“I’m starving,” he says. “Been looking forward to this all day.”

  “You haven’t eaten at all?”

  “Nope. Haven’t had a thing.” He slices into his sausage with the side of his fork.

  I cut off a piece of salmon and taste it.

  “Mmm! This is really good.”

  “Told you!” His phone buzzes twice. He takes his phone out of his shirt pocket. “Who is this texting me?” Mike’s face slowly screws up with confusion.

  “Everything okay?” I ask.

  “I just got a text from an unknown number,” he says. “I have no idea who this is.” He scrolls on his phone. As he reads, I notice his face become solid stone. The color leaves it, too. He sets his phone on the table and wipes his mouth with his hand.

  “Mike? What’s wrong?”

  He clears his throat, looks around warily, and leans in as close as he can so no one else can hear him.

  “Don’t be alarmed, Rachel,” he begins. “But we’re being watched right now.”

  A wave of dread surges up from my stomach into my chest. I knew it. I knew something like this would happen.

  I stare at him, petrified. “Are you serious?” The words barely come out.

  “Yes. I’m afraid so.”

  Our server comes back to check on us. Mike takes this opportunity to ask for the bill so we can get out of here. He just wants to pay and go. We’re not getting dessert. We just need to go.

  Mike sticks his debit card into the check folder and practically shoves it into the waitress’ hand. The sooner we can leave, the better.

  I feel Mike’s leg bouncing impatiently under the table as we wait for Courtney to return. She comes back and asks for Mike’s signature on the receipt copy. He scribbles anything on the line and hands it back to her.

  “Thank you, Courtney,” he says, as he gets up and puts on his coat.

  I follow his lead.

  We start for the door, but then three men enter the private room before we can leave. My heart sinks when I recognize two of them. They’re the thugs who chased me.

  “You’re not leaving so soon, are you, Mike?” asks the stocky, middle-aged man who appears to be the ringleader of the trio. He is exactly what you would expect an Italian mobster don to be. He’s got the cocky demeanor, the intimidating presence, the dark, pinstriped suit that only a gangster would wear.

  “Barry, just let us go in peace,” Mike says. “We don’t want any trouble.”

  Barry reaches inside his jacket pocket. I instantly get nervous. But he pulls out a cigarette and a lighter instead of a weapon, thank God. He lights his square and takes a drag. After releasing a cloud of nicotine into the air, he grins evilly at Mike and I, baring jagged, yellowed teeth.

  “But I do,” he says. “My middle name is trouble.”

  Mike’s jaw clenches and pulses with frustration. “What do you want from me, Barry?” he asks. “Huh? You want me to write you a check? Is that what you want? Will that get you outta my hair?”

  Barry laughs like a crazy man. “Mike, that would be too easy,” he says. “I like to have fun with my prey before I kill it.”

  He takes another puff of his cig. His two cronies grab me on either side. They have me in a vice grip. I can barely move my arms.

  “You’re seriously gonna do this in a public restaurant?” Mike says. “I could easily get you removed from here.”

  “That won’t be necessary, Mike,” Barry says. “I’ve already paid off the staff to not say a word. Besides, I simply told them that you and I haven’t seen each other in a while and I just wanted to surprise you. For all they know, I’m a friendly face to you. Now don’t make this harder than it needs to be. I just wanna talk. It’s totally on you if things get messy.”

  Mike clenches his jaw again. He flicks at his nose and sits back down. Barry sits down, too.

  “How can we dead this?” Mike asks. “How much do you want?”

  “You know what I want,” Barry says. “I’m not gonna take some pity check from you and skip off into the sunset. It’s not that simple. I want you to become a part of the brotherhood. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

  Mike rolls his eyes. “Join the brotherhood with the goal of what? To have unhindered access to my money. You and I both know that’s why you’re so adamant about me joining the mob. Or is it something more? Who threatened you, Barry? Is there someone behind the scenes that put the battery in your back? Someone’s got their foot on your neck to convince me to join?”

  Barry lets out a nasty, rolling, grumbling laugh. For the first time, I notice that one of his canines is replaced with a gold fang. He throws his cigarette on the carpet and grinds it with the toe of his boot.

  “There are so many people within this circle that you can help with your money, but you wanna be stingy,” Barry says. “It’s not just about me. There’s other folks who want in on you, too.”

  “Want in on me? I’m not some commodity that you and your little vampire mafia buddies can feed on.”

  “But there’s something in it for you, too, my friend. It’s not just us leeching off of you. Don’t misconstrue the original deal—”

  “I’m not interested. Plain and simple. I don’t give a damn what the original deal was, I want no part of you or the goddamn mob.”

  Their grip tightens on me. I almost wish Mike would just agree to whatever it is Barry wants so we can end this. I feel something hard press into my side. My insides roil with fear. I hope it isn’t what I think it is. Then I hear a click.

  It is.

  “Please don’t hurt her,” Mike says, rearing up. “She has nothing to do with this.”

  “And I won’t. But there are conditions, Mike. Just abide by them, and both of you can leave out of here alive. Capisce?”

