Page 30 of Blood on Ice

Vito’s hand circled my wrist, squeezing hard. “I’m the only man you need to be with.”

“Who do you think you are?”

“A fucking Marchesi.”

“Is this how you usually approach men?”

He smiled. “No, most men and women are far more willing. They usually come to me.”

I could see why, but I wasn’t about to say that. “Then go find someone else.”

“I want you.”

I took a deep breath and forced myself to look away from him. There was a man seated in a corner booth watching me. When he raised a hand and smiled, my stomach flip-flopped. I didn’t recognize him, but somehow I knew he wasn’t looking for a hookup.

“What’s wrong?” Vito asked. He followed my line of sight and when he saw the man, he snarled and slid off his stool. The man rose and ran for the side door.

“What the fuck? Do you know him?”

Vito grabbed my arm. “We need to get out of here.”

“What? Why?” A moment ago I’d been thinking the same thing, but I hadn’t planned to leave with Vito.

“You aren’t going to walk home alone with that man out there.”

“I’m hardly a weakling. I can hold my own with some asshole.”

“Not if he blows your head off first.”

Now I was really fucking scared, but I played it off. “The guys from Vegas want their money, so they aren’t going to kill me.”

“I don’t have time to argue. Follow me. Now.”

“I haven’t paid my tab.”

Vito pulled a stack of bills from his pocket and threw them down on the bar. “That covers it. Don’t make me throw you over my shoulder.”

I raised my brows. “You think you can fucking carry me?”

“I know I can.”

“I’m—”

“Shut up and follow me.”

I didn’t hesitate again. I did exactly what he demanded.

He looped his arm through mine as we stepped through the exit. Did he think I was going to run? Did he really think he could stop me so easily? Hadn’t he seen the fights I’d been in on the ice? He had to know I wasn’t someone he could easily fuck with.

I let him lead me down the street to his SUV. It beeped as he unlocked it and gestured toward the passenger door. “Get in the car.”

“Vito, I’m not going home with you.”

“Get in now. I’m serious.”

“You can’t?—”

“There’s a man over there watching you. If you hadn’t come out with me, he and his accomplices would be beating you in an alley right now.”

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