33. Sneak Peek - Trapped with the Mafia Boss

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I shush my laughing friends as I climb into the back seat of the car picking me up at least a block away from my home.

Despite the distance, I'm still concerned that my father will hear them, and if he discovers I'm gone, the consequences are something I don't want to deal with.

Even at twenty-one years old, I still felt like a naughty teenager sneaking out of the house, thanks to my parents' strict rules, practically keeping me hostage in my own home. They assure me it's all for my own protection, but sometimes I'm not convinced.

"Where are we going tonight, girls?" I ask the three friends who are always willing to break me out of my house that feels like a prison.

"Omertà!" They all chime in unison.

My stomach tightens.

Not only was I out late at night, and with friends my parents have forbidden me from seeing, but I was apparently also going to the one place my father has specifically told me never to set foot in.

Well, I'm twenty-one now, legally an adult, and can make my own decisions.

Inside the club, the lively ambiance immediately hits me. I feel a bit out of my element, not entirely accustomed to this kind of scene. But I'm determined to make the most of the night out, refusing to let my parents" concerns cast a shadow on my evening.

The thumping music lures us all to the dancefloor. Among the flashing lights and the rhythm of the music, I can feel a sense of freedom that"s quite unfamiliar to me, but it's a feeling I like.

After a good thirty minutes of dancing and soaking up the energetic atmosphere, we all make our way to the bar for a round of shots.

In between the moving bodies, I lose my footing and accidentally bump into a man perched on a stool at the bar. He"s a big, sturdy presence, and my slight stumble nearly lands me right in his lap.

Quick to react, he steadies me, allowing me to regain my balance before releasing his grip on my shoulders. With a laugh and an apologetic smile, I thank him, embarrassed. The floor can open up and swallow me whole now.

The man says nothing but he does give me a smirk.

I'm instantly curious about this man. I ask my friends about him once I know we're at a safe distance and he can't hear us.

"Who was that?" I say, glancing back over my shoulder.

I figure they'll have an idea, since they're here almost every weekend. They don't have prison wardens as parents --- they are allowed to live their lives.

"Enzo Baldini," they reply, something hushed and almost reverent in their tone.

The name rings a bell in my mind, something I've overheard in passing from my father"s conversations. But my father has deliberately kept me away from his business dealings, so my knowledge is limited.

I hear lots of things, but I"m never close enough to know what really goes on. I have enough of an imagination to worry, and I assume that none of it is good.

Whoever this man is, he's one of the most handsome men I've ever seen.

His muscles are showing right through his button up shirt and they catch my eye immediately, but the way he keeps watching me is making me feel a bit uneasy.

I definitely got his attention when I smacked into him and now I'm not sure that I want it.

I do two more shots with my friends, and suddenly I'm feeling a whole lot more courageous. I look over at the man, still sitting at the bar, holding his whiskey on the rocks in his big hand, and still very much looking my way.

"He looks like he's interested." My friend laughs a trifle uneasily.

"Does he?" I smile.

He may look like one of the deadly men my father deals with on a regular basis, but that smirk earlier had been hot.

Men like him are not the sort you play games with, but I'm tired of following the rules and playing things smart.

"Go talk to him!" my friends encourage me.

They're enjoying the fact I have finally joined them on a night out, and the alcohol we've consumed is making us all a little overconfident.

I take a few steps towards him and try to casually slide onto the bar stool right across from him, but I am short and there is nothing elegant about the way I have to clamber and wiggle onto the damn thing.

I try call the bartender over to appear less obvious, but they pay absolutely no attention to me.

"What would you like?" Enzo asks me. I smile, proud of myself for my apparently flawless plan. Or maybe that's the alcohol talking.

"What do you suggest?" I ask him.

Without replying, he waves at the bartender, who runs over immediately. Enzo points to something I can't see, and the bartender begins to make a drink. He hands it over to me, and I take it with a smile.

"You seem like you"re used to getting what you want," I say, wondering how he got their attention so fast.

"Do I now? What makes you think that?" Enzo replies with a guarded smile.

"It"s in the way you carry yourself. Confident. Sure of things. You have a cockiness about you." I look deeper into Enzo's eyes, seeing something dark in them, but enjoying the feeling that his gaze is causing inside of me.

Enzo chuckles. "Sometimes appearances can be deceiving."

I decide that I don't think so. He seems like he's not the type to take no for an answer.

