“Okay. Good night, Mia.”
With a casual wave in his direction, she left the break room, said goodbye to the two dishwashers standing at the back entrance polluting the area with the smoke from their cigarettes, and headed off in the direction of the tiny apartment she shared with three other girls. Fortunately, they were all at work or out, since it was Saturday, and she’d have the place to herself. Mia couldn’t wait to sink into the old-fashioned tub to wash off the stench of restaurant food—even upscale offerings clung to the skin and pores after enough hours. She might pour a glass of red wine, but she was feeling tired enough to just slip from the bath into bed without the alcohol.
It took her less than a block to realize someone was following her. The furtive sound of footsteps made her tense, and she gripped her pepper spray tighter, ensuring the nozzle was facing outward. Mia increased her pace on the off chance she was simply going the same way as someone behind her, but her instincts screamed that wasn’t the case.
The footsteps behind her increased in pace, and she broke into a run. Mia briefly wished she had brought her tennis shoes, but usually didn’t bother unless she was going by the gym before or after work. She was in good shape and fast, but the shoes hampered her speed as she broke into a sprint.
The slam of hard soles against the pavement grew closer, and she whirled to face her attacker when he got close enough to be in range. She unleashed the spray right in the giant blond man’s eyes, making him scream and raise his hands to shield the sensitive orbs.
Immediately, she turned to face the second one, who wasn’t quite the hulking behemoth as his comrade, but was still a lot bigger than her own petite frame. The sight of the gun in his hand made her mouth go dry, and she made a show of dropping the pepper spray canister and returning the key ring to her purse. “What do you want?”
“Get up, Bruno.” He had a thick accent she couldn’t quite place. Irish? Scottish?
With a snarl, the blond giant lurched to his feet, suit jacket straining across his broad chest as he reached out blindly in her direction. “I’m going to kill that cunt.”
Mia was surprised when the gun moved briefly from her to Bruno.
“Don’t be ridiculous. The boss wants her unharmed.”
It was Mia’s turn to snarl. These men had to work for her father. It was a new low for him to send his thugs to fetch her, but she wasn’t surprised. He would never take time from his busy schedule of criminal activity to come himself. “What does he want?”
The dark-haired man shrugged. “Not my problem, miss. There is a limousine at the end of the street. You will turn nicely and walk like a proper lady to the vehicle.”
She narrowed her eyes. “The boss wants me unharmed.”
He lifted a shoulder. “There are varying degrees of unharmed, miss. You will still be reasonably functional if Bruno has to carry you.” He gave her a chilling smile. “Considering the depth of his rage with you, I would think you should not want his hands on you in any capacity at the moment.”
With a sigh of surrender, she turned away from the thugs, conscious of them walking a half-step behind her, the gun occasionally ghosting against her lower back. The sleek black car waited as they had said, and she slid inside once the gunman opened the door for her. Mia was preparing a mental stream of vitriol to unleash on her father for his highhandedness when she saw him again. The idea of coming face-to-face with him for the first time in two years was more daunting than she wanted to admit, even to herself.
The last time, she’d had the buffer of other attendees at her stepmother’s funeral to protect her from Vadim. And her stepbrother. She shivered at the thought of Aldo Peretti. If he was at this forced meeting, she was going to give him the rest of the bottle of pepper spray and hope it blinded him for life.
Both goons slipped
With a casual wave in his direction, she left the break room, said goodbye to the two dishwashers standing at the back entrance polluting the area with the smoke from their cigarettes, and headed off in the direction of the tiny apartment she shared with three other girls. Fortunately, they were all at work or out, since it was Saturday, and she’d have the place to herself. Mia couldn’t wait to sink into the old-fashioned tub to wash off the stench of restaurant food—even upscale offerings clung to the skin and pores after enough hours. She might pour a glass of red wine, but she was feeling tired enough to just slip from the bath into bed without the alcohol.
It took her less than a block to realize someone was following her. The furtive sound of footsteps made her tense, and she gripped her pepper spray tighter, ensuring the nozzle was facing outward. Mia increased her pace on the off chance she was simply going the same way as someone behind her, but her instincts screamed that wasn’t the case.
The footsteps behind her increased in pace, and she broke into a run. Mia briefly wished she had brought her tennis shoes, but usually didn’t bother unless she was going by the gym before or after work. She was in good shape and fast, but the shoes hampered her speed as she broke into a sprint.
The slam of hard soles against the pavement grew closer, and she whirled to face her attacker when he got close enough to be in range. She unleashed the spray right in the giant blond man’s eyes, making him scream and raise his hands to shield the sensitive orbs.
Immediately, she turned to face the second one, who wasn’t quite the hulking behemoth as his comrade, but was still a lot bigger than her own petite frame. The sight of the gun in his hand made her mouth go dry, and she made a show of dropping the pepper spray canister and returning the key ring to her purse. “What do you want?”
“Get up, Bruno.” He had a thick accent she couldn’t quite place. Irish? Scottish?
With a snarl, the blond giant lurched to his feet, suit jacket straining across his broad chest as he reached out blindly in her direction. “I’m going to kill that cunt.”
Mia was surprised when the gun moved briefly from her to Bruno.
“Don’t be ridiculous. The boss wants her unharmed.”
It was Mia’s turn to snarl. These men had to work for her father. It was a new low for him to send his thugs to fetch her, but she wasn’t surprised. He would never take time from his busy schedule of criminal activity to come himself. “What does he want?”
The dark-haired man shrugged. “Not my problem, miss. There is a limousine at the end of the street. You will turn nicely and walk like a proper lady to the vehicle.”
She narrowed her eyes. “The boss wants me unharmed.”
He lifted a shoulder. “There are varying degrees of unharmed, miss. You will still be reasonably functional if Bruno has to carry you.” He gave her a chilling smile. “Considering the depth of his rage with you, I would think you should not want his hands on you in any capacity at the moment.”
With a sigh of surrender, she turned away from the thugs, conscious of them walking a half-step behind her, the gun occasionally ghosting against her lower back. The sleek black car waited as they had said, and she slid inside once the gunman opened the door for her. Mia was preparing a mental stream of vitriol to unleash on her father for his highhandedness when she saw him again. The idea of coming face-to-face with him for the first time in two years was more daunting than she wanted to admit, even to herself.
The last time, she’d had the buffer of other attendees at her stepmother’s funeral to protect her from Vadim. And her stepbrother. She shivered at the thought of Aldo Peretti. If he was at this forced meeting, she was going to give him the rest of the bottle of pepper spray and hope it blinded him for life.
Both goons slipped
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