now. Get that out of your head.
By the time they pulled into the parking garage of Callum’s upscale condo building, he’d raked himself over the coals a dozen more times. The self-rebukes seemed to work, because he felt steadier, more in control of himself.
Cor parked the car and Callum climbed out first, checking that the garage was clear before helping Viola out of the car. Callum’s condo was one of dozens of the Cúram’s safe houses, but with all that was going on in Savannah today it paid to be extra cautious.
They took the gilded elevator up from the basement level to the penthouse, a sprawling renovated warehouse loft. Callum could feel Viola’s curious gaze on him as he led her into the apartment, could imagine what she thought as she took it in.
Two bedrooms, a home gym, and a huge open kitchen and living room area. Nice artwork on the walls, chic modern furniture, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, French doors that led out onto an expansive balcony.
Expensive, but completely impersonal. Just how Callum preferred it.
“Come on,” he said, grabbing Viola’s suitcase and heading toward the guest bedroom.
He saw Viola glance at Cormac and Declan, as if seeking some kind of comfort. Cormac remained stone-faced as usual. Declan at least inclined his head, which seemed to give her little reassurance.