I wanted him to understand my gratitude even if he didn’t hear my words, so I wrapped my hands around his middle from behind and gave him a hug, squeezing tightly. And then, in the next second, I allowed myself to relax while I held him. Frankie had kept his promise.
He turned me until we were chest to chest, my back up against the fridge, and squeezed me back, placing a featherlike kiss to my forehead. “I may be a dangerous man, but I’m not a monster.”
I opened my mouth to argue with him that I didn’t consider him a monster at all, but before I found the right words, Frankie released his hold on me for the bag on the counter. His hands dug around for a moment even though it had to be mostly empty from the number of groceries he pulled out of it.
When he finished, he handed me my bright pink cell phone case with the missing gem re-affixed.
I stared down at the phone, which felt heavy in my hands. It never had before and I worried the extra weight came from the fear I was falling in love with Frankie.
His fingers cupped my chin, and he tipped my head higher. “What’s wrong? Do you not like it?”
I covered his hand with mine. “No, I love it. I’m just being stupid.” Him giving me my cell phone was the ultimate act of trust.
His thumb ran the length of my jaw in comforting circles, never letting go. “You could never be stupid,” he promised, even though we both knew I’d been stupid before and I’d probably be stupid again.
I was stupid a lot. Especially when it came to Frankie.
“Tell me what is bothering you and I will fix the problem,” he promised.
“It’s not really something you can fix. I guess I realized that I have to return to Chicago soon.” The fear weighed on me the entire morning. My cousin paid the ransom, and Frankie received his revenge. Now I had my cell phone again. Nothing was left to do but return me to my home. I had to go back to my life, even if I wasn’t sure I wanted it anymore.
In my moment of despair, I didn’t notice how tense Frankie’s body grew. “No, you don’t.” The fingers on my chin tightened as if he expected me to jerk away, but I didn’t.
“Yes, I do. Westley will never let me stay.” It was also time for me to tell Frankie the truth. He wasn’t just kidnapping the Grandmaster’s only cousin, a sweet simpering girl getting her master’s degree, but someone more involved in the operations of the Chicago business.
Frankie did nothing but protect and keep me safe. The least I could do was give him the truth.
“Frankie,” I said, pulling away from his grasp. “There’s something I haven’t told you.”
His fingers went right back to my chin, and he lifted my face up to his so I had no choice but to meet his gaze. I expected anger or annoyance at my admitting to keeping something from him, but his expression stayed the same as when he greeted me in times of happiness.
His lips placed a gentle kiss against mine. “Is it that your cousin will force you to return to Chicago because you are the best bookie on the north side? The woman who goes by the codename BookieQueen?”
He said it smoothly, as if he’d practiced. I gasped and tightened my hand on top of his, stilling his movements. “You knew?”
Frankie nodded. “I always do my research. There was more than one reason we were in that alleyway. I never rely on fate when it comes to something I want.”
Deep hurt blossomed in my chest. Frankie knew who I was the entire time? Did I trust the words he said the night before? Or was all this just a scheme to get me to turn against my cousin?
“Don’t worry, Shiloh, I have two wonderful bookies who work for me. I don’t want you for your brains although I find them quite remarkable. I didn’t go to the club that night expecting to find you enchanting. I only wanted a quick exchange with your cousin for a bit of information, but I found once I had you and your spitfire attitude, I didn’t want to let you go. I’ve never been good at sharing.”
The two of us faced off in the kitchen, each waiting for the other to break the silence first. I had no idea what to say. I trusted him with all my heart, but something in my brain said it would lead to catastrophe in the end. And now it had.
A hard banging sounded from the front door, one so loud we heard it in the kitchen, and we both turned our attention in that direction. Big Tommy checked out the window and then spoke to Frankie.
“It’s that blonde girl again, Vonnie.”
Frankie turned back to me, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. “You and I will come back to this,” he said and then dropped his hand from my chin and turned toward the front door.
Big Tommy swung open the metal door and Vonnie yelled something, but her words were lost over the sound of two gunshots in quick succession.
Frankie, acting on instinct, spun on me, putting his body in front of me as three large men charged through the front door, throwing Vonnie to the side. Her body hit the side of the chair and then dropped to the floor before my vision became skewered by Frankie’s shoulders as he hustled me toward the back door into his garage.
I went to turn to get a better position, but our bodies broke apart when he jerked and his eyes widened before a spasm tightened his muscles and he fell to the tile floor.
“Got him,” one man yelled as if he had made an excellent shot in a video game. The wires from a handheld Taser fell to the floor beside Frankie. I screamed, kneeling down beside him, careful not to touch him as the three men rounded the area into the kitchen and came straight for me.
CHAPTER 20
