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The way in which he’d bewitched me made me more determined to get out, and get out quickly. But had he really had enough time to be lulled into a sense of complacency or was he going to watch me just as closely as he had the night before?

That was the question.

Tomas

Lifting my head as I finished untying Ivy’s wrists from her thighs—but keeping her wrists secured together—I caught the eye of Macnair, the owner of the gas station. The only man left of a family which had formerly been a big deal within the Irish mob—though he hailed from Scotland—he’d had his own score to settle with Don Bianco. It made his gas station the ideal stopping spot on the way to and from Chicago. With his gray-and-red hair tucked under a dark-brown cap that shaded his face—though it couldn’t completely obscure his expression—he looked younger than he actually was. I gave him a nod and jerked my head at the car as I helped Ivy out of it.

Even with his cap pulled low, I could see his eyebrows rising up as he caught a glimpse of her, and they became invisible under the hat when I swept her up into my arms. She didn’t have shoes after all, and the street would be hot against her feet.

“Where are we?” Ivy asked, pulling my attention to her.

Ignoring the question, I headed for the small building, holding her to my chest in front of me. Macnair disappeared from the window and reappeared as he pushed the door open for me. He eyed Ivy skeptically, his gaze taking in her dismal gray shift, the ropes on her wrists, and the lack of shoes on her feet.

“I take it there’s no point in screaming for help?” she whispered, as he held the door open so I could make my way inside.

I snorted in response. She hadn’t sounded serious anyway. I didn’t blame her for being curious, but I wasn’t going to explain either.

The bathroom was in the back, and it was spotlessly clean, as was the rest of the building’s interior. Macnair insisted on it. So I had no hesitation about setting Ivy down on her feet. She looked around and then looked up at me, an odd expression on her pretty face.

“Can I have some privacy? Please. I need to… you know.” She wrinkled her nose, glancing behind her.

Pressing my lips together, I thought about it for a moment. Natural bodily functions didn’t bother me. I’d had to clean up an awful lot of them before. Nothing worse than gutting a man and accidentally disemboweling him when he’s literally full of shit. The smell is terrible.

There wasn’t much she could do that would put me off, if anything, but I did want to talk to Macnair. He might be out of the game for himself, but he was a point of contact for a lot of the Familias, and he might know something about Ivy. Whatever he knew, he wouldn’t talk about it in front of her.

“Fine.” I turned around and opened the door. There was only one small window, far too high for her to reach even if she could take the ropes off her wrists. Still, a word of warning couldn’t go amiss. “Don’t try to escape, little flower. I won’t like it.”

When she nodded solemnly, a prickle of unease went through me. Still, I didn’t see how she could possibly get away from me. I’d just have to make sure I kept a close eye on her once she came back out of the bathroom.

Chapter Ten

Tomas

Closing the bathroom door behind me, leaving Ivy alone and not entirely immobile for the first time since I’d found her, I felt that prickle again. Maybe it was just because I didn’t like having her out of my sight. It had been less worrisome when she’d been naked and tied to a chair, but even then I hadn’t liked leaving her.

I tilted my head to listen, but I didn’t hear anything.

She probably did need to use the bathroom in a real way. She’d had two meals since being with me after all. I wondered how much she normally ate. Definitely not nearly enough, going by how skinny she was.

I walked over to the door to the outside and opened it. I could keep an eye on the bathroom door and talk to Macnair at the same time this way. He turned from where he was refueling the car when he heard it open, his hand automatically going to his side. I didn’t let it bother me.

Some instincts died hard.

He relaxed as soon as he saw me standing there.

“What are ye doing with the lass, Tomas, m’boy?” he asked with his gruff Scottish accent.

“Rescued her from Don Bianco,” I replied, leaning against the door frame and holding the door open with my shoulders. I crossed my arms over my chest, glancing back at the closed bathroom door.

“Ah. I’d heard he’d gotten himself a lass.” Macnair scowled. “Her pater used her to pay off his debt. That was the rumor.”

Sadly, I could see that. Not everyone was cut out to be a father. Look at Don Bianco, for example.

“Do you know how long he had her?”

Macnair shook his head. “He didn’t have her last year, but I don’t know when she actually was given over to him. Where are ye taking her?”

“To Don DiNardo.” I cleared my throat as Macnair nodded, apparently satisfied with that answer. For some reason, I felt like confessing to him. “I’m going to ask him to let me marry her.”