Blackmailed (18 page)

“I told you I was.”

The owner, Tonio, stood with his back to them at the hostess desk.

Tyler waited for the brawny Italian to turn and recognize him. Tonio

knew who had money and how to treat them. The man was certainly not

dumb. He wouldn’t have cared if Tyler had shown up in a Speedo. It was

one of the main reasons he and Cole visited Tonio’s on a regular basis.

The other was the way Tonio ran his restaurant. Hecklers, photographers

and autograph hounds were strictly off-limits.

Tonio turned to them and Tyler released his hold on Bri’s hip. As the

dominant figure, size wise, over Bri, Tyler was the first to attract the

bigger man’s attention.

“Tyler.” Tonio’s voice boomed in the small reception area.

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Annmarie McKenna

Tyler clasped hands with Tonio, returning the firm handshake.

“I’ve missed you,
amico mio
,” he said in a thick Italian accent. “Where

have you been hiding yourself?”

“I’ve been on assignment.”

“And now you return with a new lady.” His eyes twinkled as he

grinned.

Beside and a little behind him, Bri cleared her throat. She must have

taken offense to being called his lady. Well tough, that’s what she was.

He turned to introduce her to Tonio only to find her face split by a smile

that stopped his heart. She was lit with pure joy, not embarrassment.

“Ah, Brianna,
buongiorno
.”

Tyler was stunned. How did they know each other? Tonio leaned into

Bri, taking each of her hands in his, and kissed both of her cheeks.

“How are things with your
padre
? And your
fratello
, Scottie?”

Tyler growled uncontrollably at their closeness, stopping only when

Bri pulled her dainty hands out of Tonio’s beefy ones, turned toward

him, and patted his chest. He realized, with her calming measure, he was

perhaps being a tad ridiculous.

“They’re…unusual, to say the least.”

Her doe eyes locked with his and Tyler’s groin thickened. He’d show

her unusual.

“But now, now you are
con amico mio
. Tyler, he is a good man. Things

will be good for you. He is not like your
padre
.”

She nodded. “I believe that.”

Thanks for the vote of confidence.
“There’s just the two of us, Tonio,”

Tyler broke in, his voice gruff.

“
Si, si
,” he answered, but then turned back to Bri. “The same table,

no?”

Tyler crossed his arms. What happened to deferring to the man? He

let his arms drop when he realized Bri hadn’t answered yet. Instead, she

was scanning the restaurant, as if looking for something. Or someone.

Well, it appeared he had his answer. She
had
had an ulterior motive for

coming here.

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Blackmailed

“That would be fine,” he answered for her as Tonio waited patiently.

Tyler grasped Bri’s elbow and gave her a gentle nudge in the direction

Tonio was leading them.

“Who are you looking for, Bri?” He was unable to keep the semi-anger

out of his voice.

“Huh?” Her head whipped toward him.

“You’re suddenly very preoccupied. I want to know by whom.”

At least she had the courtesy to look guilty before she answered, “No

one.”

His grip tightened on her arm. She was lying through her teeth and

he was going to punish her for it later.

Tonio led them to the farthest, dimmest corner of the restaurant, and

Tyler felt his heart slow. This was her usual table? Because she didn’t

want to be seen, or because her father had forbidden her to be? He

abruptly felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness he could envision Bri

living with from the moment of her birth.

He meant to sit with his back to the wall, facing the door, and any

possible threats, but while he was musing, Bri had maneuvered her

sweet little ass that direction and planted herself there.

“Aren’t you going to sit down?” she asked him innocently, as if

nothing weird had just happened.

It was five minutes to two. Caroline would surely be here any time

now. Brianna looked at her watch again. Still five to.

“Gotta hot date?”

“What?” Where was she? There, by the door. Could it be her? The

only thing she remembered about the woman was her perfect blonde

hair, blood-red nails, and a voice that could shatter glass. You’d think

that would be enough.

“All right.” Tyler’s fist slammed down on the table, making the

silverware jump and clang loudly. Brianna startled too, causing the

water in the glass she held to slosh out on her hand.

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Annmarie McKenna

“What’s wrong?” she asked, more anxious now that he’d scared the

piss out of her. She used the cloth napkin to dry her hand.

“What the hell is going on?”

She squirmed in her seat and fudged. “Nothing.”

“Bullshit. If it were nothing, you wouldn’t be glaring at your watch

every five seconds and looking around the room like you’re searching for

your lover,” he snarled.

Brianna snorted. “I already have two ‘lovers’ and one of them is

sitting right in front of me. Trust me, there isn’t another one.” She gulped

down some of the ice water, almost choking on the amount she’d taken

in, and used the napkin again to wipe at the water dribbling down her

chin. She must look like a total fool. Tyler would probably go home and

tell Cole they couldn’t take her out in public again.

“
Buogiorno
.” Tonio’s voice boomed across the restaurant and Brianna

let her eyes follow the sound. It was her.

The woman accepted a kiss on both cheeks from Tonio and cackled

at something he said. Obviously the two knew each other, which meant

Caroline was a regular here. Not that Brianna would have ever seen her,

or Tyler and Cole for that matter, because she only visited during the

non-busiest hours of the day. Which led her to wonder again, just how

Caroline knew Brianna frequented here.

“Do you see? Your attention is wandering all over the place.”

Brianna made a conscious effort to face Tyler again.

“This is about that letter, isn’t it?”

“What letter?” she said, trying to sound innocent.

“Don’t go there, Bri. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Their waitress arrived, interrupting them, to take their drink orders.

Tyler ordered a bottle of beer and Brianna asked for a glass of iced tea

with no lemon.

