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“It-it was the new management, s-sir,” he pleaded like Sutton might pull out a fucking gun and shoot him.
“Uh, Sutton?” I hissed. “Might want to chill a bit?”
“Thank you,” Maximo said, and those words seemed to give the waiter leave to scurry away. He practically ran, stopping just out of reach to take a deep, shuddering breath before going on. When Maximo’s gaze bounced back, he gave the other alpha a sharp look. “We don’t look at the menu anyway. Your usual?”
“Yes,” Sutton said through gritted teeth. I glanced at Zaven for help, but he was too busy placating the alpha. Apparently, my earlier assumption that Sutton could snap if he wanted to was correct because these two were acting like he was a ticking time bomb.
“Okay, is someone going to clue me in? What do you all do?” I asked sharply.
Maximo had started to answer me with another fucking lie, the dark look in his eyes giving him away, when he was cut off.
“De Luca! Did you think your Family’s disrespect would go unnoticed? You crossed the line, and now I will take what’s mine,” a burly man in a wrinkled suit called out. His eyes flickered to me, and he breathed in deep, his copper hair falling over lifeless green eyes. “Or I can take her as payment. Smells like she needs a real alpha right about now.”
Everything happened so fast. Maximo was up and slamming a gun into the man’s head.Where the hell did he get a gun?The stranger crumpled to the ground as Sutton stood up with a gun in his hand as well, that fiery anger of his turned stone cold as he searched the restaurant. I was dragged to the floor behind the table with Zaven, who had another motherfucking gun.What the hell is going on?!
“What is going on?!” I shrieked, and he immediately clamped a hand over my mouth to cut me off.
“Look, the boss of the Mackenzies did not come alone. I need you to keep your wits about you, Hazel,” he said in a deadly serious tone. I swallowed hard and nodded. I would follow his orders—for now—but if these assholes thought for even a fucking second that they’d give evasive answers after this, they were wrong.
The other patrons didn’t seem to notice that anything was amiss. With a glance around, Zaven stood, pulling me with him. Sutton and Maximo were picking up the alpha Maximo had knocked out while Zaven walked me past them. Instead of walking through the main dining room, he carefully led me through a back hall. The sound of an Irish lilt had him yanking me into what was apparently a broom closet. He clicked the lock as soon as we were safely closed in.
Once again, his hand was on my mouth, and my panic rose when someone jiggled the handle then moved on. It was weird, but I wasn’t terrified. This situation was crazy, like nothing I’d ever been through before, but I wasn’t terrified. I knew I was safe with them, and I held onto that even as my heart pounded.
“I think it’s clear,” he whispered as he quietly unlocked the door and slipped it open. Before we could fully step into the hallway, hands reached out for me. Zaven slammed his gun into my captor’s face and yanked me free before I could be pulled down with him, the scream still locked behind my lips. He yanked me with him down the hall and back outside the restaurant to the SUV.
Zaven manhandled me into the front seat and had me buckled in, car running, and head down. The back doors opened and had barely shut before he peeled out of the lot. From the murmurings in the back, the other guys had somehow beat us out to the car.
“Okay, listen. The twins were kinky, and I thought that made the date exciting, but what the fuck was that?!” I tried my best to keep calm and cool, showing him I could handle the truth, but my final words ended in a screech that could have given a dog whistle a run for its money.
“Valentina said she likes sushi. Take us to that place they ate at,” Maximo said in answer. I unbuckled, earning a protest from Zaven that I ignored in favor of twisting around to glare at the alpha.
“I do like sushi, and I’m not saying no because I’m really fucking hungry, but you better tell me what the fuck just happened. If I’m going to risk my life to date your asses, you better fucking share what it is I’m risking my life for!”
Sutton shrugged at Maximo when he glowered at me, then his friend. “She’s not wrong. Clue her in.”
“I second that,” Zaven said. “She watched me take down a man and didn’t flinch. And she wasn’t scared. Which kind of makes me question her sanity, but she’ll be fine for this news. The worst I scented was a little bit of panic, but she didn’t let that put us into danger.”
“I’m the head of the De Luca crime Family,” Maximo said without fanfare. The words hung in the air as I decoded what the fuck he could mean by that.
“Crime Family. Like the mafia? I’m dating amob boss?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. “That officially takes ‘bad boy’ to a whole new level. I’m not really excited about the danger. But fuck… really? Mafia?”
“Yes,” he sighed. “And no, I’m not getting into the dirty details. I’m pissed off and hungry.”
“Okay, grumpy,” I snarked as I settled in my seat and buckled back in. Zaven glared at me, and I held up my hands. “No more moving around. Got it.”
Mafia.
Things like that weren’t real, right? I’d seen the movies and shows, but organized crime happening here in Alexandria? No way.
Apparently, I was wrong about that.
Despite this news, I felt more curious than anything else. Honestly, it all kind of clicked into place. The money. The driver and bodyguard. The emphasis on family. Though the man himself wasn’t exactly what I’d picture for a mafia boss. He had more style and didn’t don a suit every day of his life. Not to mention the rough-around-the-edges demeanor and tattoos didn’t really strike me as the leader of a Family.
“Hazel?” Sutton asked tentatively. “Are you okay?” The worry in his voice had me questioning my reaction. Had my childhood just been so radical that this seemed like nothing to me, or was it some kind of shock-delayed reaction? Would reality soon slam into me so the freak out could begin?
Even as I had the thought, I knew it wouldn’t happen. They were different, and I found myself willing to see where this was all going.
“Do you kill people? Torture them?” I asked quietly.
