“You letting me go?”
He quirks one eyebrow upward, clearly amused by the thought. “When you’ve helped me figure out where Kaitlin is, I’ll be glad to part company with you.”
“And how the hell do you think I’ll be able to do that? She ran, remember. New York’s a big place, in case you hadn’t noticed. I’m not psychic. I can’t just concentrate really hard and somehow know exactly where she is.”
“True. But what about if you had this?” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cell phone—mine. The screen’s shattered but it’s lit up. Chances are it’s still working.
“You took that from the car.”
“I did. And when we get to my place, you’re going to call your ward and find out where the hell she is. And then we’re going to find my brother and go get this girl, and then you can be on your merry way.”
He’s dreaming if he thinks I’m actually going to do that for him, but I flash him a cold smile anyway. “Sure. If you can get me out of here, that is.” I’d have made a break for it already if I weren’t convinced that I’d end up with my head mounted on one of the Barber of Brooklyn’s living room walls. I’m just one person, and, yeah, I can fight, but Cucina Diavolo is massive and full of guys who can also fight. I don’t have a death wish, so I’ve done the smart thing and stayed put. Theo knows this place, though. He knows how to sneak me out. If he thinks I’ll help him find Kaitlin, he’ll take me back to his place, wherever that is, and I can slip him there, no problem.
Theo watches me, green eyes skimming over each of my facial features in turn, as though he’s trying to figure me out. Or maybe it’s because of what he did to that blonde and how badly he made me squirm. I hate that he saw that. “Turn around,” he says.
“Why?”
Holding up a pair of handcuffs, he grins at me. “I’d say I’m not going to enjoy this, but I’d be lying.”
Kind of ridiculous that he thinks I can’t work my way out of a pair of handcuffs, but whatever. I toss the shard of glass onto the ground and turn around, holding my wrists together behind my back. If he really does think I won’t jimmy my way out of the cuffs, perhaps that will make him even more complacent. I might be able to grab my phone and get the hell out of Dodge before we even get to his place.
“Being such a good girl,” he says. His breath hits the back of my neck, warm and close. My body reacts automatically, against my will, making the skin across my shoulders break out in goose bumps. It’s fucked that he’s having an effect on me whatsoever. I seriously do not like it. Why couldn’t he have been disfigured or something, instead of some smoking-hot Italian god with green eyes? Fate is a cruel bitch.
I shiver as I feel the cold press of the metal snapping closed around my wrists. Theo must have cuffed a lot of people in the past; he tightens them enough so that they’re digging into my skin, giving me no room to contort my hands and slide them free. It doesn’t matter, though. There’s more than one way to get myself free.
The next few minutes are adrenaline filled as I’m led silently out of the pokey room and down the corridor. We descend the stairs at the end of the hallway but instead of turning right and heading back through the kitchen, Theo guides me to the left, along another hallway. I can hear someone shouting—angry threats about cutting off someone’s balls. By the stern, cold look on Theo’s face I know it’s his father. Has to be. My suspicions are confirmed when I hear the infuriated voice hissing, “This isn’t just any old title. I’m offering to make you the motherfucking King of the west coast. You’d be answerable to no one but me. You—”