4. Dangerous Familiarities #2
I chuckle softly, feigning nonchalance while my insides twist. Marcus knows exactly who I am. This is not good news. “You know my name.”
His smile grows and his eyes light up with excitement. “I make it my business to know everyone in this city. Especially men as successful and powerful as you.”
“I just work hard,” I reply smoothly. I glance around the table. An undercurrent of tension weaves through the air. Each family member I make eye contact with knows how easily the night can shift from casual banter to violence. “Just out for a little relaxation?” I ask.
“Ah, yes.” He gestures grandly to the club’s surroundings. “A perfect place for that.”
I lean against the edge of the table, casually inspecting his crew while keeping my tone light. “Thank you. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. We’ve worked hard to make this club what it is today.”
Marcus tilts his head, studying me as if trying to read between my words. “I’ve heard good things about your club. I must admit, this is my first time here. Such a shame too. It’s a nice club.”
Eli’s posture stiffens beside me, ready to intervene if needed, but I hold up a hand subtly to keep him in check.
“That’s what I like to hear,” I say with a broad smile, locking eyes with Marcus.
His smile widens—a predator sizing up prey—and I feel it in my gut. He knows something’s off about me being at his table. This is more than just an owner making sure his guests are happy.
“Ezekiel,” Marcus begins, his voice smooth like silk, but full of underlying venom. “I hear you’re a man of connection. The kind of man I could use helping me to keep my city safe. There’s a handsome price for any knowledge of criminal activities that could disrupt the order of things .”
I arch an eyebrow, my stomach twisting into knots. “Why would you think I know anything?”
He leans in, his grin unfaltering. “Powerful men know things. They make it their business to know things.”
“Maybe so.” I force a grin. “But I’m not sure that’s the kind of information I know. I’m just a nightclub owner.” I try to shake off the weight of his gaze.
Marcus leans back in his chair, feigning casualness as if we’re discussing the weather instead of dancing around dangerous truths. “And yet here you are, amidst family gatherings in a club filled with unsavory characters.” He smirks again. This one feels like a knife at my throat.
I maintain eye contact, refusing to flinch even as he pulls on threads I thought were buried deep. “What makes you think I’m involved with anything unsavory?”
“Come now.” His voice lowers conspiratorially. “Men like us … we thrive on power. Even if it means we have to lie to get it.”
He’s right about one thing—men like us know how to navigate these murky waters full of greed and ambition.
“I don’t deal in rumors or criminal enterprises,” I say firmly. “Like I said, I’m just a nightclub owner.”
Marcus’s laughter rings out sharply against the thrumming beat of the club’s music. “Is that so? I guess we’ll see.”
My blood runs cold, leaving unspoken threats lingering in the air. The stakes are rising—and fast.
Marcus leans back, his expression growing more predatory as he toys with the idea of power over me. I want to snap back, to inform him who he’s dealing with, but that fire inside me is more of a slow burn under the pressure of his gaze.
Suddenly, a voice slices through the tension. “Hey, what’s she doing here?” Giovanni Costa, one of Marcus’s goons, gestures across the room, squinting through the haze of smoke and strobe lights.
Giovanni Costa is the son to Alessandro Costa. Thanks to Marcus, they’re the second most powerful family in the Columbus mafia. Marcus brought them to power as he built his empire. Sadly, Gio is an idiot. He’s eager to prove himself and it’s making him reckless.
“What did you say?” Marcus snaps, irritation flashing across his features. He’s clearly not in the mood for interruptions.
“I know her,” Gio insists, a smug grin spreading on his face. “She’s a hooker from the north side. I mean—she usually looks like trash, but that’s definitely her.”
I stiffen at his words. My blood runs hot as I track Gio’s gaze. My eyes lock on Evelyn Landry as she laughs with her friends by the bar, vibrant against the dark backdrop of the club. A flicker of protectiveness ignites in me. What the fuck is she doing here? Again.
It’s been a couple weeks since she was here, and I thought I made it clear that she was not to be in my club.
“Shut up,” Marcus grumbles, his annoyance apparent. But Gio shrugs it off.
“No really. Why would someone like her—” he continues, eyes wide with mock intrigue.
Eli shifts beside me, jaw tightening as he glances at me before focusing on Gio. “You’ve got it wrong,” Eli interjects firmly. “She’s a guest of ours.”
Gio blinks a few times at Eli.
But it’s Marcus’s studious gaze that makes my heart drop out of my chest. “Gio, you’re a dumbass. How many times have I told you to know our enemies? That woman across the bar is a cop.”
