that money.
Still, there was no sense tempting fate. If I could trace the threads, so could someone else, and judging by what I’d found, it was worth my life. I hid in plain sight—the mohawk and full sleeves doing more to distance me than anything else. My hair hadn’t been brown in years, and being in the public eye somehow made me feel safer. Even the Moretti family, as vicious as they were, wouldn’t dare touch a television personality.
Waving their goodbyes, the ladies walked out, leaving me alone with my unfinished beer. They all had amazing lives outside of derby, and it didn’t seem to matter that they were on opposing teams. Sure, they had their problems. Rachel was just out of an abusive marriage, and joined the derby to learn how to stand up to her douchebag ex. Cindy was a single parent of three whose father didn’t pay child support.
These women had built a family of their own together. I admired that. Maybe I could… No, my feet were already itching to move, and I was stuck in south Florida for at least three more weeks until I finished editing a month’s worth of footage. It was as good a place as any to hole up and work, and there weren’t many distractions. I didn’t have funding approved to find another gig until this one was done.
Weren’t there underwater caves somewhere close? I made a note on my phone to check it out for a future show, then yawned and rubbed my bleary eyes. Club staff were already eyeing me, waiting not so patiently for me to get moving so they could clean.
“Sorry,” I called. “I was off in my own little world.”
I stood, then stumbled when my head swam. Yikes. I grabbed my camera gear, then trudged outside, meaning to sit in my car until the alcohol cleared my system. Weird. I hadn’t even had that much to drink. Maybe I was more tired than I’d thought.
Unfortunately, when I got outside, my car was gone. It was a rental, so I didn’t care about that, but my life was in the trunk, including my cameras and laptops. My footage and notes were on the cloud, although my producer wasn’t going to be happy about having to replace twenty grand worth of equipment.
The only thing I had was the video camera and tripod I’d used to record tonight’s bout. I had my wallet and ID too, but my passport and international driving permit had been in my computer bag.
“God damn it!” Suddenly defeated, I let my legs buckle and collapsed, falling to my butt on the warm asphalt.
“Are you all right?” a man asked. His voice was soft and husky, with a faint Italian accent.
I should have been more wary, given who my grandfather was, but my head was so thick and muzzy. My vision blurry, I looked up into the dark eyes of one gorgeous hunk of man wearing jeans and a gray T-shirt. His jaw was covered by scruff, but it was neatly groomed and trimmed, as was his mahogany hair. He was also very tall and had the most beautiful long-fingered hands.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I relaxed. My grandfather’s enemies didn’t appear in public wearing jeans. Neither did his associates, for that matter. Sometimes it was hard to tell the two apart. Past me had loved the old coot with everything I had because he was the purveyor of hugs, sweets, and pony rides. Present me was a little wiser.
“Yes, thank you. My rental car was stolen, so I need to call the police, then get an Uber.” I yawned again, then had to resist the urge to lie down. I managed to stand up, but nearly fell when my legs refused to support my weight. The man caught me, holding me easily against his chest. He smelled like sunshine and whiskey. Yum. He was the exact perfect height too. My head barely topped his shoulder, making it a wonderful place to rest my numb face.
“Hi, I’m Ella Rose,” I slurred. “What’s your name?”
He laughed as my consciousness trickled away, slipping through my fingers like water. “You’ll eventually learn to call me Master, Donatella Rossi.”
Fuck.
When I finally came to, I was in a queen-sized bed with silky cotton sheets and a down comforter.
I knew it was down because my nose itched. The pillows were too. Sitting up, I sneezed, which made my head pound so hard I thought I might be sick. I