But he’s had even more to drink than usual, and he’s relaxed. His hands drop to my hips and he moves closer, not aggressive, just… strangely playful. “You want to play, Mia?”
“No,” I say, removing his hands, but surprised that he lets me.
“Oh, come on.” He leans in, the scent of his cologne hitting my nostrils as his lips move to my neck. My sensitive, sensitive neck.
I grab his hair, tugging his mouth away from my body. “Stop. I need to tell you something.”
“That you like hair-pulling?” he asks with a sensual smile. “Thank you. I approve.”
He reaches a hand toward mine, doubtless to give it a tug, but I grab his wrist. “Mateo, those two guys that just came in are cops.”
His eyebrows rise, but he does not look impressed by my intelligence. “Yes, I know. That’s why I give them money. Don’t get too excited though, they won’t arrest me.”
He’s still teasing, and while it’s a little refreshing, there’s no time for this. “Yes, they will,” I say, a little desperately. “Those guys are not your friends, Mateo. They stopped me Monday before school. They asked me questions about you. They wanted me to give them information, to… testify against you.”
All amusement vanishes from his face, and a scary stoicism takes its place. “Monday?”
Swallowing, I bob my head.
“You didn’t tell me.”
Fuck. “No. I… I didn’t tell them anything, I told them to leave me alone. I probably should’ve told you, but… it was just… there was a lot going on.”
The way he studies me makes me squirm. There’s usually some trace of amusement when he looks at me, whether because he thinks I’m being a naïve idiot, or because he’s enjoying the game only he knows he’s playing with my life. But right now, he’s dead serious, and it sends fear like I’ve never known traveling down my spine. If he would’ve looked at me like this the first time he pulled a gun on me, I probably would’ve dropped dead from a heart attack and saved him the trouble.
“I should’ve told you,” I say, quietly. “But… I don’t think we can dwell on that right now. What do we do?”
His hand slowly moves to my neck, his thumb brushing my jaw, and then he leans in and kisses me. My hands go to his chest, pushing against him. “Mateo,” I say, against his mouth. “Stop it. This is so not the time.”
But he’s not pushing, and…he’s smiling.
Meanwhile I’m frowning, confused, wondering if he’s lost it.
“You’re something else, Mia,” he tells me, touching my face again, but kindly, like he finds me adorable.
I can only stare, wide-eyed.
“They are my friends,” he states. “I sent them to talk to you Monday.”
“What?” I ask, faintly.
Shrugging, he says, “I had to see what you’d do. I had to see if you’d turn on me or remain loyal.” Cupping my face in his hand, he says, “You passed.”
Shock courses through me as his words sink in. Sheer horror follows, realizing he’d been testing me, and if I would’ve talked, if I would’ve told the men who swore they could protect me about the information he let Adrian share in front of me….
How long had he been setting me up for this?
My mouth is still gaping open when his mouth finds my neck again, his hand moving between my legs. Arousal stirs at the touch of his fingertips and I push him away again, shaking my head.
“You… you…”
“Mm hmm,” he verifies, catching my wrist and going back to my neck.
“But… but… they tried to give me the number to the police station. They said they could keep me safe if I…”
His lips leave my neck and he moves closer to my ear, whispering in a rough, silky tone, “Sweetheart, if you ever betray me, God Himself won’t be able to keep you safe.”
Relief should be pouring through me, but it’s only a trickle. I’m stuck in horror, because I can remember sitting in that car, wanting to talk.
“But you didn’t, so you won’t,” he continues. “I built you up, broke you down, took everything from you… and you didn’t turn on me.”
A sickening thought gets lodged in my gut. I’ve seen how Mateo works now, I’ve been manipulated according to his designs, and now I’m wondering…
“When did you…?” I shake my head, pulling back from the kisses he’s leaving along my neck. “How long have you…?”
I don’t know how to ask, but he doesn’t make me. Mateo pulls back so he can look at me, and while he doesn’t exactly move away, he does stop advancing on me.
“Mia, anybody with a gun to their head is going to tell you they won’t talk. It’s survival, plain and simple. I’m the predator, you’re the prey. I have my teeth to your throat, you’ll promise me anything I want to try to make it out alive. You may even think you mean it. But when it comes down to it, when it really comes down to it, you can’t know unless it happens. Vince wanted to keep you alive. He was a pain in the ass about it from the get-go, but I wasn’t about to take that chance. You’re young, fragile; I never thought you’d hold up under the pressure. I had to trap you. I had to take everything away from you. I had to ruin your life, betray you—I had to make you despise me, make you want to see me behind bars more than you wanted anything.”