Hostile Takeover: A Just Business Mafia Romance Read online

  After blinking, she asked, “Would you give me a ride? I know you’ve already helped me so much, and it cost you your position, but I have no transportation, and I really have to get out of here.”

  He seemed surprised. “Isn’t this your engagement party?”

  She gasped. “I guess they told everyone but me.”

  He frowned. “What do you mean?”

  She waved a hand. “Never mind. I just need to get out of here, so can you give me a ride? I can pay you.”

  Before he could answer, there was a disturbance behind them. She turned in time to see two men in dark suits rushing toward them. Behind them, Victor stood a few feet away, arms crossed over his chest as he glared at her.

  “I have to get out of here now. Are you going to help me?”

  Without another word, the ex-waiter took her hand and started running with her, leading her down the long driveway, packed with cars parked by the valets on duty until they reached the valet station, the men right behind them.

  The man who was running the valet service came over to greet them, his gaze moving over their shoulders to the men running behind them. “What’s going on, Euan?”

  “We need to get her out of here right now, Connor.”

  Whoever he was, he obviously knew the waiter, and he didn’t argue. He held up a pair of keys, looking like he’d been in the process of parking the elegant sports car waiting with its door open. “We’ll just borrow this, shall we?”

  She knew it was a bad idea, but she was desperate to escape. She slid into the backseat, since she was the smallest of the three of them and could fit in easiest in the almost nonexistent space. The two men hopped into the front, with the one identified as Connor starting the engine and pulling away with the squeal of rubber on asphalt.

  He drove like an Indy 500 competitor as he made several twists and turns on the road. She glanced behind her, alarmed when she saw headlights from an SUV approaching quickly in the twilight. She let out a little whimper and fastened her seatbelt with shaking hands as the car turned a corner so sharply she was almost surprised they didn’t tip onto two wheels. Unfortunately, the SUV seemed to keep pace, at least for the first couple of miles.

  Connor drove with obvious skill and confidence, zooming through the streets at least twenty-five miles over the speed limit, soon shaking off the SUV that had been tailing them.

  She breathed a sigh of relief when he pulled in to a parking lot a few minutes later. “Did we lose them?”

  Connor nodded, his eyes meeting hers in the rearview mirror. “They’re somewhere back there in the dust.”

  It was another inappropriate moment to notice his eyes were similar to Euan’s, green with gold and brown flecks, and though his hair was rich black, she realized they shared similar bone structure. They must be related, either brothers or cousins, perhaps. Guilt suddenly swept through her. “I’m so sorry. I got you both fired tonight.” She clamped a hand over her mouth. “Oh, they’re going to arrest you for stealing the car. I’ll do my best to make sure you don’t get in trouble.”

  Connor seemed unconcerned. “We’re just going to leave it here, and it’s no worse for the wear. They’ll get their car back, and they won’t be able to find me or my brother.” He sounded confident in that.

  She hoped he was right as she nodded. They exited the car first, and Euan offered her a hand when she started to slip out of the backseat. She took it, clinging gratefully for a moment longer than necessary once her feet were on the parking lot. She gave him a shaky smile. “You have no idea how grateful I am to both of you for rescuing me.”

  Connor lifted an eyebrow as he came closer. “Rescuing?”

  Euan and Connor exchanged a glance. “I’ll explain it all later,” said Euan.

  Connor nodded just once, apparently accepting his brother at his word.

  She reached for her wallet. “I don’t have much cash, but I’ll happily give you what I have. I really appreciate the help.”

  “Keep your money, princess,” said Connor, his voice edging toward disdainful. “You can’t buy your way out of this.”

  She glared at him. “I’m not trying to buy my way out of anything. I was simply trying to express some gratitude. If you don’t want the money, that’s fine. Once again, thank you for your help.” She turned away from them, intent on finding a quiet place she could hide long enough to call her brothers. Any of the three would immediately drop what they were doing and come pick her up.

