Chapter 4 - The Hideout in the Woods
The boat didn't dock at any of the commercial piers along the waterfront. Instead, it slipped quietly into a private, heavily wooded inlet three miles north of the city near Nahant.
A secluded stone dock stretched into the dark water, surrounded by towering pine trees that blocked the wind. Waiting on the gravel driveway above was a black armored SUV, its engine idling silently in the shadows.
Two guards in dark suits immediately stepped forward as the boat tied off.
Penny allowed Matthew to help her out of the boat, her legs still feeling like rubber. The tequila had finally worn off, leaving behind a dull, thumping headache and a sharp realization of her situation.
She was standing in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, with a man who controlled Boston's underworld.
"Where are we?" Penny asked, tucking her hands into the deep pockets of Matthew's oversized suit jacket as they walked toward the SUV.
"A safe house," Matthew said, holding the rear door open for her. "Nobody knows about this property except Liam and my head of security. You'll be safe here until I find out who authorized the strike on the Lantern Room."
Penny stopped at the door of the vehicle, refusing to get in. "Wait. Hold on. Safe house? Matthew, I have a life. I have a job—well, maybe not anymore—and I have to visit my mother at eleven AM tomorrow at her facility in Worcester! I can't just go into hiding with a mob boss!"
Matthew turned to face her fully. The moonlight caught the sharp angles of his jaw and the deep, dark intensity in his eyes.
"Penny," he said softly, stepping closer until she had to tilt her head back to look at him. "The men who came into that club didn't care about collateral damage. They blew the front entrance off with military explosives. They saw you with me. They saw you spill liquor on me. They saw me carry you out."
He reached out, his thick thumb gently wiping a smudge of dark soot from her soft cheek. The touch was so tender, so unexpected, that Penny forgot to breathe.
"In their eyes," Matthew continued quietly, "you aren't just a server anymore. You're leverage. If I let you go back to your apartment tonight, you won't make it to sunrise."
A cold spike of real, icy fear shot through Penny's chest. "Leverage? But I don't even know you! I poked you in the chest because I was tired and drunk!"
"They don't know that," Matthew said. "Get in the car, Penny. Please."
The "please" was delivered softly, almost a whisper, but it carried more weight than any order he had given all night.
Penny swallowed hard, looked down the dark, empty road leading into the woods, and climbed into the back seat.
Matthew slid in beside her, slamming the heavy, soundproof door shut.
The SUV glided forward into the dark trees. Inside, the leather interior was warm and smelled faintly of cedar.
Penny slumped against the headrest, closing her eyes. "My life was completely normal twelve hours ago. I was complaining about a broken ice machine."
"Normal is overrated," Matthew said from the darkness beside her.
"Normal doesn't get you shot at!" she snapped, turning her head to glare at him.
Matthew looked at her in the dim dashboard light. His eyes traveled down from her wild brown curls, over her soft jawline, to the swell of her chest rising and falling beneath his suit jacket.
"You're remarkably brave for a waitress from Worcester," he murmured, his voice laced with a subtle warmth that made her stomach flutter.
May you like
"I'm not brave," Penny muttered, turning back to the window as the SUV pulled up to a massive, black-timbered estate hidden deep in the forest. "I'm just too tired to panic properly."
"Don't worry," Matthew said softly as the gates swung open. "I have plenty of time to teach you."
