Bought by The Mafia Boss

Chapter 51

Natalie walked into the room like she owned the place, scoffing at me. She slid back a chair next to me and sat down. Extremely slow. Saun parked beside her and my parents ended up to my right, next to Renzo's empty chair. I quickly took another sip of wine, hoping for confidence at any moment, but the sneer from Natalie seemed to cage that part of me.

Her red little dress she was wearing looked stunning on her. Her hair was pulled tightly back into a high ponytail that showed off her petite frame and elegant collarbone. She clicked her tongue as her eyes scanned the table in front of her. "Look at that, little Aedlin can't even manage to meet with her family without needing two drinks."

"Natalie." Saun warned in a low voice.

She whipped her hair across his face. On "accident". "Why should I filter what I have to say to protect her little sensitive feelings. This little twit seems to have managed to get a reservation here and happened to apparently be the reason that we were kidnapped. Everything is about her, yet I'm the one with daddy's money. I'm the one that has a reason to be taken. So why her?"

Before I could answer, before I could process what she was accusing me of, a low voice drawled in the back corner. "Because." Renzo stepped forward from the shadows through a cloud of smoke. "Believe it or not, there are things in this world that are priceless that don't include you." I was shocked with how he was here, and relieved.

All eyes swiveled to him as he wiped his hands on a handkerchief, turning the light blue fabric a new shade of red. Taking another puff on his cigar his eyes rested on me, the intensity of his gaze made me blush. "And she's one of them." He finished, his voice deep and powerful. A little quieter than usual.

The stillness was deafening. Even my parents couldn't look away from him as he pulled back his chair, blowing smoke through his nose and finishing up with the handkerchief. I knew better than to ask if that was real blood he'd just wiped from his hands or not; more so because I didn't know if I'd like the answer.

Natalie's lips thinned as she rolled her eyes, breaking the tension in the room. "What's so priceless about her?" She mumbled and Renzo tilted his head, leaning forward against his elbows as he clasped his hands together.

"Not all things become priceless by the amount of money they have. Although, that just adds to Aedlin's value."

He rocked back casually in his chair, picked up the glass of whiskey and slid the cigar from his lips before taking a sip. I couldn't help but feel that cage unlock that had captured my confidence for a moment. This was why I liked having him around. Others never deterred him the way they could me.

"I recognize you." Saun said quietly, he still refused to look at me. Renzo slipped the cigar back into his mouth and lifted his brows. "You're the guy that rescued Aedlin, and got shot." Renzo nodded once and blew out a couple rings of smoke.

Natalie pursed her lips. "You need to put that out." She waved her hand in front of her face, faking a petite cough.

Renzo released a low chuckle. "No." He simply said.

"We're in a restaurant and I'd rather not get kicked out because you simply won't put it out." She countered, her eyes flashing red with anger.

He shrugged his shoulders as I bit back a smile. "Who's going to kick us out?" I took a sip of my wine.

"The owner." She said and I snorted, choking on the liquid.

Renzo glanced at me, a wicked grin spreading across his face as he offered me a napkin. "Yeah, I don't think I'll kick myself out for smoking." He simply replied as the glass door slid open and in walked Remy and two other servers I hadn't met yet. With the extra light, it was then that I noticed a door that was nearly flush with the rest of the room to the right. Directly behind where Renzo had appeared from.