The Legend of de Marco by Abby Green Read Free Book Online Page A

with palpable reluctance, ‘Nevertheless, I don’t think you’re about to phone him and tell him to give himself up?’
    Willing the emotion down, Gracie looked up. Huskily she admitted, ‘I did speak to him yesterday, but he wouldn’t tell me where he was, or where he was going, and when I tried to call him back his phone was switched off. I think he’s thrown it away.’ She omitted to mention that he’d said he’d try to contact her when he could. Gracie vowed then that if that happened she’d tell Steven to stay away and never come back …
    Rocco stood up and held out a hand. ‘Give me your phone.’
    Gracie’s mouth opened and closed. Feeling bullish now, she said, ‘Why?’
    Rocco’s mouth tightened. ‘Because I don’t believe you. Because I think you’ll make every attempt to get in touch with your brother and warn him to stay away. And because if he does try and contact you then we’ll have him.’
    Gracie crossed her arms.
    They glared at each other for long seconds and then Rocco bit out with evident distaste, ‘Don’t make me search you again.’
    Something pierced Gracie at the thought of how he’d touched her the night before and how it had obviously repulsed him. In a bid to cover up her emotion she stood up, knowing that he would just find her phone anyway.
    She stalked out of the kitchen and retrieved her phone from her bag and brought it back to Rocco, handing it over with a baleful glare. ‘He won’t call me again. He knows he’s in trouble.’
    Rocco pocketed the phone and then said casually, ‘I have a proposition for you.’
    Gracie blinked. She was fairly certain that any proposition from him would be more like a royal decree. Unconsciously she took a step back and could breathe easier. She missed the way Rocco’s eyes flashed at her movement.
    ‘I don’t have a housekeeper at the moment. I need one.’ He flicked a faintly contemptuous glance up and down Gracie’s casual clothes. ‘I don’t see how you could mess up such a basic job. You wouldn’t even have to cook. I have a chef who prepares food when I need it. You’d just have to clean and manage the apartment. Deliveries, etc.’
    Gracie was struggling to take this in. ‘You’re … offering me a job?’
    Rocco grimaced slightly. ‘Well, it’s not so much a job as something to keep you busy while you’re here. Because you’re not leaving my sight until we have your brother.’
    Gracie’s heart palpitated in her chest at the thought of spending more time with this man. She crossed her arms. ‘You can’t do this. It’s outrageous. You can’t just keep me prisoner.’
    Rocco arched a mocking brow. ‘You have nowhere to go and no job. You’ve got a grand total of fifty pounds. You’re hardly in a position to assert your independenceor freedom. I think you’ll find I’m doing you a favour—which you certainly don’t deserve.’
    Gracie gasped. ‘You looked through my things.’
    Rocco shrugged slightly. ‘Of course I did.’
    Gracie felt ashamed to have her pitiful amount of money laid out between them like this. She actually had slightly more than that in a bank account, but it was paltry. Since she’d finished her art degree she’d been struggling just to survive, never mind follow her dreams and ambitions. Rocco de Marco had most likely never even known what it was like to have to eke out a living.
    Forcing herself to not crumble, she said caustically, ‘So you’re offering me this
job
out of the goodness of your heart?’
    He smiled, but it was completely without humour. ‘Something like that, yes. You’re really in no position to argue, Gracie. You and your brother have got yourselves into this situation. Look at it this way: you’re worth a million euros of collateral until your brother turns up.’
    Her mind frantically searched for a way out, but right then she couldn’t see one. She was well and truly trapped. As much as
she
was the link to Steven for this man,
he
was her last tangible