Chapter 6 Interrogation

She stared at him like she wasn't sure whether or not he was kidding. However, she still didn't seem too scared. This was surprising to Ransom because this wasn't a common reaction for someone facing him after he'd just joked about having to kill them. Maybe it was because she didn't fully understand who he was. Maybe she had no sense of danger. Regardless, he was surprised by her lack of response.

It was a joke, of course. He didn't just go around killing people. Those kinds of orders came from higher up.

Also, he didn't want to hurt her. He just wanted to see her reaction. All she had done was grip the arms of the chair she had been tied to. It was the most she had moved since he'd untied her. He had thought that she was easy to read, but part of her was a mystery to him. Why wasn't she afraid of him?

Ransom surveyed her features. Her jaw was sharp and petite, and her lips were small but not thin with a pronounced cupid's bow. Her nose was small and pointed. And her eyebrows had a slight arch to them. Together the angles of her face were striking and gave her that powerful scowl that she pulled off so well. She was quite beautiful.

He hoped that she wasn't a threat. From what he'd heard from Manny and Mateo, she seemed like she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They probably shouldn't have even grabbed her at all. If they'd just let her go and treated her like a normal civilian then they wouldn't be in this situation.

Ransom gritted his teeth at the thought of them shoving this beautiful girl in a car and tying her to a chair. He imagined how afraid she must have been, though she didn't appear scared now. Nobody went through that completely unafraid, but the fact that she seemed so cool and composed was a good sign–he hoped. From his past experiences, he knew people like that in her situation were usually very cooperative and didn't want the trouble. The scared people were more dangerous, more unpredictable.

"So, Leena, I have a few questions for you before I leave," he said.

She straightened up slightly in the chair. She locked her eyes on him in full attention. That was going to take some getting used to, he thought. Her eye contact was strong, and he'd never had anyone aside from his father meet his eyes so bravely before. This woman was a wonder.

"What were you doing before you came across my guys earlier tonight?" he asked, using his best mafia underboss voice.

"I was going to my car on the fifth level of the parking garage," she said.

Ransom nodded. "And before that? Where were you coming from?"

"Yoga class."

Ransom figured that was the case. He remembered how she was clutching the yoga bag strap to her chest as she charged through the cool March air when they'd passed each other on the street. Was that why she wasn't scared? Because she had seen him earlier? "And where were you planning on going after you got to your car?"

"Home," she answered simply.

"And what's your job? Where do you work?"

"I'm a financial consultant for Greene Consulting Company."

"Your age?"

"Twenty-seven."

So she was only three years younger than him. Twenty-seven and... he looked down at her left hand. Unmarried.

Ransom sighed. He didn't want to question her like this. It felt too... formal. He'd rather ask her about herself over dinner with a candle stuck between them and her foot rubbing against his calf. He shook his head to clear those ridiculous thoughts. He was a tough mafia boss. He wasn't supposed to fantasize about dinner dates. That wasn't "manly" enough.

He cleared his throat. "All right, well before I can let you go I'm going to run a background check on you. I hope you understand," he said, his gaze accidentally wandering down the length of her legs.

Leena nodded hesitantly.

She didn't seem like a threat in the slightest. Her and her emerald green leggings and her Blondie band tee. But he had to be safe. If his father, the true boss, found out that he had let this woman go after just asking her a couple of simple questions, then he'd get his *ss whooped. He doubted he'd find anything on her, but part of him selfishly hoped that he would find some dirt on her that would allow him to keep her there longer.

"So I have to stay in here then?" Leena asked, glancing around the room.

Ransom was aware that the basement/interrogation room was not the most comfortable place, and Leena especially did not look like she belonged there. Most people that found themselves in that room had broken a mafia rule or had been involved in a crime against the mafia.

"Sorry, dolcezza," he said, only feeling slightly sorry. He only felt bad for the room she was in and for the company she was keeping, he didn't feel bad for keeping her around. "It's just for a little while."

"And I suppose bozo and his buddy will be looking after me again?" She sounded slightly annoyed, and her eyes were narrowing in distaste.

"Bozo Bobby actually works on the docks, but Manny, the guy you rightfully decked, will be outside of the door." His joke fell flat, and he huffed at himself when her expression didn't change. "No worries, though. I'll tell him not to enter if that makes you feel more comfortable."

Leena twisted her mouth. "And the other one?"

"Mateo is a good kid. You don't need to be scared of him," Ransom said. He knew this wasn't a great situation for her to be in, so he wanted her to be as at ease as possible while she was here.

Ransom turned away to leave, but he had to steal one more glance back at Leena. "I'm going to step out. When I get back, you better have been on your best behavior, or you'll be in trouble when I come back," he said with a crooked smile that he couldn't hold back.

Her face brightened with pink that reminded him of the sunset over the harbor, and her eyes darted away. It was funny how she seemed to be so bold with Manny and Mateo, but when he teased her like that, she froze up and got nervous. It was adorable, actually.