Page 141 of Diary of a Mafia Princess

I followed the driver without a word and took the front seat, leaving the two men to sit in the back. I sure as hell didn’t want to sit squished between the two of them. I stared out the window, watching the Scottish scenery roll by, and it was easy to lose myself in the beauty of it, rather than focus on the awkward situation we’d created.

Lynx leaned forward and rested a hand on the back of the driver’s seat. “You missed the turnoff. Our accommodation is down that road.”

The driver met his gaze in the rearview mirror. “I’ve been instructed to take you straight to Mr. MacGregor’s home.”

I stiffened. I was still wearing the underwear he’d “gifted” me.

Only now the panties were soaked in Luca’s cum. “We aren’t expected there for a few hours. I need to go to our rooms first. I’d like to change—”

The driver shook his head sharply. “My instructions were to bring ye directly to MacGregor.”

Luca’s voice was cool. “Instructions from who?”

The driver didn’t answer. And suddenly, I think all three of us were realizing we’d gotten into a car with a stranger without even questioning who had sent them or where we were going.

I closed my eyes and dropped my head back against the rest. “Just great. You’re one of MacGregor’s guys then?”

The driver’s eyes stayed trained on the road. “He’s very much looking forward to seeing you again, Miss Matish. And he said to tell you he hopes you like the gift he sent you.”

“What gift?” Luca asked.

I didn’t say anything, and neither did Lynx or the driver. A huge stone building rose in front of us, and I gawked at it.

“Is that a castle?”

“It used to be,” the driver confirmed, pulling up to the heavy wrought-iron gates that were centuries younger than the property they protected. “Now it’s just Mr. MacGregor’s home.”

It made the Guerras’ place in Providence, and every house I’d lived in from New York to Saint View and all the places in between, seem like a shack in comparison. The driver followed the winding drive, surrounded by lush green grass, and parked on a gravel driveway, right at the foot of the steps leading up to the grand entrance.

The driver checked his watch. “We’re late,” he murmured, concern etched into the frown of his brow. “They’ll be waiting for you in the dining hall.”

“The dining hall,” Lynx muttered, sticking close to my back. “La-di-freaking-da. Bet these people have never just grabbed a sandwich and eaten it over the kitchen sink.”

I stifled a smile, but Luca’s serious expression didn’t budge. I didn’t miss the way he flanked me, making sure I was safely in the middle of the two of them, as we followed the driver through MacGregor’s ancient house.

“I don’t like this,” Luca muttered.

I glanced at him. “Aren’t we in Scotland because MacGregor invited us?”

“Yeah, but this feels off. We aren’t here on our own terms. We aren’t free to leave. We’re in the middle of nowhere with no vehicle to leave in. You think he didn’t do that on purpose?”

I bit my lip, understanding now why he’d gone so quiet and why his expression was as sour as lemons.

But there was nothing we could do about it now. The driver held open a door and motioned for us to go through it ahead of him.

The smell of a hot dinner wafted in the cool air inside the castle. It had been warm and wet outside, and the damp feeling pervaded, even inside the stone walls. But the room was beautifully decorated, with art lining each wall and rich wood paneling. In the middle, a huge table stretched almost the full length of the room, giving enough space for at least twenty people to all dine together if they wanted to.

I definitely would have been of the “didn’t want to” opinion, but I had little choice when MacGregor’s booming voice filled the cavernous room.

“Carlos. Your blushing bride has arrived, accompanied by your strapping, virile son.” His gaze darted to Lynx. “And they’ve brought a friend.”

I wasn’t sure Lynx and I could ever be considered friends again after what he’d watched on that plane earlier in the day.

To my surprise, MacGregor had left the seat at the head of the table free. He sat on one side of the huge table, his entourage taking up the seats beside him. Carlos sat opposite, his two guards and Dax at his side.

My gaze collided with Dax’s, and it felt like all the air sucked out of the room so fast it was as if a vacuum had turned on. His gaze burned across mine.

But guilt swamped me so hard and fast I had to turn away.