Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
“I’m not sure I do. Like I said, you should—”
“It was me,” I said, out of options. She clearly thought we were just a gang of mindless thugs, bent on maximum destruction. The truth was a lot more complicated. “The driver had the bomb, and he was outside. Heading here. If I hadn’t stopped him, this place would’ve had a lot more damage than a few broken windows. People would’ve gotten hurt—maybe killed.”
“What?” Her mouth gaped open, and she seemed at a loss for words. “He wanted to bomb the bar?”
Shock turned her face white, and I regretted that she had to hear this. But we still didn’t know Baxter and Roselli’s real motive—which meant they might not be finished.
“I had to do it,” I said quietly. “Or else you might not be here right now.”
Her tongue darted out over those full, red lips. It took her two tries to speak. “Why didn’t you just call the cops?”
My eyes narrowed. “Like the one who kept coming back here to pant over you?”
“He didn’t—” Her response was automatic, but then she stopped. Maggie wasn’t a fool. She was a beautiful woman who worked in a bar. She had to know when someone wanted a shot with her.
Like me.
“If you say you know about us, then you know that calling the police isn’t the answer.” There was a lot more I could’ve said on that topic, but I wanted her to stay away from the underworld, not take a course on it.
“This is a lot to take in,” she said finally.
“I bet. Look, I can’t tell you much, but the order came from a mafia boss. You can believe anything you want about them, but they don’t do jack shit without a reason. Is anyone in this place involved in something they shouldn’t be?”
“Probably,” she said, which wasn’t much of a surprise. “But I don’t know of anything specific.”
“What about the owner? Does he have a problem with drugs? Prostitutes? Gambling?”
She leaned against the wall, lost in thought. “Not that I know of. I don’t see him much, just the manager. She seems okay.”
“Someone here is hiding something,” I said, feeling frustrated. On the one hand, I was glad that Maggie didn’t seem to know much about the dark world I inhabited. On the other, it was annoying how naïve she sounded. ”I’m going to find out what it is.”
“And if you do, you won’t tell me.”
I put a finger under her chin, lifting her head to make her meet my eyes. “No, I won’t. You already know too much.”
Her eyes widened. “Is that a threat?”
“No,” I said simply. “It’s a regret.”
The flash of alarm faded from her face, and I realized that she wasn’t scared. Not of me, anyway. Even though she’d just heard that I blew up a man right outside of her bar.
She was naïve, that was for sure. But there were other words for that. Like innocent and pure. And when you found those qualities in a person, you knew they were a person worth protecting.
“I’m sorry you had to find this out.”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t do me any good to be in the dark.”
“It does. About some things,” I countered.
She blinked rapidly, and I thought I saw a line of moisture on lashes. “My mom kept me in the dark. About her cancer. She didn’t tell me for a long time.”
Fuck. How could someone look so sad and so beautiful at the same time? “I’m sorry.”
“It’s better to know,” she said quietly. “Even if it’s something bad.”
She looked so damn upset. It made me want to do something—anything—to wipe that look off her face.
And so I did.
I reached out and ran my fingers through her glossy black hair. Then I fisted it, tilting her head upwards. Her eyes closed, her dark lashes brushing against her damp cheeks, as I leaned in.
Her lips were warm and plump. As if they’d been waiting for mine. And maybe they had. She sighed as I pressed my mouth against hers. Slowly, her hands slid up my chest, linking behind my neck.
That was more like it. I explored her mouth slowly and patiently. As far as I was concerned, I had all the time in the world. A world that we were rapidly leaving behind. It was like no one else existed except for me and this gorgeous woman.
As I deepened the kiss, I put my hands around her slim waist and lifted her up. Her legs wrapped around my waist as I pressed her against the wall. Now our heads were almost level, and I continued to slowly devour her mouth.
She moaned, a sound that went straight to my hard cock. God, the way she kissed… the way she clung to me… it was hard to believe that this amazing woman was in my arms. Especially not after what she’d just learned about me.