The Mafia King's Obsession.

P

s about thirty seconds before an

, not talking, just watching me. His eyes are dark, sharp, and heavy with danger, the ki

and so dark it almost swallows the light around him. If fire suddenly started lick

burning through me. He's got the stillness of a predator, waiting for the right m

nt lines around his eyes that only make him more intense. Everything about him scream

, a twenty-something bartender barely making rent. Still, I

think about is him. I can feel those eyes on me, steady and consuming. His hands rest flat on the table beside a blac

's surrounded by an invisible wall. People glance his way, then in

a man dressed like that doin

unately-is that my ovarie

ng right in front of me. Usually, I can sense when trouble's brew

wing, and th

face. It drips down my hair, into

n's furious, the guy's smug, and she's thrown her drink. He

d. Not my ki

y's Bar tee is plastered to my chest, a

or a split second, I think he

ng at my soaked shirt. "Go get changed and g

"No need to change, sweethear

r my chest, cheeks burning. I push p

cing back at the boot

ips. Maybe he's coming to hel

calm and cold. No reaction. No emotion

knights in s

them. Men are all the same-s

s me instantly, sharp and biting. The sky is clear, and the city hu

perk of working at Goody's. I climb the narrow stairs to the fourth

s are piling up. Even with my roommate Aria splitting the rent,

got three Goody's Bar shirts, all freshly ironed-because apparentl

n five minutes. I swipe on fresh mascara, a touch of lip gloss-my version of armor and fasten my favorite buttons on

downstairs, running throug

o straight to his booth. The

s g

. I don't even know him, but the emptiness where he s

f men like she's born for it. I envy her so much. Sh

it," she always tells me.

I'll try tha

red, and his voice cuts through the noise. "You

-snapping, stressed, running

back. "None of us have been paid in three w

ducking into his office. "All

he shouts after him. "How ar

or slams shut. "The unemployment of

feels heavier now. I sigh, grab a towel, and start w

stop thinkin

e black suit an

lo R

gaze, like a promise I never ask