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Business

  My mother always told me angels are supposed to come meet you to carry you to heaven so you don't have to take the trip alone. Perfect skin. No flaws. Impossibly beautiful. No tattoos.

  Forcing my eyes to snap open to the face above me. The air stops short of my lungs when I see his breathtakingly glowing image. His dark eyes looking straight forward, determined to get to his destination. His lashes so thick and long, making shadows across his face. Soft lips so plump, I'm drawn to them. Starting at his jaw there is the beginning of a tattoo that almost seems familiar. Where have I seen this before? My head hurts. There's a sharp pain making me wince. Those alluring eyes snap down to me.

"What hurts, amore?" His deep voice sings to me. There's a hint of an Italian accent. Amore? Love? I've never met this man yet he's calling me love. I'm lost on his words for a moment before it all comes rushing back to me. I screamed. The gunshot. I should be dead. I stir in his arms.

"Easy. Easy. You hit your head very hard. Let me carry you." His words are reassuring but if he's working with Josh I'm in more danger. I'm too weak to even fight my way away from him. Tears start running down my cheeks again. He notices. "It is finished. He will not harm you again." Shifting my weight to free one hand, he brings it to my face wiping away the stream. "He can never hurt you again, Tesoro."

If I'm going to die it may as well be in the arms of this beautiful creature. He pulls a phone out of his pocket dialing a number. "I expect the mess is cleaned up? Not a trace? Good. I'm pleased to hear." Pressing the red button he hangs up on whoever he was talking to.

"By the mess I'm assuming you mean..." my stomach was in my throat I couldn't say it. Putting it into words means it happened it's real.

"I took care of it. Unless you'd have liked to have been taken against your will, I see no problem. My men will clean it up. There will be no trace or a trail for anyone to find him." His arms tighten around me. I look away from him for the first time to notice we're heading for the entrance of the club.

"I'm not feeling well enough for drinks. I can call a cab or something and get home. I really appreciate you saving me, but I need to go home." I try to slide out of his grip but he pulls me back to him. Keeping his head up, he continues through a door. The music is still blaring making my head hurt again. I press my temple with my fingers and lay back into his chest.

"Fuck. Riley? Gio, What happened to her?" I can hear the panic in Lorenzos voice. So he knows this man.

"Let me get her upstairs." Gios body shifts to open a door and from the sudden jolts, I can assume we're going to the second floor of the club. The humming in my head fading as we grow farther from the music. I hear more footsteps behind us. I really hope it's Lorenzo. A cool breeze hits me making me aware we're in a new room. Opening my eyes I can see we're inside an apartment.

"I'm going to set you down now. Tell me if anything hurts." The grip Gio had on me is loosened. My feet are set on the floor. As I stretch my body to stand my world spins and I start to fall. Strong arms catch me, pulling me into his body. "Sit here, amore." He lowers me to the couch.

"Riley, what happened?" Lorenzo sinks in front of me. Gentle fingers touching my face, examining every scratch and bruise. The thought of Josh's hands on me. The gun to my head. Tears start swelling in my eyes. My bottom lip starts to tremble.

"J-Josh. He... tried..." The hiccups interrupt me, but my sobs stop me from completing the sentence. My face is cupped by rough hands.

"Riley." Gios voice coos. "Open your eyes. Look into mine." I did. He was crouched in front of me holding my face. His brown eyes softening as he looks at me. Lightly turning my face to see the damage, his eyes darken at the cuts on my skin. "Never again." His words are strained. Lorenzo hastily paces the room.