The Gun Runner (Mafia Made) Read Online Free Page A

did.”
    What? My mouth went dry. “Why uhhm. Huh?”
    “You told your ex you’d have your father cut him into little pieces and toss him in the Missouri River. So I wondered what he did for a living.” He reached for his coffee and cocked an eyebrow playfully. “Obviously not shoes.”
    If my father found out what Vincent had done to me, he would cut him up and toss him in the Missouri River. I’d painted myself into a corner with my lies, so I had to continue. “He’s not crazy protective of me or anything, but he’d be really protective of me if he thought someone was abusing me.”
    “As he should be.”
    I decided to change the subject back to me, or at least attempt it. “So what did you think I did? We were talking about that. Your sixth sense or whatever.”
    “My guess was a trust-fund baby, or something similar,” he said. “You’re obviously wealthy.”
    Holy shit.
    I stared back at him. I took slight exception to what he said. Well, as much as I could, considering it was all true. “Oh really? Based on what?”
    He leaned forward and locked eyes with me. “Well, you drive a Mercedes S550 Coupe. The shoe you lost by the door the other day was a Louboutin, and you’re sitting in Starbucks shopping at NET-A-PORTER on a Wednesday night. You’re single—or at least you do a damned good job of acting like it—and you’re wearing, oh, I’d say that’s about a one-and-three-quarter carat diamond on your wedding finger.”
    I nervously covered my ring with my right hand and stared back at him in shock. Or maybe I was impressed. Whichever it was, I sat in my seat and glared at him with wide eyes and an open mouth.
    He leaned away from the table and gestured toward my lap. “My guess is it’s to keep guys from trying to hit on you.”
    I continued my openmouthed stare.
    He paused and cocked an eyebrow. “How am I doing so far?”
    Wow.
    “How...” I shook my head in disbelief. “How’d you know what I drove?”
    “You drove off in it the other day, remember?”
    He was right. About everything. In spite of his observations, he still felt I was worthy of his time, and I appreciated it. With him driving a $100,000 BMW and dressing the way he did, it was obvious he wasn’t after me for my money, and I sure wasn’t after him for his.
    I was after him for other reasons. And it appeared the list was growing.
    “My dad bought me the ring. He said it would keep the creeps away. And, you were right about everything. That’s crazy that you caught all that.”
    “I stay pretty conscious of my surroundings. Sometimes I think it keeps me from living a normal life,” he said.
    “How so?”
    “I develop opinions based on what I think, and not necessarily what I know to be fact. As far as I’m concerned, if I believe it, it is fact. So, I walk into a room, survey the people and the situation, and then make decisions based on what I see. Some might call it arrogance. I say it’s confidence. There’s only a hair that separates the two, you know.”
    He was becoming more interesting with each passing minute.
    The woman in me needed to know more. “So, what decisions or opinions or whatever did you make based on what you’ve seen with me? The other day when we met, and tonight?”
    “Really?”
    “Yeah, really.”
    “You sure?”
    “Yeah,” I said. “I’m positive.”
    “Remember, I’m blunt.”
    There was nothing he could say to scare me. I wanted to hear it, even if he was direct in his response. “I’m a big girl,” I assured him.
    He smiled.
    I relaxed and waited for him to express his opinion.
    “First. Let me say this. I’ve never had much interest in being in a relationship. With anyone. In combat, it’s believed having a woman in your life will cause you to lose focus, and that lack of focus will get you killed. I realize I’m not in combat, but old habits die hard.”
    My heart sank. I swallowed what little self-pride I had developed over the course of our conversation and