“All right.” She slouched down in her chair when the girl walked

away. Why should she keep the letter a secret? It didn’t say not to tell

anyone, although the thought was kind of implied. “I did get a letter,

which you already know since you ‘allowed’ Freddy to give it to me.”

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Blackmailed

“Smart ass. It’s my job to protect you at all costs. Obviously, I didn’t

do my job if you’re so agitated by a letter. I should have read it first.”

“Tampering with the mail is a federal offense, punishable by prison

time.”

The waitress returned with their drinks and to take their orders.

Neither one of them had even looked at their menus, but Brianna

ordered her usual, the lasagna, while Tyler chose a combination chicken

parmesan and fettuccine alfredo plate. The girl picked up both the

menus and promised to be back shortly with the food.

“Lucky for me, it wasn’t in the mail then, huh? What did it say?”

God, Tyler’s security background had just become the foreground.

Brianna rotated her head in the pretext of popping her neck, and

searched the room again. What she found instead was Caroline, shooting

daggers from her eyes, directly across the room. Her face was set in a

sneer which seemed to hold contempt for both Brianna and Tyler. She

shivered. The woman was pure evil.

“Bri,” Tyler snapped, literally with his voice and his fingers. “What did

the letter say?”

She straightened in her chair and cleared her throat. “‘I have

something you want, you have something I want. Meet me at Tonio’s at

two o’clock.’” She swallowed as Tyler gripped his beer bottle to the point

she thought it might shatter.

“And you didn’t think to inform your bodyguard of this fact?”

She shrugged. “I have a hard time thinking of you in that capacity.”

“Well get used to it. When we’re out in public, your safety is my first

concern.”

“And what’s your second?” She couldn’t resist the taunt.

“That’s two, Brianna.”

“Two?” she croaked. “What was the first one?”

“I asked you who you were preoccupied with earlier. You lied to me.

Who was the letter from?” he demanded.

“I don’t know. There was no name on it,” she said honestly. Brianna

let her eyes shift back to Caroline who was now strangling her napkin on

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Annmarie McKenna

the table. She raised one delicate arm and stabbed one of those bloody

fingernails in the direction of the restrooms, then snarled a silent “now”.

Brianna lifted her napkin from her lap and laid it on the table.

“Let’s go another direction,” Tyler continued.

Brianna sighed. A dog with a bone.

“What do you have someone else might want?”

“I have no idea. Really,” she said, rising to her feet.

“Where are you going?” He slapped his own napkin down, looking like

he was prepared to do battle.

“To the restroom, Tyler. Settle down.”

“Fuck settle down. You were threatened, in case you didn’t get that

message, and told to meet some anonymous jerk-off here.”

“You’re attracting attention,” she muttered.

“I’ll walk you.”

“No, you won’t. You can watch me get safely to the restroom on my

own. They’re right over there.” She pointed just in case he’d never noticed

them in all the times he’d been here. Hell, she wasn’t even sure men

used the facilities in public places, ever, so it might be necessary to point

them out after all. “I’ll even let you intervene if any
man
attempts to force

his way in. I may even let you break his arm, should he try to accost me,

but you will not hold my hand while I use the toilet.”

“I don’t like this, Bri. We should leave right now.”

She watched as he scanned the restaurant, taking everything in. She

was glad Caroline had gone into the bathrooms first. “You said you were

starving.”

“That was before I knew you were being stalked,” he gritted out.

“Stalked is a bit strong, don’t you think? It was one letter, no harsh

language, asking me to meet someone here.” God, she was getting good

at fibbing. “Maybe I have a secret admirer.” As soon as she said it, she

knew it was the wrong thing to say to a man like Tyler.

“I’ll kill him.”

She cocked her head. “I think you would. But first, I’m going to the

ladies room.”

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Blackmailed

“Fine, but you bet your sweet ass I’m gonna watch that door like a

hawk.”

She nodded, then turned to face what was probably going to be a very

unpleasant meeting. Her stomach flopped as she walked. She’d never

been in a physical confrontation with anyone, but she could see things

getting ugly with Caroline involved. The woman certainly looked snobby

enough to start a catfight.

Maybe she should ask Tyler if she could borrow the gun she’d seen

him stuff into his pants. Yep, that’d go over really well. “Hey, Ty, could I

borrow your gun? Caroline’s nails look pretty sharp today.”

At the door labeled,
Bambina
, Brianna paused and inhaled. Her chest

was becoming tight, despite the new medication working wonders the

last couple of days. Good thing all the stupid skirts had pockets on them

or else she’d be carrying her inhaler in her fist. So far, Cole had thought

of everything when it came to her asthma.

She straightened her shoulders. If she stood here for more than a

split second, old eagle eyes would suspect something and come running.

Behind the first door, she knew, was a small lounge. Another door

closed off the facilities. She pushed through the first door to find

Caroline draped across one of the divans, her elegant body seductive and

perfect. Brianna was revolted by the thought of how much money had

been spent making her look the way she did. And how much of it was

Cole’s?

She slammed the mental door closed on that thought. She had no

reason to be jealous of this pitiful woman.

“Why is Tyler here?” the vampire spat.

“Caroline, I presume?” Perhaps the best way to play this out was

pure innocence.

Caroline’s mouth and nose turned up in what looked like extreme

distaste. “You know exactly who I am, you little tramp.”

Ooh, the claws were out already.

“Cole is mine, do you hear me? We are getting married, so you need

to get your grubby, slutty hands off him.”

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Annmarie McKenna

“Does
he
know you’re getting married? Because I was kind of under

the impression he might ask me.” Brianna couldn’t help but bait her.

Caroline planted a hand on one hip. “Cole would never ask a woman

like you to be his wife. He needs someone with class.”

“Jeez, I could have sworn I bought some the last time I went

shopping. I must have forgotten it. Maybe you could share some of