Page 77 of Dirty Hearts

“Not so much. My chefs and I are very creative. It’s more about how we cook. Our technique.”

He chuckled. “You’re real smooth. Sure, I know technique. Skill, right, but even those are secrets, and asking too many questions about something secret could get a person killed.” The smile in the center of his fat face widened, and his cheeks puffed out, highlighting his dark stubble. “Or the people they know.”

The other guys laughed too.

My stomach fluttered, and my thoughts froze. I didn’t know what the hell to say to that.

He was threatening me. He was actually threatening me.

“I just cook food and run my restaurant.” My mind raced, thinking of what the hell to do.

“You do that, Miss Angel Doll, but note this… You never can be too careful. It’s safe and prudent, especially when people know you belong to someone.”

Ignore him. That was what my mind screamed.Just ignore him and the comment.

This was bigger than me.

“I just got a shipment of wine from Spain.” That was me trying to distract from the tension that coursed through my body. “For my anniversary on Friday. It’s eighteenth century old. Would you like to try some?”

“Yes, we would. We sure would. We like fine things of the exquisite variety.” He chuckled, and I hated the way how his eyes scanned over my body.

“I’ll go get that.” I couldn’t walk away fast enough. I actually went all the way down to the cellar and called Ariel to give them the wine. Then I called Claudius.

Chapter 19

Ava

* * *

Ididn’t know how Claudius got down here within ten minutes.

But he did.

Sadly, the guys were gone.

Ariel said they took the wine, slapped down five hundred dollars on the table, and left.

Claudius took hold of me the minute he saw me and pulled me away from the floor into the little corridor by the toilets so he could check to see if I was okay.

He looked freaked out.

“I’m okay,” I told him when he cupped my face.

“I didn’t get here quick enough.” His voice held the fear that reflected in his eyes.

“I’m okay. They didn’t do anything to me,” I assured him.

“But they were here to send a message.”

My skin prickled from the cold edge of his voice. “Yes. But why?”

He winced and moved away from me. It was a stupid question that I already knew the answer to.

“They know I’m yours, and they wanted you to know that,” I said, speaking like it was nothing, even though inside, my stomach squeezed.

“What did they look like?” His eyes turned a dark, deadly shade I’d never seen before.

“What’s going on, Claudius? This sounds a little more than about a shipping company.” That’s what he’d told me a few weeks back.