Chapter 19 Hannah I woke to sunlight streaming through unfamiliar curtains , my body deliciously sore in places I'd forgotten could hurt . For a moment , I couldn't remember where I was , then everything came flooding back . Leonardo . Sugar Daddy . The mind - blowing sex that had lasted well into the night . 1 stretched , wincing at the tenderness between my legs , and reached across the massive bed . Empty . The sheets beside me were cold . " Mr. Salvatore ? " I called out , my voice raspy from all the screaming I'd done last night . No answer . 1 sat up , letting the silk sheets pool around my waist as I scanned the luxurious hotel suite . No sign of him . His clothes were gone from where they'd been thrown haphazardly across the floor in our rush to get naked . I grabbed my phone from the nightstand . There were no messages , but a notification showed that $ 20,000 had been deposited into my account overnight - more money than I'd ever seen in my account at once . The time on my phone read . Beneath it was a notification I'd missed a message from Emma . I opened it , still in a daze from the money . Emma : Still alive ? Or did your sugar daddy either kill you or fuck you into a coma ? It's been HOURS since I heard from you , and I'm starting to worry he's got you chained in some red room of pain situation . TEXT ME BACK !!! I snorted , imagining Emma pacing around her apartment and creating increasingly dramatic scenarios . If she only knew how close to the truth the " killing " part had been . My fingers hovered over the screen . What exactly was I supposed to say ? " Hey , guess what ? My sugar daddy murdered three people right before we had sex ! Wild night , right ? " I took a deep breath and typed . Me : Tm alive . And you're not going to believe what happened . I walked into his suite and found THREE DEAD BODIES on the floor . Actual dead people , Emma . With bullet holes and everything . He killed them because they tried to kill him first .. I hit send before I could overthink it . The message was out there now , floating to Emma's phone through cyberspace . I tossed my phone onto the bed and buried my face in my hands . " What am I doing ? " I whispered to o the empty room . My phone started vibrating almost immediately . Emma's face filled the screen , and her contact photo showed her mid - laugh at a party last semester . I wasn't ready for this conversation , but ignoring Emma when she was worried was impossible . 1 grabbed a plush hotel robe from the bathroom , wrapped it around myself , and wandered through the suite . No sign of Leonardo anywhere . Not in the kitchen area , the living room , or even a note . Just the lingering scent of his cologne and the ache between my thighs as evidence he'd been I settled onto the luxurious couch and accepted the call . " Hannah Mitchell , what the actual hell ? Emma's voice exploded through the speaker . " Dead bodies ? DEAD BODIES ? Are you pranking me right now ? Because if you are , it's not funny ! " " I wish I was joking , " I said , running a hand through my tangled hair . " But no , there were definitely three corpses on the floor when I walked in . " " Holy shit . " She paused . " I knew he was loaded , bu 1 , but I fix I figured he was just some tech bro or finance guy . Not freaking John Wick ! " " Yeah , turns out he's more in … alternative business management industry . " " You mean the mafia ? Your sugar daddy is in the MAFIAF I winced and held the phone away from my y ear . " Could you maybe not scream that ? I think dogs in the next county are howling . " Chapter 19 " Sorry , sorry , " Emma lowered her voice to a stage whisper . " But Hannah , this is serious . Like , witness protection serious . I mean , he's gorgeous and all that , but is 520,000 worth possibly getting whacked ? " 1 laughed despite myself . " Nobody says ' whacked anymore except in movies , Em . " ir- " Whatever ! The point is that you could be in danger . What if someone comes after you to get to him ? What if " I know , I know , " I cut her off . " Trust me , I've thought about all of that . It was thrilling in this weird , messed - up way , but I'm also terrified . What if someone targets me ? I can always earn more money but can't get back my life if I lose it . " " Exactly ! So you're backing out , right ? " I hesitated , thinking about the way Leonardo had looked at me , touched me , and made me feel " It's only a three - month arrangement . And what if The gets bored with me before then ? He could cancel the whole thing , and I'd be back to square one with nothing but some crazy stories . " " Hannah Mitchell , are you seriously considering continuing this sugar baby arrangement with a literal murderer ? " " He's not a murderer , " 1 argued weakly . " Technically , he is , but they were trying to kill him first . It was self defense . " " Oh my god , listen to yourself ! You're defending a mafia guy ! This is like Stockholm Syndrome speedrun ! " I couldn't help but faugh . " It does sound ridiculous when you put it that way . " " Look , " Emma's voice softened . " I get it . The danger , the excitement , the hot sex with a dominant older man who can probably bench press a car " How did you know about the sex ? " " Please . Your voice gets all breathy when you've been properly laid . But Hannah , just … be careful , okay ? Don't let your lady parts make decisions your brain will regret . " I snorted . " That's rich coming from you , Miss I - slept - with - the entire - lacrosse - team . " " Hey ! It was only half the team , and none of them had body counts ! Well , not the killing kind anyway . " We both burst out laughing , the tension breaking " Seriously though , Emma said when we calmed down . " I want you to text me every day . And we're meeting up tonight . I need to hear every single detail about this sugar daddy situation that doesn't involve people getting murdered . " " Fine , ' I agreed . " But you're buying the wine . " " Deal . And Hannah ?" " Yeah ?" " If you feel unsafe or want out at any point , just say the word . I'll come get you , no questions asked . " I felt a rush of gratitude for my ridiculous , loyal best friend . " Thanks , Em . I love you . " " Love you too , you c crazy girl . Now go put some clothes on before Daddy Dangerous ravishes you again . " way from After we hung up , I flopped hack on the couch and stared at the ceiling . The rational part of my brain screamed at me to run far away Leunardo Salvatore and never look back . But another part of me , a part I hadn't known existed until last night , wanted to stay and feel that danger and excitement again . Vincent and 1checked my bank account on my phone . The $ 20,000 was really there , no longer just a promise . With that money , I could pay off V Live some money for the future . All I had to do was spend three months wi with a dangerously sexy mafia boss s who kil killed people as casually as most men ordered coffee . What could possibly go wrong ?