“Scared is not the word I’d use.” The baritone of his voice sent tingles to my lower belly. I ignored it. He was obviously just trying to get me to lower my guard.
Not happening.
Chapter 2
“Welcome to my home, Sebastiano,” I said, sarcastically waving him into the house.
“Call me Sebastian,” he said with a wink before following me inside.
After Sebastian stepped into the dark living room, I slammed the door shut and flicked the deadbolt into place. Fingers of light streamed in between the boards covering the windows. But I could only see the outline of his lean, yet muscular body until he turned on his phone’s flashlight. I kept my hand tight on my gun in case he lunged at me. But the only movement was a frown that formed as he took in the buckling wood floors and missing kitchen appliances.
“If the accommodations aren’t up to your standards you can leave,” I growled at him.If onlyhe would take me up on that offer.
“Just trying to find a place to sit.” His eyes landed on some warmed vomit near the cracking kitchen cabinets.
“Even if I had a chair, I wouldn’t offer it to you. Now if you don’t want me to kick you out then put your hands against the wall while I search you,” I said.
He raised an eyebrow.
I pointed forcefully at the yellowing walls.
A small smirk slowly spread across his lips. “Fine, but only because I can tell how much you want to touch me."
I couldn't help an eyeroll as he sarcastically approached the wall. If I’d ordered a man to do that a year ago, they’d be staring at the floor and nodding respectfully. My hand accidentally skimmed his hip as I reached for his pocket. His eyes darkened, but he remained silent. I ignored the tension in my lower stomach, and took out a pure gold switchblade with the initials S.A. on it.
Next, I pulled up his crisp white button-down shirt, revealing a dusting of dark hair and abs that looked like they were carved from granite. When I reached for his glock, my finger brushed against his tapered stomach. His jaw tightened, and my legs clenched together. I yanked my eyeline towards my bag, and continued staring at it even after I’d dropped all his weapons inside it.
There was something seriously wrong with me. This man’s family was my enemy, and I was more concerned about his abs than what he was planning on doing to me.
“What do you want?” I asked, some of the exasperation leaking into my voice.
Sebastian turned around, and kicked his designer shoe up against the yellow wall. That interaction seemed to have no effect on him other than slightly narrowed eyes. “The same thing that everyone else wants: Information on your father’s business,” he said.
What? That wasn’t what I was expecting.
Ever since I’d quit working for the Irish Mob, a number of rival gangs in town had offered money in exchange for information. The number of people arriving with offers had grown as my debts to the loan sharks had increased.
But the Amato family… Luca Amato… A flash of images spun in front of my eyes. Darkness. The dark seemed to crawl over me. The sound of crying and the rolling in my stomach that accompanied real fear. My lungs filling up with water, and then a feeling of numbness. A feeling that I wouldn’t let anything reach me.
I blinked, and my vision came back to me. Sebastian was looking down at me with a concerned expression on his face.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice almost gentle. The sarcastic glimmer had completely disappeared from his eyes.
I shook my head, refusing to go back down that mental route. Tucking those memories away into a corner of my soul that I didn’t have to view.
“Selene, don’t be worried about retaliation from your father. I’ll make sure you’re protected,” he said.
Protected by the very people who caused me to run away from my old life? I couldn’t get past the absurdity of the situation. “That’s rich coming from an Amato.”
“Why? We might have issues with your organization, but you aren’t a part of it anymore,” he said.
Weren’t a part of it anymore? I chuckled bitterly. If only it were that easy. No, I might not have any of their protection, or money anymore. But you didn’t just walk away from the mob. And certainly not the former heir to the Irish mob. I might’ve run away, but they could snatch me back up in a second, and there was nothing I could do.
“Drop the bullshit. Why are you actually here?” After my last ‘interaction’ with the Amato family, the last thing they’d be offering was to help me.
His brows furrowed. “I just told you why.”
“No,” I growled. “Why did Luca Amato send you here?” My shiver crawled up my spine at the mention of Sebastian’s older brother’s name. But I kept focused. I wasn’t going to stand for someone messing with my mind before they fucked me over.