  She felt like an idiot for having completely turned her back on her parents, and for having distanced herself from her brothers. She’d ignored the triplets’ gentle admonishments and entreaties to make up with their mother, because she’d been determined to connect with the Thorne family, and she’d still felt raw and betrayed at discovering the woman she thought was her mother wasn’t really her mother at all.

  She froze when Euan put a hand on her shoulder, turning to look at him. “Yes?”

  “Why don’t you come with us? We have a safe place, and I don’t want you to wander around this neighborhood alone.”

  She looked around with fresh eyes, realizing they weren’t in the best location. Once again, she was grateful to her rescuer, and she nodded as she fell into step with him. She ignored Connor though, still stinging at his dismissal of the money she’d offered. She wasn’t upset because he hadn’t taken the cash, but because he treated her like she was a spoiled rich girl used to throwing money around to solve her problems.

  She shifted slightly uncomfortably in her sneakers, realizing that might be at least partially true. She didn’t usually have problems, at least until the last eighteen months, but she was comfortable flashing the gold card her father had given her, even though she was estranged from them, and she was humbled to realize she probably would have thought money could solve any problem until this one arose. She still wasn’t going to apologize to him, because he was the one who’d been a rude ass, even if his conjecture was partially true.

  They walked for several blocks, and she was soon turned around and completely lost. It was as though they were deliberately circling back multiple times, along with making random turns. She figured they were trying to ensure no one else followed them, but it also meant she had no idea how to get back to the parking lot, or even where she was.

  Eventually, they led her to a small house that looked as rundown as the rest of the neighborhood. Connor used a key to open the door, and they all stepped through the entryway. Once inside, he closed the door behind him, engaging the locks. She was surprised to see the sophisticated biometric scanner on the front door of the older house, but apparently these guys took security seriously. She cleared her throat, looking at Euan. “Where’s your restroom?”

  “I’ll show you.”

  She followed him down the hall, past the living room, and into the first room on the left. He flicked on the light for her and stepped back, closing the door behind himself as he left. The room was on the small side, with older furnishings and a freestanding claw tub that looked like it could have come from the last century. Everything was clean and in good shape, and she was reassured to know she wasn’t going to fall through the floorboards as she stepped closer to the toilet.

  After doing her business and washing her face, along with her hands, she used the hand towel to dry herself. As she rubbed it over her face to remove the moisture from the water she’d splashed on it, she caught a faint masculine scent, and it made her stomach clench. She wasn’t certain if it was Euan or Connor’s scent, or a combination of the two, but it was appealing, and her nipples beaded in her bra.

  She looked down, embarrassed to see the long-sleeved T-shirt she’d chosen did nothing to hide the sudden proof of her arousal. Abruptly, she returned the hand towel to the ring and spent a moment pressing her arms against her breasts, trying to force her nipples to soften. It didn’t really work, so she just pulled out the shirt as much as she could to hide the evidence as she left the bathroom.

  They were bot
h in the living room, just standing there as though waiting for her. She smiled at them, trying to show her thanks. “You guys have really helped me out. I appreciate it. I’m going to call my brothers to come pick me up, but if there’s anything I can do for you to repay you, please let me know.”

  Connor came closer to her, holding out his hand. “We need your phone, princess.”

  She frowned at him. “You don’t have one?”

  He laughed. “Of course I have one. This isn’t the Third World. I just need yours.”

  A hint of apprehension swept through her. “Why do you need my phone? Are you out of minutes?”

  Connor laughed again, but it was edged with bitterness. “You just assume I’m on a prepaid plan? What, you don’t think I have good enough credit to get a real phone service?”

  She took a step back. “I didn’t mean it that way. I was just trying to figure out why you’d want my phone when you have your own.”

  “That’s simple. I don’t want you calling your brothers.”

  She frowned at him before looking at Euan, hoping for some support or clarification. “But I need my brothers to pick me up. Any of the three will do it.”

