Page 154 of John + Siena: The Complete Duet

Kev grabbed her arm forcefully enough to leave bruises behind, and dragged her with him. Her protests, and her shouts to be left alone, went unheard. All she saw was the burning hazel of John’s eyes before the restaurant door slammed closed.

Siena’s heart felt as heavy as her feet. As though cement had been poured in both, and were now weighing her down.

She glanced back at the enforcer who stood with his arms crossed at the car. He kept an eye on her—a threatening eye—as she stood on the sidewalk. Her new best friend, as her father like to say.

She couldn’t go anywhere without the enforcer either driving her, or following her.

Today was no exception.

The enforcer was just one new change in her life since the week before. Her father had also taken her cell phone away, and refused to provide her with a new one. The freedom she had been given with living away from home was suddenly ripped from her grasp. She had been relocated to her parents’ home without any explanation.

Her days now consisted of waking up, working wherever her father told her she had to work, and going home to her parents’ brownstone.

She didn’t know where John was, and had not spoken to him in days. She didn’t even know if he was okay.

“Are you going in?” the enforcer asked from behind her.

Siena gritted her teeth, and forced herself to be polite. There was no need to make the man run back to her father, and report bad behavior. All that would make for was another long night with Matteo raging on.

She didn’t need that.

Nobody needed that.

She was struggling between keeping her father happy, and needing to know something—anything—about John.

“Well?”

Siena looked back at the enforcer. “Yeah, I’m going in.”

“I’ll be here waiting when you get out.”

Unfortunately, Siena didn’t doubt it.

She headed into the business, and was thankful that today, the restaurant wasn’t as busy as it usually was. Instead of heading right for the back to an office to work, she went to the bar first. The blonde acting as the bartender for the day gave her a smile.

“Want a drink?”

Siena laughed. “A whole bottle would be great.”

“Not sure I can do that.”

“How about something to make this day worth it?”

“One of those, huh?”

Siena scoffed—the girl had no idea. “One of those.”

The girl nodded. “Yeah, I got something for that.”

Less than a minute later, the bartender slid three fingers worth of whiskey across the bar in a lowball glass. Siena eyed the drink, but didn’t pick it up. She really wasn’t a big drinker, but she also really needed something to get through the damn day.

“You don’t like whiskey?”

“Not particularly.”

“Throw it back fast, and hold your breath.”

Siena did just that, but the whiskey still burned, and her chest felt like it was on fire when she sucked in a hard breath. At the same time, a deep warmth spread through her blood and body. It was enough to feel like she might make it a couple more hours today without a breakdown.