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“This place is in my territory,” he said. “It’s one of the safest places we can be.”
“But not perfectly safe, right?”
He shrugged. “Right. Vlas has balls on him, I won’t deny it. I can’t assume he won’t try something in my own territory.”
“But you don’t seem afraid.”
“No.” He glanced at me then shook his head. “Not afraid at all.”
I sank back into the leather and bit my lip. I loved the way he looked at me and loved the way I felt in this dress. Even though I’d never dreamed of owning something from a brand like Givenchy, and the dress probably cost more than my whole wardrobe combined, I still couldn’t help myself.
I felt beautiful and desired. This intense, gorgeous mobster wanted me, wanted me badly. He was giving me expensive dresses and making me put them on in front of him, and the thought just drove me wild.
We headed into the city, not talking much. He seemed preoccupied and I didn’t want to press too hard. He found a spot on a packed block and stepped out before coming around to help me down. I held his arm as he led me down the crowded block, lots of young people milling about outside of hipster bars and late-night pizza places. We crossed the street and came across a line of people dressed in club clothes, some of the girls looking bored, some of the guys looking annoyed.
Dante walked past them all and took me straight to the bouncer, a bald guy with a neck thicker than a tree trunk. His eyes lit up when he saw Dante and he stood up off his stool. “Yo, man,” he said.
“What’s up, T?” Dante said, shaking the guy’s hand. “You doing good?”
“Doing great.”
“Good vibe in there?”
“Packed tonight, I hope so.”
“Good man. Hey, let some of those girls back there in. Saw a few hot ones.” Dante snapped his fingers, whistled, and pointed at a group of girls in short dresses. “Ladies, you’re in, let’s go.”
Some guys started to complain but Dante shot them a glare and they shut their mouths. One of them whispered something to the other, and both dudes went silent. I stared as the girls laughed and headed into the club before Dante took my hand.
“Let’s go in,” he said and he tugged me along behind him.
I’d never met someone that could control a line like that before. “Do you own this place?” I asked him.
“No,” he said, laughing. “Although they do pay me.”
“For what?”
“Protection mostly. It’s just good business to put some cash in the local Capo’s pocket, especially a club like this. They send me some money, I make sure my boys patronize them as much as I can. It’s a good situation all around.”
We walked down a short black hall then through another set of doors and into a pulse-pounding club atmosphere.
The place was packed. There were standing tables scattered to the right and a huge bar in the middle of the place with people stacked two deep all around it. Four waitresses ran around filling drink orders. The far left side of the place was one big dance floor with a DJ booth in the middle. The DJ was a white guy in a tank top with headphones on and a MacBook in front of him. He bobbed his head and typed something on the computer before waving his hands in the air.
Dante took my hand and pulled me along. The crowd parted in front of him like butter in front of a hot knife. He slipped up to the bar at the far end where the waitresses took their orders and caught the eye of one of the girls.
She came over, short brunette hair, low-cut tank top, big smile that showed too much of her gums. “Hey, Dante,” she yelled. “What can I get you?”
“Whiskey for me, gin and tonic for her.” He glanced back at me. “Good?”
“Good,” I said, feeling overwhelmed. I’d just gone from staying alone inside his house for days on end, seeing nobody but Dante, Gino, and a few of his crew, to suddenly being shoved into a huge, loud, packed, sweaty club wearing uncomfortable old heels and an absurdly expensive designer dress. But Dante put his arm around me and drew me close, and I looked up into his face. He smirked at me and leaned down.
“Don’t worry,” he said in my ear. “We can go somewhere private when you’ve had enough.”
“We’re just getting started though,” I said.
He laughed and the bartender returned with our drinks. He dropped a twenty on the bar, winked at the girl, and handed me a drink. We found a spot at a standing table not far away, and I looked around the place.
People were staring over at us. I didn’t notice at first, since I was so overwhelmed by the loud music and the people dancing. But everywhere I looked, someone was watching. Girls, guys, young and old, it didn’t matter. It seemed like they all knew who Dante was and they were all wondering what the hell I was doing with a man like that.
