Step Bride: A Bad Boy Mob Roman(61)
We walked into the living room and I put their bag in the corner.
The place was pretty dingy, I had to admit. I hadn’t exactly put a lot of effort into cleaning and furnishing over the years. We pulled the covers off the couch and the other furniture, revealing the mostly second-hand stuff. Nothing hung on the walls, and the kitchen was mostly bare, but there was enough in there for them to live. I knew the linen upstairs needed to be changed, but the clean stuff was in the closet, ready to be deployed.
It definitely wasn’t the lavish rooms of the mob compound, but it wasn’t so bad. Utilitarian and sparse, but not dirty.
“Where are you staying?” Natalie asked me as Camille climbed the stairs, saying something about finding her room.
“I can’t stay here,” I said, frowning.
“Why not?”
“Because my father is going to be looking for me. I can’t risk leading him to you guys.”
“Lucas,” she said.
I grabbed her and pulled her close against me.
I wasn’t going to let her down.
I wanted to stay with them. I wanted to sleep with Natalie, to hold her, to make her feel safe. But I also knew that I needed to be able to move around the city, and I couldn’t risk getting followed if someone spotted me.
“I have another place,” I said. “Vince will meet me there.”
“Does he know about us?”
“Not yet. He doesn’t know about this place, either.”
“Okay.”
“We can trust him, though.”
She kissed me. “I believe you.”
Camille came stomping back down the stairs. “How long are we here for?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” I said. “I don’t really know.”
“Of course not,” Camille said, sitting on the couch.
“But we need a few rules. First off, I need you both to give me your phones.”
“No,” Camille said flat out.
“Camille,” I said slowly, “you can give it to me or I can take it. Your call.”
Natalie handed me her phone. Camille got up and reluctantly placed hers on top of Natalie’s.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll get you new phones. Just be careful what you do online. Don’t use your social media accounts. Don’t post anything.”
“Seriously?” Camille complained.
“Mom,” Natalie snapped, “we’re in hiding from the mobsters you pissed off, remember?”
Camille sighed but said nothing.
“You both also need to stay inside. You can’t risk getting spotted.”
“You’re telling me,” Camille said slowly, “that we’re stuck in here without real internet for an amount of time you can’t specify? Maybe forever?”
“Not forever,” I said. “I’ll fix this. But for now, you have to sit tight until it all blows over.”
“No,” Camille said, standing. “No, thanks. I’ll go to the police. I’ll hire bodyguards if I have to.”
“Camille,” Natalie said.
“No. I’m not doing this.”
Natalie rounded on her. “Sit your ass down, you self-centered asshole,” she said. “You’re going to stay here and you’re going to shut your fucking mouth the whole time or I’m going to beg Lucas here to duct tape you to a chair in the basement.”
Camille stared at Natalie. “Don’t speak to your mother that way.”
“You’re not my mother. You’re just a problem,” Natalie said.
Camille’s expression was absolutely delightful.
“As fun as this is,” I said, “I have to get going.”
“Stay a little longer,” Natalie said, pressing herself against me. “Please.”
“Sorry, wife,” I said to her. “Got to go.”
We kissed, long and hard. Neither of us cared when Camille cleared her throat.
Eventually we pulled apart. “Come back soon,” she said.
“First thing in the morning. You two need to rest.”
She nodded. Reluctantly, I pulled away from her and left.
I quickly got into the car and began to drive. I needed to ditch it, so I parked it in a handicap spot out front of a government building and walked away. I caught a bus going south and got off two blocks from the safe house that I shared with Vince.
He was already there when I walked inside.
“Big night,” he said, grinning.
I had my hand on my gun. “We good?”
“Still on your side, boss.”
I relaxed. “I got the girls out.”
“Yeah? I thought they’d be here.”
“Sorry, Vince, but I got them in a spot only I know about.”
“Good,” he said. “Safer that way.”