  Euan looked almost regretful when he shook his head. “I’m afraid you can’t do that, Sophia.”

  She was starting to get irritated, and she crossed her arms over her chest as she glared at both of them. “And why not? What’s it to you?”

  “You can’t call your brothers because you aren’t going anywhere. You’re our hostage,” said Connor, moving a step closer toward her in a menacing fashion as he wiggled his fingers in unspoken demand for her phone. “You aren’t going anywhere, Sophia.”

  Chapter Two

  She stared at the brothers in shock, her mind refusing to process his words. They were roughly the same height, with broad shoulders and narrow waists, and forearms bulging with muscles. At some point, they had both rolled up the sleeves of their white work shirts, revealing the strength in their arms. It was the kind of strength that came from dedication to physical perfection, whether obtained through manual labor or hours in the gym.

  She wrenched her gaze away from their forearms, gasping when she saw the gun holstered on Connor’s right side. Either he had added it while she was in the bathroom, or she had just failed to notice it until now. Either way, it sent a chill through her and made her stomach churn with nausea. She’d grown up in a mafia family, so it wasn’t the first time she’d seen a weapon, but under the circumstances, it was terrifying. Looking into Connor’s green eyes, she was alarmed by the resolve she saw there. “I want to go home. Now!”

  “Sorry, princess, but you’re a guest…for a while.”

  She swallowed down the lump in her throat. “How long is that?”

  “Until we’re done with you,” said Euan. His voice wavered just a bit, and he seemed to be less certain of whatever their plan was.

  Maybe he would be her way out of this. She allowed some of her fear to show, only slightly exaggerating the trembling of her lips when she locked gazes with him. “Please don’t do this, Euan. You’re scaring me. You were such a nice guy, and you helped rescue me from Victor. You don’t really want to do this.”

  Euan blinked, but then his expression became inscrutable. “It has to be done.”

  She still hadn’t given up on him being the weakest link, but she eased back for a moment, deciding she’d have better luck approaching him when he wasn’t with his brother. Instead, she turned her attention to Connor, crossing her arms over her chest. “Do you have any idea who my father is? Who my brothers are? You let me out of here right now, and I won’t tell them anything about this part. In fact, I’ll make sure they know you saved me, and you’ll get rewarded for being in the right place at the right time. There is no reason for any unpleasantness.”

  Connor eyed her impassively. “We weren’t just in the right place at the right time by accident, princess. We set this up. We intended to kidnap you from your own engagement party, but you made it easy by strolling out with Euan.”

  She shook her head. “No, that isn’t right. Euan happened by in the hallway, and he helped me when I asked for it.”

  Connor frowned slightly. “What kind of help did he give you?”

  “He distracted Victor Croft long enough for me to escape his groping hands.”

  Connor scowled. “Why would you want to escape Victor? You’re going to marry him.”

  She shook her head. “I’m not. I was running away when I found out that was the intention behind the party.” She waved a hand down her body, encompassing her black outfit. “Do you really think I would have worn this to my engagement party?”

  Connor showed a hint of hesitancy as he examined her from head to foot. He looked troubled as he glanced at his brother, who nodded as though confirming without speaking her version of events. His scowl deepened.

  Sensing an advantage, she pressed forward. “I don’t care a thing about Victor Croft. My grandfather was trying to manipulate me into marrying him to seal some kind of business deal. If this is about Victor, you have the wrong person.”

  Connor stared at her for a moment, and there was almost a hint of pity in his eyes. “You really don’t know, do you?”

  She blinked. “Know what?”

  “The crazy fucker’s completely obsessed with you.”

  She frowned. “What do you mean? I barely know him. I only met him for the first time a couple of weeks ago.”

  “You might have only known him for a couple of weeks, but he’s been following you for months,” said Euan.

  She turned her attention to him, still confused. “Why? And how do you know?”

