Mr. Rothe - Lynn Hagen Page 0,17

for a moment. “I don’t care what you’re in the middle of. Drop it and get there. It seems Antonio Malkovich isn’t dead.”

Gabe hung up and looked out his window. I was afraid to ask who this Antonio guy was. This was Gabe’s world, not mine. I didn’t want to sink deeper into the chaos. I just wanted to go to work and forget a secret war was happening.

“Stop the car.” My heart had sped up, and I couldn’t breathe. The car felt suffocating. “Stop the car and let me out.”

The driver kept going.

“Stop the damn car!” I reached for the handle, and Gabe grabbed my arm, making me cry out in pain. He’d grabbed my bad arm.

“Shit, sorry.” Gabe pulled his hand away. “I can’t let you out, Fitch. There’s more going on than you understand, and letting you out onto the street would be a death sentence for you.”

“What have you gotten me into?” I demanded. “I shoved you away from a speeding car. That was it. I was doing a good deed, and now you’ve pulled me into this insanity.”

“And for that, I’m truly sorry. But you can’t get out, not right now. Not until I’ve met with my friends.”

I had a feeling that even after Gabe met with his friends I wouldn’t be free. Whether I wanted it or not, I was now stuck in Gabe’s world.

* * * *

Gabe’s penthouse was lavish, clean, sleek, and modern, but I was too busy panicking to be impressed. I felt more like a prisoner than a guest, which I was since Gabe had all but forced me here.

“Who is Antonio Malkovich?” I asked as Gabe went to a small wet bar and made himself a drink. When Gabe walked back to me, he handed me a glass, and I took it. I wasn’t sure what was in it, but I took a drink and hissed at the burn as the liquid went down my throat.

“Up until a few months ago, he ran the Malkovich pack.”

I’d heard of the Malkovich gang, but pack? What did that mean? Why would Gabe call it a pack?

“My friend, Max, killed him.” Gabe ran a hand over his head. “Clearly he didn’t, but I was there. I saw Max kill him, saw the body on the floor.” He shook his head. “It was a rookie move not to check, not to make sure the bastard was truly dead.”

I took another drink, a longer one this time, needing the alcohol to numb my brain. Gabe was talking about one of his friends murdering another person as if it were something they did all the time. My mother would flip, and my dad would go nuts if they knew what I’d gotten myself into.

Emerson was going to have a field day with this. He loved gangster movies, the whole idea of a mob. I didn’t. I just wanted to get off this crazy ride and return to my normal, boring, broke life.

“I was scheduled to work today,” I said to fill the silence. “I can’t just not go.” Maybe if I convinced Gabe that I had to get out of there, that I would lose my job if I didn’t show, he’d let me walk out.

“I’ll compensate you for this.” He downed his drink and set the glass aside. “It’s too risky. If Antonio has been following you, he has an agenda for you.” Gabe looked right at me. “You don’t want him to get his hands on you. He’s a sick and twisted individual who loves inflicting maximum pain.”

“Could you be less honest?” I felt dizzy. “Candy-coating things goes a long way. You didn’t have to tell me just how sick he is.”

And he was after me. Fuck. I was sick to my stomach, queasy, and ready to pass out.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” Gabe cupped my face, and damn it, I leaned into his touch as if it was my anchor to hold on to any semblance of normalcy.

A smile curved the side of Gabe’s handsome face. “We had phone sex. Now you’re stuck with me.”

He was teasing me, trying to lighten the moment, and it was working. I leaned in, ready for him to kiss me, when a knock sounded on the door.

I sighed in frustration as Gabe pulled away and crossed the room. So much for having sex to relieve the tension.

Chapter Six

Gabe…

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Max growled as he entered my penthouse. “Antonio