wrapped her cold fingers around his wrist. "I'm telling the truth.
You're the only thing protecting me from people who want to kill me. If I knew
something, I'd tell you. I have no reason to hide anything. Joey's dead.
That part of my life is over."
Jase
persisted. "There's nothing tying you to them at all? No friends? No
family?"
She
glanced away, dropping his hand. "I'm on my own now."
Was
that guilt or pain he'd seen flash in her eyes before she looked away? His gut
told him to trust her, but he just wasn't sure.
There
was no obvious reason for her to protect the Trasattis, unless it was the fear
of being whacked for talking to him. Then again, the mob had made it pretty
clear she'd end up dead if they had things their way. He looked at her.
"I'm just trying to figure out their motivation."
She
stared off into the distance. "If I knew something, I'd tell you. I
promise."
"Okay."
Maybe his gut was right. "I'm guessing they've figured out Joey didn't
have what they wanted, and they must think you do." He paused, knowing he
should tell her about the bounty on her head.
"Allie?"
He turned to fully face her, taking her hand and folding it between his. This
would be hard for her to hear.
She
met his gaze, fear making her eyes large. "What?"
Shit.
He couldn't say it. Not yet. She needed someone to protect her, not scare her
worse than she was. "I have my cell phone if you want to call your
aunt."
"Yeah."
She exhaled. "I should make sure she knows I'm okay."
He
hesitated, knowing his next words wouldn't help her trust him. "She's
already gotten the word."
"What?
When?" Allie drew her eyebrows together. "Did you call her?"
"I
had Max call earlier, this morning. We needed to find out if anyone had been
sniffing around there."
"Had
anyone? Are my aunt and cousins okay?"
"Your
aunt didn't comment on that."
"What
did she say?"
"Not
much." He shifted his stance. "She was more interested in who was
calling than in giving any details or getting information about you."
Allie
snorted. "Figures. But still...I'd like to call her. I need to know
they're okay, too."
Jase
reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, not sure it was such a
great idea. "Here you go, but I want you to put it on speakerphone, and
make sure you don't give her any kind of specific information. It could put us
all at risk."
"From
Aunt Rita?"
"You
never know."
She
gave him a wounded look. "You don't trust me."
He
actually did trust her, he realized. There were so few people he could put his
faith in, and yet, he'd brought Allie to his inner sanctum with very few
questions. "I'm sorry. There's a lot at stake right now. It's nothing
personal, but I can't take chances."
His
answer didn't seem to make her feel any better. She eyed him warily as she
took the phone and then turned her back to him. He couldn't blame her for
wanting privacy, but he prayed she'd follow instructions and not say anything
she shouldn't. Max would have his head for allowing the phone call in the
first place.
A
dial tone sounded on the speakerphone, followed by the beeping of buttons. As
the sound of a ringing phone echoed in the night, his gaze traveled up the
loose jeans that hid the nice shape of her body to the T-shirt that outlined
every curve. She'd looked good in the skirt she'd worn the night before, with
her sexy-as-hell legs on display. He rubbed his hand across his head and
looked away. His efforts didn't last long.
A
woman's voice answered, and Allie's posture stiffened.
"Aunt
Rita, it's Allie."
"What
the hell do you want?"
Allie
tucked her hair behind her ear. "I just wanted to let you know I'm okay.
Is everyone there fine?"
"Fine?"
The woman's voice shot up an octave. "I've had people casing the joint
all damn day. I'm surprised we haven't been murdered in our beds. What the
hell have you done?"
Allie
shifted, and