  “Why do I have to agree to your terms?! I’m trying to bargain with you. I offered you money and you turned it down.”

  Barry gets up from his seat and walks around the table. He gets awful close to Mike.

  “Do as I tell you, or I will splatter this pretty little lady’s brains all over this room,” Barry says. “I don’t care if it’s in public or not. Try me.”

  My heart is racing and my head is pounding. I get woozy. I see my life flashing before my eyes. It could all end right here.

  Then another man steps into The Madison. A young guy, thirties maybe, quite attractive. I notice a faint resemblance between him and Barry.

  “That’s not something you wanna do, Uncle,” the guy says.

  Silence fills the air at once. You can’t even hear a pin drop.

  “Lukas. What the hell are you doing here?” Barry asks.

  “I followed you. I knew you were hot on Mike’s trail and that you’d corner him like this. I know you.”

  Barry is at a loss for words. He scratches his forehead and turns to one of his minions. “How did you let him find us?” he muttered through gritted teeth.

  “Easy,” Lukas says. “You’re predictable. I know where your base of operations is. I’ve been staking you out for the last week. I knew what you were up to. The jig’s up, Uncle Barry. Stand down.”

  Barry does that disgusting laugh again. “And who’s gonna stop me? You? The alcoholic who can barely stand straight on a weekday? Right. I’d love to see you try.”

  “So you wanna call my bluff, do you? If you do something stupid, I will expose you to your brethren. You wouldn’t want them to find out about your dirty secrets, now would you?”

  “Lukas, shut up and go,” Barry orders. “I’m warning you now. I’m not afraid to put a bullet in my own nephew.”

  “Oh, I know you aren’t,” Lukas says. “I know you’re the type of man who isn’t afraid to turn on people who trusted him. Like your brother, for instance? You’re so lucky Uncle Tommy wasn’t my father, because if he was, I would’ve killed you a long time ago. Does Cosa Nostra know about how you ratted your own brother out to the feds when they offered you a plea deal? What about the hundreds of thousands of dollars you laundered after that Ponzi scheme in New York? Are they aware of the fact that that could’ve single handedly destroyed their whole operation? And it would’ve been totally your fault?”

  “Lukas,” Barry says, flapping back his suit jacket and brandishing a pistol. “Don’t test me.”

  “You wouldn’t do it,” Lukas chuckles. “You’re too much of a coward to pull the trigger yourself. You need losers like these two to kill your prey.”

  “Lukas—”

  “There’s nothing you can say. You’re pitiful. You wanna be accepted by the mob so bad that you’re willing to hurt whoever and kill whoever to earn your spot. Your pattern of threatening people has to stop. You’ve done it to Mike, and countless people before him. Admit it. They practically put a gun to your head and forced you to recruit all these guys with money. And if you failed to do so—”

  Lukas slides his finger across his throat. “—off with your head.”

  Barry does his gross laugh. “This is the disrespect I get from you, nephew?” He looks over at Mike and smiles. “If your little friend keeps talking to me like this, your lady’s gonna pay for it. Big time.”

  “And if you hurt her, so help me God, this’ll be your last day on earth,” Mike responds.

  Barry chuckles at the floor and steps right to Mike’s face, so close, their noses are touching. “I don’t take too kindly to threats, Mr. Eisenhower,” he says seriously.

  “And I don’t make idle threats, Mr. Downey,” Mike replies. “Hurt her if you want to. I dare you.”

  My insides crawl with terror. All I’m thinking is please don’t egg this man on, Mike. I would like to make it out of this place alive.

  The barrel of the gun sinks a bit deeper into my side. I clench my eyes tight thinking that this is it. A whimper seeps out of me.

  “Please don’t kill me—” I beg.

  “Shut up while grown men are talking!” Barry shouts.

  “Hey, don’t talk to her like that!” Mike screams.

  I open my eyes to find Mike hemming Barry up by the collar. He slams him into the wall behind. The pistol leaves my side, but then aims at Mike. A knot swells in my throat. Please don’t shoot.

  Lukas intervenes, and he and the hoodlum tussle over the gun. A firecracker shot goes off. I wince from the loud pop. Lukas wrestles the gun from the guy’s hand and stuffs it in the back of his pants. He socks the guy in the nose, causing him to stumble backward into the dinner table. The other guy tries to lunge at him, but Mike wraps his large arm around his neck before he can do any harm. With one hand, he has Barry pinned against the wall, and with the other, he has Barry’s minion in a chokehold.

  Both Barry and his lackey struggle against their dominator. The hoodlum is turning bright red. He frantically pulls and claws at Mike’s arm.

  Don’t kill him, Mike. Hurt him bad, but don’t kill him. You’ve got too much to lose.

  Barry beats at Mike’s arm, but nothing comes of it. It’s like trying to fight a concrete pillar. He’s handling two men at once with no problem.

  Staff finally comes into the private room, with security in tow. It’s about time they heard the commotion.

  “What is going on in here?!” the manager screams. “No! No! No!”

  The security guard peels Mike’s arm from around the hoodlum’s neck and restrains the hoodlum. Mike, reluctantly, releases Barry.

