Chapter 5
CALLIE
I wish I could say that my job keeps my brain busy so I don’t think about Reid, but he’s in my head the whole time.
There are a few questions from my friends at work about what’s going on with my accommodation, and I mutter an excuse about a renovation project, and they accept it with only a few confused side-glances.
I don’t dare tell anyone I’ve been kidnapped in my own home.
Reverse-kidnapped? Because Reid has been understanding, but underestimating how dangerous he is could be fatal.
I can’t put my friends at risk for something that will be done in a few weeks.
When I walk out of the hospital after my shift, a sleek black SUV—the sort that’s in adverts driving through muddy puddles and up mountains—is waiting for me.
“Please, Miss Flowers,” he says when I glance to the side, thinking about bolting to outrun him. And go… Where? “Maddox will be unbearable if I let you walk home.”
I rub my forehead, and groan. Apparently, being involved with a mafia boss means he takes over your life. He has, after all, basically kidnapped me.
But I admit, it’s nice to be driven home in luxury at the end of a long shift.
Then I walk into the house, and for the second time in two days, I blink in disbelief.
“Oh hey.” Reid looks up from a laptop.
“What are you doing?” I’m distracted from the fact the whole lounge has been renovated, including opening up an arched doorway into the dining room, by my patient typing with both hands.
“Dealing with some payments.” He takes me in with an intensity that fizzes over my skin.
“You’re overstressing your arm.” I’m in front of him in a second, and it’s only then that I realise he’s replaced the scruffy dining table with a sleek marble one that’s set for two, with hotplates and covered pots in the middle and a bottle of wine. “And what are you doing to the house?”
I point at the lounge, at the table, and then notice the wooden floor.
“Some upgrades for you,” he replies smoothly. “Are you hungry?”
“I…” I am incapable of lying. Because I’ve just finished a long shift fuelled by snack bars and coffee. I’m starving. Of course I am. He might be controlling and basically a kidnapper, but he’s offering me food.
And I think I’d struggle not to accept anything this man offered me.