The air grows thick around us as I feel the urge to defend Eve. A cop in my club is already trouble. One who had stirred something within me when I thought I was past all that only adds to the weight on my shoulders.
“Seriously?” Gio’s amusement fades into confusion. “If she’s a cop, then she’s a dead one. I’m gonna—”
“Excuse me.” I cut in sharply, meeting his gaze head-on with an intensity that silences him instantly.
“Did you not understand my simple words?” Gio looks at me like I’m the idiot. “Looks like we’re gonna be cop killers now.” Gio laugh is dark and poisonous. “That bitch has to die.”
Panic races through me, igniting my instinct for survival and protection. This is not just some idle threat. It’s a declaration. They think they can play with fire without getting burned.
“Gio, shut up,” Marcus interjects, clearly pissed at Gio for vocalizing his intentions. Conversations like this don’t happen in front of outsiders. Marcus may know who I am, but that doesn’t mean his people should talk freely about business.
“No,” I hiss through clenched teeth, stepping forward to intercept whatever plan is forming underneath Gio’s thick skull.
Marcus stares at me like he’s trying to decipher a puzzle. He knows who I am even if I refuse to admit it.
Eve stands oblivious to the danger, and it’s all my fault.
She’s unwittingly caught in their crosshairs now, and I need to come up with a solution fast. My heart pounds louder than before as anger prickles across my skin like a bad rash—anger at Gio for being an idiot and anger at myself for not making it impossible for her to enter my club again.
Alessandro, Gio’s father, turns his gaze toward me. I’m now acutely aware that I’m on their radar now too.
“Don’t,” I warn them both, feeling Eli shift beside me, ready to back me up if necessary.
“Boss, what are you doing,” Eli murmurs quietly, urgency threading through his tone as he subtly scans the room for any signs of escalation.
But I can’t move. He has no clue what Eve means to me. I need to keep her safe.
“Is there something you’d like to add,” Alessandro asks, his tone calm and methodical.
“I said don’t,” I repeat more forcefully this time, locking eyes with Alessandro while my instincts continue screaming at me to protect her at all costs. One misstep from these two could turn this night into something bloodier than any of us expected. “She’s mine.”
Gio bursts out in laughter, clueless to the war raging inside of me.
The rest of the room seems to hold its breath, tension thickening.
I feel Eli’s presence beside me—solid and unwavering—but I’m acutely aware of how he glances at me, confusion dominating his features. I know he thinks I’ve lost my mind.
But there’s no time to second-guess myself. I need to protect Eve, even if it means spinning a tale so outrageous it could easily blow up in my face.
“What exactly does that mean?” Marcus asks. His gaze is more curious now.
If there’s one thing that Nicolo taught me that’s stuck with me, it’s that family matters most. It can save you just as easily as it can destroy you. If you want to start a war, go after your enemy’s family. Otherwise, family is off-limits.
I say the first thing that pops into my head.
“She’s my fiancée,” I announce, letting the words become a challenge.
Gio’s laughter dies on his lips, replaced by an incredulous expression that mirrors Eli’s disbelief. “Your what?” Gio stammers, eyes wide.
“Fiancée,” I repeat, injecting authority into the word.
If they truly know of my connection to Nicolo Moretti, they’ll never touch someone so intimately connected to me unless they want to start a war.
“Eve is engaged to me.” My heart pounds, adrenaline setting my veins on fire.
This is a gamble—a wild one—but desperate times call for desperate measures.
“Come on, Zeke,” Eli finally interjects. He doesn’t raise his voice so only I can hear. “You sure you want to do this?”
I hold Eli’s gaze for a moment longer than necessary. I don’t need to use words. He knows I’m serious.
“You’re lying,” Marcus finally chimes in, his smile fading into something darker. The predator in him recognizes the lie but seems momentarily intrigued by my audacity.
“You listen to me,” my voice drops lower, filled with conviction, “if you touch her or say another word against her …” My fists clench at my sides as I take a step forward, my need to protect her surging through me. “You’ll answer to me.”
Gio looks ready to laugh again, but Marcus raises a hand to silence him—his expression shifting, weighing the implications of what I’ve just claimed.
“I don’t think you realize who you’re dealing with,” Marcus warns.
I take a breath and push back against that dark undertone of his threat.
“Oh, believe me,” I say coolly, meeting Marcus’s eye and leaning so close our faces nearly touch. “I know exactly who you are. The question is, do you really know me?”