Page 21 of Courting Danger

The layout of the room unnerved me. There were too many doors and high vantage points. No matter which way Alex turned, his back was always vulnerable.

At least a dozen people stood stationed around the room like silent watchmen.

Were all of these Valente’s men, or did some of them work for the people Alex was meeting?

I had no way of knowing.

A rough hand grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the benches. I unlocked the holster on my gun before I realized it was Valente who had grabbed me. That fact didn’t completely ease my fears, but I kept my gun holstered as we stepped into the far corner.

Valente spit his words through clenched teeth. “Stop being so indecent.”

I flexed my arm, but I didn’t try to pull it out of Valente’s grip.

Although past his prime, the man still had incredible strength. He must have been an absolute powerhouse when he was younger. Even now, he was not someone I wanted to fight one-on-one.

“What are you talking about?”

Valente’s grip tightened. “You’re a whore with a gun who doesn’t know his place, and Alex is too inexperienced to correct you. So, I will. Whatever dalliance the two of you have going needs to stop.”

Ah, so Alex was right. Valente was just a bigot who hated that Alex was gay. Having me around only increased that hate as it put Alex’s sexuality on display.

I sighed and tried not to roll my eyes. There was nothing I could do to solve that problem. The man hated me for simply existing, and no action on my part could change that.

Ignoring the hand still holding my arm, I turned to keep one eye on Valente and one eye on Alex. The tank wall had been built with a curve, which cut off my view to part of the room from this corner.

“We’ve done nothing wrong, and we’re not harming anyone.”

Alex moved closer to the blond man by the tank wall, putting him right at the edge of my sight.

A particularly large shark swam close to the glass, showing off its rows of teeth like it knew it had an audience. In a different situation the smile that graced Alex’s face at the sight of the predatory fish would have been endearing. Right now, I just wanted him to pay better attention to his surroundings. There were too many people in this room that I didn’t know.

Even Valente, one of the few people I did know, didn’t seem to be on Alex’s side at the moment. The man was more interested in berating me than guarding Alex, as if being gay posed a greater threat than a bullet to the head.

“You are harming this family. Carrying on such a disgusting affair in public will destroy Alex’s reputation with the other families. They’ll lose respect for him, and so, lose respect for the Mariano name. They may even refuse to do business with him.”

I nodded along, barely paying attention to what Valente was saying. I was too busy cataloging everyone in the room, trying to judge based on body posture who was an ally or an enemy.

“Who’s that?” I asked, indicating one of the nameless security personnel standing on the other side of the room.

Valente practically hissed in anger. “Are you even listening?”

I barely glanced at the man, too focused on the rest of the room. “No, I’m not. Answer the question. Who’s that? Are they one of our people?”

Grumbling insults under his breath, Valente looked at the person in question. “Yes, that’s a member of our security. Why?”

Dread stretched its icy fingers through Garrison’s gut. “They’re positioned wrong.”

I charged forward, intending to get Alex out of danger, but Valente yanked me back. “What are you doing? Don’t interrupt.”

Turning on Valente with one hand already on my gun, I barely stopped myself from punching the other man in the face.

“That man of yours is positioned wrong. They’re too far from the door, and they can’t see most of the room from where they’re standing. From that angle they only have a clear view of one thing. The back of Alex’s head.”

Too late.

Even as I spoke, I saw the suspicious man pull out a palm-sized gun. It was the kind of weapon perfect for assassinations as it was easily overlooked, but a small bullet could still kill someone.

There was no time to reach Alex now. Instead, I drew my own gun.

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