“Yeah,” Hudson agreed quickly. “We should check the coats.”
“If we get out of this—whenwe get out of this,” Gio said, “I wanna take you home and spend all day with you. In bed, but like, doing other shit too. Talking and stuff.”
It wasn’t the most romantic thing Hudson had ever heard, but it also kind of was. He swallowed. “Like a date?”
“Yeah,” Gio said, grinning. “Only a date spent mostly naked. If that’s okay with you. But I also want to take you out on the town, Blondie. Buy you dinner.”
“That’s okay with me. But we should go to my place.”
Gio frowned. “You live closer or something?”
“Well, yeah,” Hudson grinned. “Don’t you know where I live?”
“Why would I?”
Hudson just laughed. “You’re in for a surprise.”
Gio smirked. “Okay. You surprise me, Blondie. We better keep moving. I kiss you any more, I’m gonna start doing what I was dreaming about when I patted you down.”
“We get out of this alive, you can pat me down all you want later,” Hudson said shyly. He had never been very good at flirting, but it seemed to have the right effect on Gio, who cursed under his breath and gave him one last, hard kiss, before taking his hand and continuing down the passage.
The cloakroom was stuffy and smelled of stale booze. But as far as Hudson was concerned, it was heavenly. He knew, logically, that he was in deep shit, especially if they couldn’t find the money, and that even if theydidfind the money, there was still a dead guy in the bathroom who would have to be explained to Luca D’Amato when he arrived.
But all Hudson could think about was the way Gio tasted minty, like chewing gum. He tried to concentrate on the coats, but he kept looking over at Gio, wondering exactly what the hell Gio saw in him, Hudson Taylor, awkward, too-skinny, non-Italian…
Gio was the kind of guy who could get anyone he wanted. Confident, competent, that bad-boy aura even when he wasn’t carrying a gun. Even the leather overcoat he’d been wearing this winter was a sexy classic. In fact, his was the next coat Hudson had to look through. He finished with the one he was checkingcurrently—it was probably Dino’s, judging by the size of it—and laid a gentle hand on Gio’s black leather coat. It was soft and pliant under his fingers, and after another quick glance to make sure Gio wasn’t looking, Hudson put his nose to the collar and breathed in.
Yep. Leather and hair wax. It was a heady combination. Hudson began to wonder if Gio had anyotherleathers, and then shook the thoughts away. He was here to save his ass, not fantasize about Gio’s. But when he looked up again, Gio was smirking at him.
Screw it. Why should Hudson be embarrassed? He grinned back.
“You be careful with that,” Gio told him. “You scratch the leather, I’ll make you pay for it later.” The sexy rasp in his voice left Hudson in no doubt that the payment wouldn’t involve money.
“Is that a threat or a promise?” he asked, and Gio’s eyebrows went up.
“Now you’re talking, Blondie.”
Maybe Hudson wasn’t as bad at flirting as he’d always thought.
Something heavy in Gio’s coat banged against Hudson’s thigh. Hudson reached into the pocket and drew out a wad of cash, a thick roll the size of his own clenched fist, wrapped tight with a rubber band.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Hudson made a small,strangled noise, cutting it off too late. His heart rattled away in his chest like a rock in a tin can. His breathing was loud, too loud.
“What?” Gio asked, busy with another coat. But when Hudson didn’t reply, he looked over.
It was too late for Hudson to pretend he hadn’t found anything. He was holding the roll of money up close to his face, as though staring at it hard enough might change what it was.
“Shit,” Gio breathed.
They locked eyes, and Gio’s face hardened.
Hudson took a deep breath, but Gio was too quick for him, taking the few yards between them in three fast steps, and clamping a hand over his mouth. He pushed Hudson against the wall, pressing him into the coats. “Don’t,” he said quietly, his forehead pressing into Hudson’s. “Please don’t yell, Blondie.”
Hudson gave a muffled squeak and then tried to free himself, thrashing against the wall, but Gio was too strong for him, or Hudson too weak from terror.