"Really?" I reply to him. "I wouldn"t know. I tend to take things at face value." This was beyond true.

Sometimes I wished I possessed the skill of reading between the lines when it came to people, but it was just in my nature to trust what they told me.

"Is that so? A refreshing perspective in a place like this." He seems amused.

"Well, I"ve never been one for hidden agendas or games. I prefer things to be straightforward." I can't play mind games, I always lose.

"That"s a rare quality these days. But being straightforward can also leave one vulnerable," he says, making me blush with shyness. I am vulnerable, less experienced than I"m pretending to be, and maybe he can tell.

I shrug. "Maybe. But it"s easier than trying to figure out what everyone else is thinking." I am not a clairvoyant. My great aunty was, well she thought she was, but I didn't get her gift.

"You might have a point there. But in a world full of secrets, a little mystery can be intriguing." There's that damn smirk again. I'm distracted by his smile, so I take a beat to respond.

"Mystery? Like what?" I'm playing with fire now. I should walk away.

"Like the secrets someone might be hiding behind their pretty eyes." He looks into my eyes and doesn't blink.

"Oh, I… I don"t really have any secrets." I blush. I don't, either. I have the most boring and sheltered life on earth.

Seeing Enzo and I engrossed in conversation, my friends decide it"s time to pull me away. They rush over, accidentally bumping into me. I, in turn, slip off the stupid bar chair and into Enzo yet again, causing his drink to spill all over the bar counter.

"I'm…I'm sorry, again," I say sheepishly, but Enzo's face darkens. He's angry, and I don't think he likes the childish games my friends are playing right now.

"A girl like you shouldn't be in a place like this," Enzo practically barks at me, wiping away the liquid I just spilled. His reaction shocks me, and I silently plead with my eyes not to betray me by crying.

What did that even mean, a girl like me?

"Let's go to the bathroom," my friend suggests, and I gratefully follow.

Inside, I take a deep breath, a small sip of water, and straighten my tight dress. It's all twisted from getting on and off the stupid barstool.

I release my honey-brown hair from the clip that's been holding it all night.

My friends chat about the bouncer who they all have a crush on, and then about a house party they all went to last weekend. I try to smile through the conversation, but I feel left out of their world, and not as wise as they are.

I'm studying online while they're all out living their college lives. I wish I could join them. Moments like this make me aware of how much I'm missing out on.

I was grateful, though, that they were willing to welcome me into their circle whenever I could manage to sneak out and join them.

It was usually only for coffee, or brunch --- civilized outings my father approved of. Not nights like this.

God if he finds out, he's going to lock me up forever.

It"s all for my protection, my safety from his world. But my fathers safeguarding has always felt over the top.

Coming out of the bathroom, I can still feel Enzo's gaze on me.

I refuse to look at him this time, determined to enjoy my precious night out with the girls.

My plan for the night was not to find a man to flirt with anyway, I had just been unable to resist the brooding look that Enzo had been giving me. Now, though, he can enjoy his whiskey all on his own.

I'm not going to waste my time on someone who has such a short temper. And what had he been talking about anyway, going on about secrets like he thought I was some sort of super spy?

I head right back to the dance floor just as my favorite song comes on, and all my friends squeal in delight.

Amidst the thrusting and swaying, an older man approaches the group and gravitates towards me, placing his hand on my waist and matching my rhythm. I start to feel a bit strange, but the music and shots keep me moving.

We're just dancing, it's nothing really-- everyone is dancing.

My friends barely notice the man grinding against me, all busy with their own newly found dance partners. When the man tries to lean in even closer, though, I back off slightly.

He smells of cigarettes and cheap brandy, and not at all appealing, even after a few drinks. The man looks annoyed at me, and grabs my arm to move me closer, but as he does, a large hand is placed on his own. His annoyed expression turns to something that looks more like fear.

I look up at the face the second hand belongs to. It's Enzo.

He looks angry, mouthing the word "move" to the handsy guy who is already backing away.

My relief puts a smile on my face, until I look up into the face of a man I know I definitely shouldn't be dancing with right now.

He doesn't ask me to dance. He simply slides into place and suddenly our bodies are moving seamlessly together to the music.

I feel a bit dazed, and it's not from the alcohol anymore.

The closeness of Enzo's hard body has my heart thumping and my mind racing.

I feel his hand on the small of my back, sense his dark eyes boring a hole in my skull, but rather than fear, I now feel an excited electricity.