Page 10 of King of the Bronx

I downed the rest of my drink. “I don’t even know your name.”

“Enzo.”

Enzo. It sounded just as dark and dangerous as he looked. “I have to be at work,” I said.

He looked up at the clock on the wall and raised an eyebrow. “Now?”

I smiled at him. “You aren’t the only one working in the dead of night.”

“Where do you work?” he asked.

I debated if I should tell him or not. If he found out I’d been counting cards, he’d be able to track me down. I didn’t answer.

“Beautiful woman who only comes out at the dead of night and plays blackjack at a place like this? I’m guessing you aren’t an overnight nurse? Stripper?” he guessed.

I raised an eyebrow at him. “You think I’m a stripper?”

He looked over my body one more time. “You’re too pretty to be a stripper, but that’s my best guess.”

“And what do you do?” I asked.

He sat up in the chair and looked around the room. “This…and other things.”

“That’s vague.”

“How about you come home with me and I’ll tell you more about what I do? You can tell me more about what you do. It will be a fun time.”

His words were almost enough for me to say “fuck it” and follow the man home. What are the chances he’d even care enough about me afterwards to bother seeing if I was counting cards? But I couldn’t risk it. I thought about my girls back at the brothel. I couldn’t gamble with their lives like that.

“Maybe next time,” I told him before standing from the barstool. His eyes burned a hole in my back as I walked out the door. Once I got up the stairs, the cool autumn air surrounded me. I took a deep breath, clearing my nose of the stuffiness of the gambling room. The street was nearly empty like it usually was at this time at night, but of course, the stores were all open. New York never slept. I’d only taken a few steps when I felt cold metal press against my scalp. My body froze. Ice ran through my veins.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” a dark voice said from behind me. My eyes searched the street, but no one was around. I was hidden enough in the shadows that if someone walked by, they might not even see me. I had a gun in my purse, but there was no way I’d be able to get to it. At least not before he pulled the trigger.

“Slide your purse off your shoulder slowly and hand it to me,” he commanded. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why hadn’t I been more careful? I was usually so aware of my surroundings. I took a deep breath and started to reach for the strap of my purse. All my gambling money was in this purse. If I didn’t have money to play with next time, then I was screwed with the Irish.

My hand moved closer to the base of the purse. If I could move fast enough maybe I could get the gun. It was a risky move, but if I let this man take all my money, I’d have no chance of paying back my debt. They’d take my girls and sell them to some sick bastard.

“Now!” the man yelled as the gun shook in his hand. I could feel it move against my head.

“I’d put that down if I were you,” a familiar voice said from behind the robber. I wanted to turn around to see, but I was still too scared to move. One twitch of the man’s finger, and my brains would be all over the sidewalk.

“Mind your business!” the robber snapped. “Give me the purse!”

His hand shook even harder as he grew impatient. The sound of a grunt filled my ears, and the metal against my head was snatched away. I turned around fast to see that Enzo had wrestled the man to the ground. The gun clattered to the sidewalk and slid toward me. I could pick it up, but from what I could tell, Enzo had it handled. His knee was in the man’s back as the man squirmed, trying to get free.

Enzo turned to me. “Go back to the underground and grab the man at the door,” he said his voice surprisingly calm, considering he just took down a robber. I didn’t need to be told twice. I ran back down the steps to the underground.

“Enzo is upstairs and needs your help,” I sputtered to the security guy standing at the door with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes widened, and he followed me up the steps to the sidewalk. Enzo had managed to pull the attacker up to his feet and hold him against the light post. The security guard rushed to his side and took Enzo’s place.

“Get rid of this guy. He’s out here robbing women in the middle of the night like a fucking coward,” Enzo said to his security. He straightened his shirt and walked toward me. The cocky grin on his lips from only minutes ago at the bar was gone. His fingers brushed my elbow.

“Are you okay?” he asked. His eyes glistened under the lamp pole.

There was a dangerous man underneath that cockiness. A man who could easily take down someone with a gun and then act like it wasn’t a big deal.

I nodded. “I’m fine…thank you.”

He looked me over as if not sure if he believed my words.

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