Mafia Entanglement

SHAY

“We will each introduce ourselves, and then if you have questions, we will answer them as we see fit,” Zane said as he settled back into his huge chair. He nodded at Conner first.

“I am Conner Wilkins, and as we said, we grew up together in Italy but mostly stayed at Zane’s house. If people did not see us three together, they would wonder why and where the missing one was.

“I guess we just became so close that people thought we belonged together all the time. My age is twenty-five, just like the other two here, and none of us are married as of right now.”

Next was Noah. “I am Noah Jacob Milwaukee, and no, my last name has nothing to do with the drink. Most people call me Noah, but the boss will call me by my middle name now and then.

“Conner did a pretty good job saying everything about us, so that is all you need to know about me then.” He had a sexy smile on his face that could make a woman’s panties melt.

“I have heard rumors that you guys are in the mafia. Is that so?” I looked around at the three men. They were beyond sexy; any woman would fall at their feet to be with them.

All three of them grinned and nodded their heads. Conner looked at me.

“Bossman is, of course, the leader. I am his second, and Noah is his third-in-command. We make the decisions together, but if someone wants one of us by rank, that is how we know who they will speak to.”

“So Zane is the ruthless killer that everyone has talked about?” My eyes locked onto his dark ones sparkling in the lights.

Another waitress brought them more drinks, and he tossed one back.

“If you cross me, then yes, I am known to either blow your head off or to snap a neck here and there. I run the biggest business here now, while my parents run the biggest one in Italy.

“I moved here because I wanted my own crew to work with without having to take orders from my father anymore.”

“What good am I to you? I don’t want to be anywhere near that, and I don’t even know how to shoot a gun,” I said, hoping my lame excuse will get me the hell out of here, like, now.

Zane’s eyes went dark. He scooted to the front of his chair and slowly waved his finger back and forth.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. The fastest way to make me mad is to lie to my face about something that I already know about you.

“You have had your concealed weapons permit since you were eighteen. Your father used to take you to shooting ranges every week to learn how to become an excellent marksman.

“You were going to go into the Marines to become a sniper, but your mother would not let you,” said Zane.

I dropped my head. I should have known that my file was extremely detailed for him. I nodded and looked up at him. “I should have known that you could pull anything you wanted to know about me and my past.”

“This is a way to get to know each other and earn trust, which you are failing at very badly now by telling me a lie. I even know where you shop for your underwear, if you must know.

“When my people dig, they dig deep because I require it when I want to know about someone.” That devilish smirk was back on his face again.

“If you must know about us, please ask. We are an open book to people we trust or want to talk to.” Conner smiled at me as he took a sip.

“What exactly do you want from me and why,” I asked, looking Zane dead in the eyes.

“I told you what I wanted and why,” he replied as he looked me over from head to toe. “And I always get what I want and when I want it. No questions asked.”

I stood up, and he stared at me as I walked to the glass and looked down over the crowded dance floor.

You could barely hear the music’s beat because the room was soundproof, but seeing everyone hustling around the floor, serving drinks, and making money brought a small tear to my eye.

I needed money to help pay for my apartment and half of the bills. There were many high rollers here tonight throwing money around as the waitresses dropped off drinks.

“What is wrong? Why are you tearing up?” Zane said in a harsh, cold voice.

“I need to be down there on the floor making money to pay my bills. I don’t understand why you would choose me out of all the people around here?” I slowly wiped a stray tear from my face.

I heard him get up. He came over beside me and looked down at the busy floor.

“You see how hard they have to work to get money to pay their bills with? Serving men who grab their asses, look down their shirts, and get a hard-on for something they cannot have.”

“Yes, I go through that every night I work here. That is why I stay here—men like that give the biggest tips.

“They might be fantasizing about having me in their bed, but their money is damn good,” I said, trying to keep my voice from cracking.

I saw out of the corner of my eye that Zane had turned to look at me. He reached in his back pocket and his wallet came out in his hand. He opened it while keeping his eyes on me.

“How much do you make on a nightly basis here, roughly?”

I shook my head. I did not want his money like that—I was a hard-working person who made her money correctly.

The next thing I knew, he had spun me around and pinned me against the glass. He held my wrists hard above my head, letting me know that he was not pleased.

“I asked you a question; I want an answer.” His eyes were cold, and his face looked like stone.

“I don’t want your money like that. I earn it the hard way. I have never been one to ask anything from anyone. The last thing I want to be known as is a gold digger who latches onto someone for just their money.”

His body pressed hard against mine, and I worried that the glass would shatter behind me.

“That is not the question I asked. I want the correct answer. I can find out, you know.”

“How? Our tips are not counted here. We don’t split them, and we don’t have to turn in how much we make every night.”

He backed off me and walked over to a laptop. He grabbed it and returned to where I was standing. “Do I need to run the tapes from the cameras for one night to see how much you put in your pocket?”

Shit, I had forgotten about that. I shook my head no. He threw the laptop to Conner, who easily caught it. I went to sit down, but he pinned me against the glass again.

“You may not sit down until I have my answer. Conner, start counting from last night, will you? I would say that she probably walked out of here with five hundred, if not more.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Connor said. I heard him typing, and then he stared at the screen.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Either you stand here while he watches your shift last night, or your lips tell me exactly what I want to hear.”

My eyes shifted from Zane to Conner. Noah had now joined in to watch the tapes as well.

“She made two hundred in just the first hour so far.” Connor and Noah tapped the mouse pad, probably fast-forwarding to the next time a tip was left.

“Fine!” I said, rolling my eyes at Zane. “I walked out of here with about seven hundred last night.”

“See, was that so hard?” He smirked as he let me go.

“I don’t like it when people pry into my personal business,” I answered, looking down at the floor.

I felt him come up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder, pulling me away from the glass gently.

“I am not prying, just wondering how well you would do on a busy night like this. I own the club; I have a right to know what my customers are leaving their waitresses. So it is my business, in a sense.”

I nodded as he slowly turned me around to him by pulling on my arm. He looked me in the eye and then handed me a wad of cash that he had pulled out of his wallet.

“Here is your pay for tonight for staying up here with me talking.”

I looked at it, clenched my fist and stepped around him to walk out. I heard his finger snap, and the two mountains of men blocked my path.

I spun around, crossing my arms over my chest while glaring at him.

“Are you going to keep me from going to the bathroom now?” My voice was sharp as a knife.

He chuckled and pointed to the end of the room.

“It’s down there, love. We have our own private bathrooms, so we don’t have to tangle with the guests or deal with how nasty they can get from drunk people who miss or throw up everywhere.”

I looked toward where he pointed and started to walk over. The men followed me closely. I threw a hand up at them. “I don’t need someone to hold my hand while I do this, you know.”

“Just making sure you don’t try to bolt when you come out. I am not finished with your company tonight.”

I reached the door, and the men stood on each side while I went in. It was a huge bathroom with just a glass block window to the outside world.

I guessed that they didn’t need people looking in on them while they used the bathroom. I finished and looked around the massive place.

It had a huge walk-in shower with spa treatment jets, a nice Jacuzzi tub in the corner that was bigger than two bathtubs put together, and a double sink vanity with gold faucets that were motion activated.

I washed my hands and dried them on the plush gold towel hanging in the corner. Walking back to the door, I laid my hand on the cold wood, wishing I could go back to work.

I let out a sigh and pulled the door open. The two men were still standing there, looking like they had not moved even a muscle since I went in. They followed me as I started to walk back and then went to stand at the entrance again.