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I was so glad he was dead.

But just because Tomas had put a bullet through the don’s brain, didn’t mean he was my ally.

Even if he had bathed me without molesting me, tied me to the chair and cut my hair without “accidentally” cutting me, and was now promising to bring back food. Who was this man?

Could I trust him?

Experience said no.

A small, quiet voice in my gut said yes. There was a good chance that voice was going to get me killed.

On the other hand, how much of a choice did I have at the moment?

I wriggled gently, trying to see how much leeway I had with the ropes now that he wasn’t there to see me testing them. Not much. My arms and legs were both bound in place and tied to the chair. I wriggled again, pushing my arms out from my sides, trying to twist in place.

The chair rocked and I froze, letting it settle back into place.

The idea of sleeping on the floor did not appeal. I frowned, looking down at the ropes.

I needed a new plan.

If I’d learned anything from Don Bianco and his men, it was that sex wouldn’t stop them from hurting me, but it did make them stop short of actually killing me. If I had sex with Tomas, would that be the same? Maybe he’d still hurt me, but if he hesitated even a second before killing me, I might be able to use that. It was at least a bit of a chance to escape eventually.

And I would rather have sex with him than Don Bianco or any of his men. So far, he hadn’t done anything to actually hurt me. Even if he had threatened to. He was being cautious with me, which I could respect, but so far, he hadn’t been brutal or cruel for the sake of it.

Which was more than I could say for the Bianco Familia.

Taking a deep breath, I still couldn’t help but try and wriggle out of the ropes. Just to see if there was any give. But at least I had the consolation of a backup plan when it didn’t work, and I didn’t feel the need to try and push myself to the point where I might end up on the floor and still tied to the chair.

When the hotel door finally opened again, admitting Tomas who was carrying a bag in front of him, I almost did knock myself over when I jumped in surprise. For such a big man, he moved so quietly. He paused as soon as he walked through the door, his gaze raking over me.

I opened my eyes wide, doing my best to appear innocent. If he fell for it, all the better. If he didn’t, at least I’d tried.

He gave an approving nod, but still didn’t take his gaze off me as he set the food down on the small table and pulled out the other chair that was there. Only then did he go back to lock the door behind him. I watched, aware of my stomach growling as the scent of food finally reached my nose and my mouth watered.

I was hungry.

Having locked the door, Tomas came over to me, moving around behind me, and I expected him to untie me, but instead he picked up the chair – and me at the same time. I squeaked in surprise, my fingers balling into fists. I’d already known he was strong, but this was not an easy way to lift a person. Especially with the chair, which was not lightweight.

I held absolutely still while he carried me. If knocking myself over while sitting in the chair might have been painful, without my hands to help catch myself, falling from a height would be even worse.

He set me down, surprisingly gently, next to the table, facing the chair that he’d pulled out for himself. I slowly let the air out of my lungs as my racing pulse settled back down. I didn’t need to make my eyes wider than usual as he went to sit down in his chair.

In my head, I’d assumed all Familia was Familia and they would all be basically the same… but Tomas wasn’t acting like any of the Bianco men would. Which meant I couldn’t predict what he’d do.

In some ways, that was more frightening than anything the Biancos did to me.

Chapter Five

Tomas

As I sat down in front of Ivy, I was aware of the wary way she was regarding me. Being wary wasn’t a bad thing, though I wasn’t sure what had caused it. I didn’t want her taking me for granted though. If she was afraid, hopefully she wouldn’t try to push me or make an escape attempt. Both of those things would make my life more difficult, and she was already a complication to my mission.

Taking the food out of the bag, I could see her watching my every movement out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t miss the way her expression changed when I started putting the food down on the table or how her little pink tongue flicked out to lick her lips. The near anguish on her face was enough to make me want to go back to the Bianco mansion and shoot every single man on the property.

Instead, I opened the container with the turkey sandwich. I’d chosen options that were easy to hold and that most people liked. Not that she seemed like she’d be too picky, with how hungry she was.

As I turned to her, half the sandwich outstretched in front of me, her eyes widened with shock. Her lips parted, but in surprise, not for the sandwich.