Shameless - Sybil Bartel Page 0,11
returning to her cheeks. “I was high, and I was running away from a stupid drug dealer who thought he owned me.” She looked behind us. “Those guys just shot at us for no reason.”
Feeling protective of her for some fucking reason, I didn’t explain to her how Vincenzo, the sick fuck, operated. A half a step away from being as brutal as the cartel, Antonio Vincenzo had made a name for himself and his family that was nothing short of ruthless. I didn’t need to fill Summer’s head with that kind of fear.
“We’re safe,” I half lied, pulling my cell out.
She glanced behind us again. “Are we?”
I didn’t answer. I dialed Luna.
He picked up on the first ring. “Luna.”
I switched to Spanish. “I’ve got a problem.”
“Dios mio. The fact that you’re speaking Spanish and not Italian doesn’t make me want to know.”
No time to dick around, I gave him a sitrep. “Cara left Vincenzo and followed me up here, tracking my cell. Vincenzo’s men followed her. Just took heat in a restaurant parking lot when they caught up to her. Client’s fine. We got out before the cops showed, but the Escalade took a few rounds. No idea if the restaurant has surveillance cameras, but there’d be nothing to see except me taking out the back tires on Vincenzo’s men’s vehicle and Cara’s. I’m making sure I don’t have a tail, then I’m heading back south. I don’t need backup yet, but I don’t know what Vincenzo’s end game is.” I switched back to English. “I’m taking my cell offline so we can’t be tracked. Call Vincenzo and flush it out. Let him know I didn’t have any part of this.” Luna could fucking deal with his former client.
“Copy that. Hang on.” Luna spoke to someone else, then came back. “Ronan’s available if you need him. I’ll call Vincenzo now and see what I can do. Switch to a burner.”
“Copy. Later.” I started to hang up.
“Shade, wait.”
“What?”
“How is she?” he asked.
I glanced at Summer. Her arms still crossed, looking nervous as fuck, her gaze immediately cut to me. She raised an eyebrow.
I tipped my chin and focused back on the road. “Fine,” I told Luna.
“All right. Stay alert and keep it tight,” Luna ordered. “We don’t usually have to protect clients from our own shit. I don’t want to return her damaged or traumatized.”
Too fucking late. “Copy.” I hung up and powered down my cell before pulling out my burner. Then I grasped the back of her neck. “Hey.”
She flinched. “What?”
“Look at me,” I demanded.
Her eyes cut to mine.
“You’re fine. Take a deep breath.” Focusing back on the road, I took the turn for the highway on ramp, but I heard her inhale. “Another.”
She took a shallow breath.
“Not what I’m after, princess. I said deep breath. In through your nose, hold it for a count of five, then let it out slow. Right now, inhale,” I commanded.
HIS HUGE, ROUGH HAND ON my neck acting as an anchor, I did exactly what he told me to do.
I inhaled.
Then I breathed out slow, just like he told me.
His warm hand tightened as if to say do it again.
I inhaled deep, and the SUV took on speed.
“Good, princess.”
My hand latched on to his arm, my body leaned toward him, and I closed my eyes.
I wanted to please him.
In that moment, it was all I wanted to do—please him and keep his hand on me. Because after the initial shock of being shot at for the second time in my life, I wasn’t afraid something was going to happen to me.
I was afraid for him.
Summer Amherst, afraid for her bodyguard.
I didn’t even know how to process that.
If I looked in a mirror right now, I wouldn’t even recognize who was staring back.
A week before Shade had picked me up, I’d gotten out of rehab for a couple hours only because I’d threatened to leave with all my money. The counselors had no choice but to give me a hall pass. Then I’d gone to a hair salon to get rid of the bottle blonde I’d been sporting since I was twelve. Now I was a dark brunette with hair that actually matched the color of my eyebrows, but I still did a double take when I looked in the mirror.
Except that’s not what would throw me if I saw my damn self right now.
I wasn’t submissive.
I didn’t worry about the security staff, as my father referred to André Luna’s men.
And I sure as