I skip the drinks and stroll out onto the dance floor. The pulse-pounding music wakes me up inside and makes me forget about the turbulent day. I shrug off the first two guys who vie for my attention.
They don’t hold my interest. They’re too smiley and picture-perfect.
There’s a man at the bar that’s hot.
Sharply dressed, dark eyes, and fit under his suit.
He’s trying too hard to impress the ladies.
My gaze lingers on him longer than I intend to, and I break away, turning as I dance in the middle of the floor, my feet stomping on the ground. Cutting loose feels wonderful.
If only I could cut all ties to my life.
It wouldn’t be so hard if I’d have landed a teaching job. My degree was a piece of paper, worthless.
I should have examined the job market before graduating with a degree in elementary education. It wasn’t like I couldn’t get a job. A few areas were hiring, but they weren’t in the best neighborhoods.
That didn’t overly concern me.
It was the fact rival families ran those territories.
I would always be a target so long as my father was don.
He hadn’t always been don, but he’d been second in command, the underboss to Angelo DeLuca for years. I couldn’t remember a time when Angelo and Papa weren’t chummy.
When Angelo died, Papa took over the family business with pride and admiration.
He’d been a bastard to me when he’d been an underboss. I shudder at the memory of his hand slapping me across the face. Papa had never been gentle, but he also had left me well enough alone.
Now that he was Don DeLuca, the darkness that settled in his heart grew.
He wanted to be feared by everyone.
The handsome stranger with a dark and mysterious look to him strolls up to me. He doesn’t pretend to dance. Surprisingly, he doesn’t bump and grind against me either.
I wouldn’t have minded it if I had a few drinks in me first.
His name is Daniel. It rolls off my tongue with simplicity to it. He doesn’t look like a Daniel, but what do I know?
He flirts and I finally take the bait. The truth is I need a ride out of this city, and if it means lifting his car keys or his wallet, so be it.
I join him for a drink, steal his whiskey, and the next thing I know, I’m asking if he wants to get out of here.
I can’t go back home, even if I wanted to. A part of me wants to drag him in front of Papa and humiliate my father.
“They’re fumigating my place,” I lie so easily. I can’t let him know I’m the daughter of Don DeLuca. I don’t know who works for my papa and who he has crossed. He’s made enemies. That’s no secret. The DeLuca’s don’t make friends easily.
“Funny, that’s what’s happening to my place,” Daniel says.
I smile, shaking my head. “You are something else.” I poke his chest. I’m not sure why or what comes over me, but I have the insistent need to feel something other than anger and resentment.
I hate my papa.
I grab Daniel by the tie and yank him toward me for a kiss.
I take him by surprise. Most men aren’t used to my forcefulness and brashness. I’m used to power, others wielding it over me. It feels nice for a chance to be in control.
I swear I hear him growl.