  Barry fixes his cheap-looking suit, dusts it off and scowls at Mike.

  “You’re dead,” he warns Mike. “You and your little bitc—”

  And before he could even finish the word, Mike punches him clean in the mouth. It was a good hit, too, because immediately after he delivered it, he shook his hand.

  Barry staggers from the impact, smiles embarrassedly, and checks his lip for blood. The security guard shoves a hand into Mike’s chest to keep him tame.

  “We’ve already called the cops,” the guard says. “I suggest you relax.”

  “Make sure they arrest these three idiots here,” Lukas says, pointing to his uncle Barry and his two flunkies. “They’re the ones who brought guns. They orchestrated this ambush.”

  I look at Mike to make sure he’s good. Aside from busted knuckles and a flared temper, I think he’s okay.

  He welcomes me into his arms and I rest my head on his chest. I can hear his heart racing. We watch as security ushers Barry and his henchmen out the door.

  “Are you okay?” he asks me.

  “I’m okay,” I tell him. But that’s only half-true. I’m actually quite shaken. “Are you okay?”

  He smirks and massages his hand. “Couldn’t be better.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  “Are you okay? How are you feeling?” I ask Rachel, keeping one hand on the wheel, with my other touching her arm. We just left the restaurant not too long ago. Rachel hasn’t said a word since.

  She takes a breath. “I’m good,” she says, forcing a smile.

  “You sure?”

  “Positive.” Now the smile seems more authentic. “I’m just glad that ended how it did.”

  “You and me both.” I turn down Main Street. We’re on our way to my place. “Those clowns didn’t squeeze you too badly, did they?”

  She chuckles and rubs the part of her arm that was grabbed. “I don’t think it’ll leave a mark,” she says. “At least I hope it doesn’t.”

  “Good. I’m sorry that I put you in this, Rachel.”

  “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t possibly know that would happen.”

  “Guys like Barry are ruthless. They don’t care who they hurt, or who gets in the way. I’m happy that things didn’t get really ugly.”

  “But you handled him well,” she tells me. “How’s your hand?”

  I take my injured hand off the wheel and flex it to work out the tension.

  “Feels like it’s trying to cramp up,” I say.

  “Well we’re not too far from your place. I can take a look at it when we get there.”

  An hour later . . .

  I hiss in mild agony while Rachel tends to my hand. It’s not unbearable pain, but enough to sting. She applies an ice pack to my knuckles.

  “That’s not too cold, is it?” she asks me.

  “Nah, it’s fine.”

  “Good.” She takes the ice pack away and examines my deep red flesh. “Man, you hit him pretty hard. That’s gonna leave a mark for a little while.”

  “I know,” I chuckle. “Believe it or not, I’ve never ever decked someone in the face like that before.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Dead serious. I’m not a fighter, but if you provoke me or threaten someone I care about, all bets are off.”

  Rachel smiles bashfully. Her cheeks grow red, almost as red as my knuckles.

  “Thanks for being my nurse,” I say, smiling back at her.

  She titters. “Not really in my job description, but I guess it sorta comes with the territory, huh?”

  “You’re in the medical field, right? This is all you,” I tease.

  “I move medicine. That’s all I do, Mike. Nothing more, nothing less.” She laughs.

  “Ah. So, a legal drug dealer, yeah?”

  “If that’s what you wanna call it. Try not to say that too loud, though. Don’t need the cops bustin’ me. I’ve had enough excitement for one night.”

  “Have you really? Hmm.”

  She squints with confusion and grins awkwardly. “Um, yes? We were just in the middle of a mafia melee. What do you mean?”

  I wet my lips and wait for her to catch on. She eventually does, and at this point, she turns so red, I’m almost positive all the blood in her body ran to her face.

  “The excitement is far from over,” I tell her.

  She tucks her hair behind her ear and looks at me with longing. I reciprocate the look she gives. Our faces draw toward each other and like magnets, they adhere. My lips connect with hers and instantly, I feel a jolt of electricity rip through my core.

  The moment is here. The moment that she and I both have been waiting for. We kiss each other with unbridled passion.

  Before long, Rachel straddles me on the chair. We’re still clothed, but that could all change very soon. My bedroom begins to spin. I’m in a state of ecstasy. I never thought this woman would affect me this way, but she does.

  I kiss her neck and hold her tight. The breathing intensifies between us. Her arms are wrapped around my neck and mine are wrapped around her waist. She smells amazing. She tastes even better.

  Her eyes flutter and her head swings to the side as she lets me have it. I lift up her sleeve and notice that there is actually a reddish mark left behind by one of Barry’s goons.

  “Looks like they did grip you a little tight,” I tell her. I gently press my fingers there. “Does it hurt?”

  “Only when you do that,” she says.

  “I can make it feel better.” I kiss it once. Then I kiss it again. I work my way from her arm to her hand.

  I can feel her vibrating with delight. She closes her eyes and bites her lip. Shivering breaths leak out of her. She’s feeling it. She’s ready. I think she is.

  I lift my shirt up over my head and fling it out of existence. Rachel does the same with hers.

  “I never thought I’d be able to have you,” I whisper.

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