Mob Boss’ Curvy Hostage by Lisa Lovell
Chapter Ten
Ronnie
“What the fuck did those idiots do to you?” I groan. She’s basically naked. As much as I’d hoped I’d see her delicious body again, this isn’t how I pictured it. I take off my jacket and drape it over her as best I can. Her hands are bound. For now, they have to stay that way.
Slowly, I remove the tape from her lips. Her lipstick is completely smeared.
“I need you to stay calm,” I warn her. “If you scream, I’ll have to put the tape back on and I don’t want to do that.”
Figures, I meet a woman I have a genuine interest in getting to know and she shows up here. How am I supposed to make this work? I don’t even know what she knows.
“Okay.” Her voice is small and trembling.
“I’m going to ask you some questions and it’s very important that you answer me honestly. If I think you’re lying, I’ll have to bring Sienna back in here. She’ll question you and her methods are…creative.”
Her eyes widen with fear, but she nods in agreement.
“How did you get here?”
“I found a wallet in my purse,” she responds. “There was a slip of paper with this address on it, so I came here to find the owner.”
“And who do you think the wallet belongs to?”
“It’s yours,” she says. “I must have picked it up when it fell in your car. When we…”
Shit. It’s not like I can say it’s not mine. Even if I lied and said someone planted it on her to get to me, that would still invite unwelcome questions. She doesn’t know everything, but she knows too much. That’s clear.
“Look, I’m sorry. If you let me go, I won’t say a word about this to anyone.”
“That’s not an option.”
I hate the way her eyes fill with fear when she looks at me.
“The woman called you Ronnie,” she says.
Damn it, Sienna. That was a careless move on her part. She knows better than that.
“Sophie, it’s important that you don’t say anything else,” I try to reason with her, but panic is taking over her body. Her breath comes in rapid gasps. Her eyes dart around the room, unable to fully focus on anything. I’m not worried about her running away. Sienna is posted just on the other side of the door in case that happens.
“You’re-you’re,” she stammers. “You’re Ronnie Valente.”
Shit. Damn it. Fuck. Shit.
“I really wish you hadn’t said that out loud.” I run a hand through my hair and try to think through my options.
I can’t let her go. My rivals have their spies everywhere. The Russians know this building too. I know I’m watched. If someone sees her leave, they’ll make her a target. I don’t want that for her.
“You’re not denying it?” Her voice breaks as more tears flow.
“Would you believe me if I did?”
She shakes her head and looks away. “Can’t you just let me go?”
“I’m afraid not,” I say, “it wouldn’t be safe for either of us if I did that. Are you working for someone?”
“What?” She shakes her head. “No, I swear I was just trying to get your wallet back to you. That’s all!”
“Then why didn’t you call me?” I ask.
“I…I don’t know.” Tears drip down onto my jacket.
“Surely, you must have seen everything in the wallet. You must have known it was strange,” I prompt.
“I thought it was weird but I never imagined that you are…who you are,” she explains. “I just wanted to put my mind at rest. I thought you’d be able to give a perfectly reasonable explanation.”
“Well, now you have your explanation,” I sigh.
“What are you going to do with me?” She asks in a strained whisper.
“I don’t like this,” I say. “But you’ve seen too much. You know too much. There are laws in this world, my world, that I just can’t change. I can’t afford to have any loose ends.
You, Sophie, are a loose end.”