Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32809 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32809 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
She stared at him. “No.” She shrugged, and it made her feel even more childish.
“Exactly. You’re with me, and it is my opinion that should matter to you. No one else’s. Do you think this is the first time I’ve been here?”
“I don’t know.”
“I had brought another woman here, who dressed the part, and trust me when I say this, she acted the part, but underneath, she was a real monster,” he said. “I’d rather be here with you, in jeans, not looking the part, than with one of them.”
Okay, that made her feel slightly warm inside.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Stop worrying what they think of you. They had already made their minds up about you the moment you walked through the door. They’re a bunch of vultures.”
She already knew she’d been seen and passed off as not important. She was not part of Enzo’s world. She was nothing more than his cleaner, and it would seem his companion, or perhaps his friend. She wasn’t sure exactly which.
The waiter came, and Enzo ordered some food for himself, and she just closed the menu and asked for the same. She was not comfortable at this table.
“Relax,” Enzo said.
“It’s easy for you to say. You’re used to this, aren’t you? I’m not.”
“You’re with me, so no one is going to say anything, no one would dare.”
She clasped her fingers together and leaned forward. “Are you as terrifying as I imagine?” she asked.
“It depends, what do you imagine?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Just what I’ve heard. That you’re one of the most feared men within the Villa Mafia, and no one would dare defy you.”
“Men have defied me. They’ve betrayed me. Women too. To be where I am, you don’t play nice, and you’re never a saint.”
“I get that.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. I also understand it.” She took a deep breath. “My dad and my family never ran in ... normal circles. They were always looking for easy ways to make quick money.”
“Does it bother you?”
“It’s not something I really think about. They’re my family, and it’s what they do. They don’t like working too hard.”
Their conversation was cut short by their food coming in, which consisted of two steaks and some potatoes.
“Wow, you’re hungry,” she said, with a little laugh. This was not awkward at all.
She looked past his shoulder, and several men entered the café.
Enzo didn’t change, didn’t flinch. She counted six men, and none of them looked small.
She picked up her knife and fork, and she was a little nervous, as they looked in Enzo’s direction. She also noticed the way several women left checks and made their way out of the café. Staff moved behind the bar, and Harper just sat there and cut into the steak, which was rare, and she hated her steak rare. The sight of the blood made her feel a little sick.
“Would you care to swap the steak for your potatoes?”
“You shouldn’t be here,” the largest of all six men said, grabbing a chair and pulling it up to Enzo’s table.
“I eat where I want to eat.”
“But I thought I told you—”
He didn’t get to finish his threat, and Harper tensed up as screams erupted. Enzo had pulled a knife out of his jacket and imbedded it into the man’s hand. He’d slammed it down so hard, there was no way it was coming out easily. She tried not to panic or feel sick, but that was a little hard to do, seeing as blood seeped out. Harper couldn’t help but lift the cloth that covered the table, and look beneath to see the tip of the blade had gone through the wood.
By the time she sat back up, Enzo also had a gun pointed at the man’s head, while the other five men had guns pointed at him.
This was not good. This was going to end badly. There was a chance she was going to die today.
“What have I told you about telling me what to fucking do?” he asked.
The man growled. He was clearly in pain.
She didn’t know what was happening. All she knew was Enzo was clearly the one in control. He cocked his gun, and the man flinched.
“All right, all right, all right,” he said.
“Get your men to put down their guns, and they are to fucking leave right now,” Enzo said.
There was a pant, and she watched the man nod at his own men to do as Enzo said. One by one, they put their guns down and did as Enzo requested.
“You can leave,” Enzo said, and he pulled the blade from his hand. “But the next time you come to where I’m eating and attempt to threaten me, I’ll cut your dick off, do you understand me?”
The man didn’t say a word, but he nodded.
Any appetite she had was gone. Enzo cut into his steak and took a bite, chewing it before spitting it out.