Luca's POV

"Okay so quite obviously you don't want to get on the bad side of these people," I said a day later as we sat across from each other at a freeway diner somewhere in Texas on our way to Miami. "Hopefully they will just see you as my sidekick or whatever but if they start to show a little too much interest like Guillermo did, you've gotta learn to play the game."

"I don't even know what the game is," Ella replied taking a big slurp of some strange brightly coloured iced drink.

"Don't tell them you have a mate. Play along with their messed-up, twisted flirting but don't let them get too close. If they think they have a chance of getting somewhere with you they won't force it and you have the control," I explained.

"So you want me to flirt with them? Tease them? Kinda like playing hard to get?" she questioned with a grimace.

I laughed at her expression and nodded.

"Just smile, hold your head high and use your wonderful Jones wit- within reason of course. The last thing you want to do is look weak because they will attack you like the vultures they are. Oh and go for the boss. If you have him in your purse, none of the others can lay a finger on you."

"Got it," she said. "Look confident and flirt...but not too much. One little problem though Luca."

"What?"

"I have a huge fucking mark on my neck and some of them already know I have a mate," I said.

I looked at the inch long mark Leo had left there years ago and sighed. She was right, that was gonna be an issue.

"Just say that he won't be a problem or he's dead or it's a battle scar. I don't know, think of something.copy right hot novel pub