Mafia Runner [Boyxboy]

Chapter 3.2

"Dude!" Tony laughed, looking down at his vibrating cell phone. "You're calling me." He gave a strangled cry as I took the phone from his hand to stare at the caller ID. "You are not going to answer that," he warned, his eyes jumping back and forth between me and the road.

"I'm not an idiot. I'm not going to tell them where we're going, I'm just going to say they don't need to worry." I nervously tapped the phone to answer, wondering if it was my mother, or worse, my father. "Hello?"

Silence answered before a dark chuckle scoffed from the other end. "What a coincidence," the voice purred and I felt my blood go cold. "The last time I dialed this number, you weren't the one who answered."

I cursed mentally and my palms began to sweat. Throwing the phone out of the car sounded ideal, but even I was smarter than that. Tony would have my head and we would also be without a phone for the weekend. Besides, I was insanely curious why Lucian Romano was calling and how he had gotten my phone. If anyone should be calling, I'd have figured Nick or my mother would have taken the initiative.

"I not only have your number now, but I also have your phone in my possession," Lucian said airily, smugly. "What are you doing, Afton? Running away from me?"

Tony flashed me a questioning look before turning back to the road. "No, I'm not running from you," I denied, as if I hadto defend myself to him. Subconsciously, I knew he was only being sarcastic, and yet, I found myself unnerved to have him angry with me.

Lucian remained silent for a moment, no doubt trying to decide how to proceed. "Running like this was stupid," he said in all seriousness. "You drew unwanted attention to not only your family, but also to yourself. There are many reasons I could give you as to why you should turn around and come back. But I know you're stubborn." He paused. "But so am I. Remember what I threatened you with that night at the diner? About giving me a false number?"

I grimaced at the road in front of me, remembering all too well.

"Do you remember, Afton?" Lucian pressed, obviously wanting me to answer.

"You... you said that you would hunt me down if it wasn't my number I gave you," I replied reluctantly, feeling my cheeks warm when Tony sent me another flabbergasted glance.

"And was it your number?"

I pulled the phone away from my ear, meaning to put distance between myself and the chilling tone. When I had given Tony's number to Lucian at the diner, I did second-guess my decision. I suppose next time I should listen to my intuition. The man was fucking pissed. Or, at least it sounded like it. I didn't know Lucian very well. "No," I responded tightly. "It's was Tony's number."

Lucian clicked his tongue. "This will be a very good lesson to you. Besides being stubborn, you will learn that I try to keep my promises. And most importantly, I always follow through with my threats."

He couldn't possible mean he would—

"Who is it?" Tony whispered loudly.

"You're lucky I have business to attend to in New York," Lucian informed. "The next time I see you, wishing you a happy birthday will still be valid, before midnight, I assure you."

I sat up quickly, tugging on my seatbelt. "Whoa, you mean you're not going to wait until we get back to... back home?" Something then just dawned on me. "How do you know we're going to New York?" I tried to pitch my voice lower, to hide my astonishment and play it cool.

He must have heard my attempt, for he gave one breathless laugh. "The endless security detail isn't all the power I have, Afton. I also have eyes everywhere." He made a sound in his throat. "It will be difficult to hide from me. Let's make it a challenge, should we? You try to enjoy yourselves in New York and I'll attend my business, but I guarantee you, I'll be able to find you before midnight."