Read Ruthless: Mob Boss Book One for Free Online Page B

stark contrast to the concrete hallway they’d left behind. No one was inside. Nico’s men had covered all the bases.
    Luca inserted a key next to the button marked with a “P”, and they stood in silence as the elevator began to ascend. She was acutely aware of the fact that she hadn’t had a shower, hadn’t been able to wash her hair in days. She almost felt sorry for Luca until she reminded herself that he was at least partially responsible for her current predicament.
    She watched the numbers climb past the sixtieth floor before the elevator slid serenely to a stop at the penthouse level. The doors opened, but Luca remained in place.
    She looked at him. “What now?”
    He relinquished his hold on her arm and folded his hands in front of his body, still looking straight ahead. “Now you go inside.”
    “What is this place?” she asked, daring to hope that her father might be waiting, that maybe this was some kind of drop-off point.
    “It’s fine. Just go inside,” he said. “I’ll be back to pick you up later.”
    Her stomach dropped a little. No end to her imprisonment then. Not tonight. At some point she would be back in the little room under Vitale headquarters.
    “Thanks for nothing,” she muttered, stepping out of the elevator.
    The doors closed behind her with a soft hum, and she turned her attention to the expansive room in front of her. It was all white furniture and gleaming wood floors stretching to a wall of glass, the city sparkling in the setting sun, lights just coming on in the skyscrapers scattered like jewels across town.
    Definitely New York City.
    “I see you made it.”
    A fire was already starting in the center of her body as she turned toward the voice.
    Nico Vitale stood against the wall, arms crossed over his impressive chest. The suit was gone, replaced by a pair of jeans that hugged his thighs like a caress and a long-sleeve t-shirt that covered everything yet somehow made him seem more erotic than ever.
    It took her a minute to find her voice. “What am I doing here?”
    His eyes burned into hers. “You’re here because I want you here. And that’s all you ned to know.”

10
    Nico leaned against the wall and watched her. She stood straight, the only sign of fear the fists clenched at her sides. She’d been through a harrowing ordeal, but she still seemed up for a fight. He had no doubt that she wouldn’t go quietly, however this ended for her.
    “Follow me.” He pushed off the wall and started walking down the hallway.
    “And if I don’t?”
    He didn’t turn around. “You will. One way or another.”
    “You don’t even have a gun,” she said behind him.
    He turned around, meeting her green-eyed gaze. “Do you think I need a gun to get you to do what I want?”
    She licked her lips, and his eyes were drawn without his permission to their velvety softness. “I... I don’t know,” she admitted.
    “Then I suggest you don’t test the theory,” he said, resuming his walk down the hall. “Besides, I assume you might like a shower.”
    He felt her presence behind him a moment later.
    He led her to the guest bedroom where he’d laid out clothes on the bed. “There are fresh towels in the bathroom. Take your time. I’ll be waiting in the living room.”
    He left in a hurry. He didn’t want to stand close to her, didn’t want to imagine her taking off her clothes in the steamy bathroom, letting the hot water wash over her alabaster skin.
    Closing the door behind him, he took a deep breath, then headed for the living room where he poured two fingers of vodka into one of the crystal glasses that had belonged to his parents. He drank it all before crossing the room to the wall of glass overlooking the city.
    The sun was almost gone. Central Park stood below him, spots of light illuminating large expanses of darkness. Beyond were the lights on the high rise buildings of 5th Avenue, and beyond it, those of Madison and Lexington Avenues. It was a multi-million dollar