Page 72 of Her Intense Protector

“Okay, you’re right, I won’t. But your boyfriend will die a painful death, do you want that?”

“Ezio?”

“Jesus, you’re a slut. How many men do you have dangling on a string anyway? I’m talking about that poor slob Kevin. He told me how you’ve ghosted him and set security on him. Who the hell is Ezio?”

Me and my danged mouth. “No one. Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you to my boss. He’s got a score to settle with you.”

“The man who ran the poker game?”

“Hell no, the boss has a score to settle with Harry too. You two need to be made examples of. No way the shit you pulled is going to stand.”

“Who’s your boss?”

“You sure have a lot of questions. Just shut the fuck up. Quit hammering on the car, or I’m calling my other partner and he’s going to start shooting Kevin in the knees and elbows. Got it?”

“Why should I? Your boss is just going to kill me anyway.”

“I didn’t say you’d end up dead. He’s just planning on making an example of you. It’s possible you’ll live through it.”

The partition rolled back up and the SUV started moving again. Samantha thought she was going to throw up. Who was the boss, and what did that mean, by making an example of her?

Samantha didn’t know how long she let herself be terrorized by those thoughts. She had to pull herself out of this downward spiral of dread and come up with a way out of it. Sure, there were two men up front with guns. But they hadn’t killed her, so that was a plus.

There was a boss who wanted her and the game-runner from the poker night alive, so he could make examples of them. Who did he want to make them examples to? The boss had to have other employees. Had Harry screwed up so badly the boss wanted to show people not to screw up again, or something bad will happen to you?

Is he trying to show Murray and Carl not to rat out their accomplices? Apparently, he was also not too pleased with her either. That was nothing new, ask her dad. She let out a wry laugh.

Ah-ha!

You smiled, Samantha!

There are men with guns and some underworld mob boss wants to make an example of you, but you smiled. If you smiled, then you can figure a way out of this. And remember, there’s Kevin. He’s a prisoner too. He can help too.

He’d always been kind of devious. Think about the way he was able to make a side business by selling all of those high school kids tours of the campus, when they could get them for free. Of course, it was an a-hole thing to do. She should have dumped him then.

Okay. Think, Brooks. Think.

She looked down at her watch. They’d been driving for an hour and twenty minutes. Just where the heck were they going?

* * *

“Good job, men.”

He might not be jumping up and down for joy, but Ezio could tell that Max Hogan was pretty damned pleased to have beaten Omega Sky in the games.

“So, what was the bet?” Kane asked Max.

“A steak dinner at Aberdeen’s.”

“Sweet,” Cullen said. “I’ve been wanting to go there for a while, but a big side of beef isn’t Carys’ deal.”

“How about you, Kane? What did you bet with Gideon?” Ezio asked.

“He wanted a day’s labor in his yard, I wanted eight hours of computer coding time.”

“Him I understand, you’re just wrong, McNamara,” Max sighed.