  “Because we’ve been following him,” said Euan. “We been looking for his weakness for a long time, and you’re it.”

  Connor picked up for his brother. “When we broke into his house, we found an entire room dedicated to images of you. He’s plastered them all over, and most of them are candid shots, and it’s clear you have no idea you’re even being photographed. We figured he finally got over his hesitation about approaching you, and you embraced the crazy fucker. We had no idea you were clueless about his intentions.”

  A wave of relief swept through her. “I had nothing to do with Croft, and I’d like to keep it that way. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but it’s definitely a one-sided obsession. You can see there’s nothing to gain by keeping me. I’m not going to marry him, and he wouldn’t pay ransom for me after I slipped out of the party and made it clear at least to him and my grandfather that I wasn’t going to marry him.”

  Connor scowled. “I don’t think you get it, princess. He doesn’t care about whether you want to marry him, or what your plans were or are. He’s determined to have you, which makes you valuable to us. We don’t care what your plans were either. They’ve changed as of tonight.”

  She glared at him. “I won’t cooperate.”

  He shrugged. “I never expected you would.”

  He turned his attention to his brother. “Why don’t you show her to her new accommodations, Euan? I’ve had enough of the princess for the moment.”

  She glared at him. “Stop calling me that. I have a name.”

  He ignored her words as he turned away from them, calling over his shoulder, “Make sure you lock her up tight. She looks sweet and innocent, but you can’t trust this one.”

  As Euan edged closer, she stepped backward, trying to maintain distance between them. “Where is he going?”

  Euan shrugged. “He’s probably going to see if there’s any information on the police scanners about you being kidnapped. We don’t expect Croft to make that move, but maybe your grandfather would.”

  She shook her head. “My grandfather’s going to think I left on my own, and I plan to. No one’s going to believe I’m kidnapped after the way I left the party and refused to marry Victor.” She cursed herself for being so honest.

  Either he didn’t have a response, or he didn’t care enough to provide
one. Either way, he closed the distance between them and fastened his hand around her wrist. “Come with me.”

  The inexorable pull of his arm left her little choice but to comply, though she tried digging in her heels and going limp at the same time. He looked back at her, pausing only for a moment. “Walk, or I’ll carry you.”

  With a solid frame, she had no doubt he could easily carry her. The idea of being in his arms should have been abhorrent, but instead, a wave of longing swept over her. It was a ridiculous reaction to someone who was holding her prisoner, and she firmly squashed it as she forced herself to walk along with him. It was better to move on her own steam than be slung over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

  She didn’t have much of a chance to check out the interior, but what she saw was clean, though dated. “Where are we?”

  “Somewhere your fiancé won’t think to look.”

  She glared at the back of Euan’s head, eyes focused on the thin leather strap securing the short ponytail. “He’s not my fiancé. I want nothing to do with the loathsome prick.”

  He nodded. “That’s a smart move.”

  “Apparently, I’ve run out of smart moves, since I let Tweedledee and Tweedledum kidnap me, and I walked right into it.”

  He stopped in front of the door, his lips twitching slightly as he looked down at her. “Am I Dee or Dum?”

  She shrugged, giving him an overly sweet smile. “I haven’t decided yet.”

  With a small chuckle, he opened the door and pushed her gently inside. “It’s not the Ritz, and it sure ain’t the luxury you’re used to, but it’s as nice as we could make it. You’re going to be here a while, so you might as well adapt to it. There’s no en suite bathroom, so pound on the door if you need to use the facilities.”

  As he flicked on the light, she looked around the small room, modestly furnished, before looking back at him. “What am I supposed to do in here with myself?”

  He shrugged. “Figure it out.” With that, he closed the door. A moment later, she heard the lock click, realizing the hasp she’d seen matched a padlock she hadn’t noticed. Still, she had to try the door, so she moved closer to it and grasped the handle. It opened about an inch, but that was it. “Let me out of here.”