When he left the room, she made a split-second decision. She wasn’t going to wait up here while he dealt with whoever was at the door. She needed to know who she was in bed with. The man hadn’t shared anything significant about himself with her, so the only way to get answers was to go out there and see what was going on.
Not wanting to turn on a light and attract attention, she pulled on the first item of clothing she picked up from the floor, Owen’s T-shirt. It was big on her, falling to her upper thighs. Maybe a little more revealing than she’d normally be comfortable with wearing around other people, but she was too focused on getting downstairs because the knocking had stopped.
At least, she hadn’t heard a gunshot. That had to be a good sign.
She didn’t see anyone at the entrance to the house, but she could hear Owen talking to someone in the living room. Holding onto the railing and tiptoeing down the stairs, she listened closely.
“What the fuck happened?” Owen asked, his voice commanding in a way that definitely shouldn’t have sparked her arousal, given the situation.
“It was the Italians, of course. The bastards raided our gambling spot on Raceway Road.”
“Damn it!”
There was a thud and Ruby imagined that Owen just punched something. She’d reached the bottom of the stairs, and she paused, debating whether or not she should stay here and listen or try to get closer.
In the end, her curiosity won out. She creeped across to the doorway of the living room, peeking around it until she saw a man sitting on the couch with what looked like a knife wound bleeding on his upper arm. Someone had sliced the guy, and instead of going to a hospital, he was here, rummaging through a first aid kit just like the one that Owen had used to treat her hand. That gave her a pretty good idea of just what kind of person he must be. People that didn’t go to the hospital when injured had something to hide.
“We didn’t have any casualties, but we’re going to have to relocate the games,” the man said. Looking closer at him, she saw that there were a lot of similarities between the man and Owen. Theyhadto be related.
“More money lost,” Owen said bitterly. She hadn’t been able to see him before, not wanting to lean too far into the doorway and get caught snooping, but he walked into view. He looked angry, and he was pacing around agitatedly. “How am I supposed to run a criminal empire without any product to sell and my most profitable gambling ring broken up?”
There it was. Ruby’s heart dropped as his words sank in. What Claire said was true. Owen was a criminal. But not just any criminal. He was the guy in charge.
Criminal empire.That had to mean mafia. Even though she meant it when she told Owen she trusted him, it freaked her out to find out who he really was like this.
He’d told her he was dangerous, and now she realized that he wasn’t really saying he would ever hurt her. Being near him was dangerous.
The two men had continued talking, but she wasn’t paying attention anymore. She needed to get out of here.
Now in a hurry, she turned around and headed back up the stairs. She was too worried to go slow and careful, and when she was halfway up the stairs, her foot landed in the wrong spot. The stairs made a creaking sound that was definitely loud enough to be heard in the living room. The sound of conversation cut off, and she rushed up the stairs before Owen could catch her there.
She didn’t bother trying to be sneaky anymore. Flipping on the light, she started to search around for her things. Most of her clothes had come off in the bathroom, so she went there first, gathering up her clothes. Her heart was racing as she stepped back into the bedroom.
She’d just pulled on her jeans when the door opened and Owen walked in. As their eyes met, she finally felt fear. It was immediately followed by guilt. She didn’t want to see him as a bad guy. He’d never given her a reason to think he would hurt her. But at this moment, she couldn’t control her body’s response to him. Adrenaline flooded her system, and she instinctively took a step back. The look of hurt that flashed across Owen’s face made her chest ache.
“What did you hear?” he asked.
“Enough to know that you’re a…” She didn’t want to use the word criminal, but she didn’t know how else to put it.
“I’m in charge of the mafia,” he said, shocking her with his honesty. He ran his hand through his hair, and shook his head. “I’ve never actually said that out loud before.”
“Why?”
“We don’t talk about it.Ever.”
“But you’re telling me?”
Owen stepped closer, and she forced herself to stay in place. “I don’t want to keep secrets from you. And I don’t want you to fear me. I’d never hurt you.”
“But…you hurt other people?”
“Only when I have to. It’s a part of my job sometimes, but I don’t enjoy it.”
He took another step closer and the look of hope in his eyes kept her still. She felt so conflicted. Her mind was screaming at her to leave, but her gut instinct - and her heart - were telling her that Owen wasn’t really a bad man. He surely did bad things sometimes, but he’d been so good to her since they met.
“I should really leave,” she said.
He nodded. “I know. But I don’t want you to go.”
