Page 6 of Matched into the Mob

Josh’s raised brows and rigid posture was coupled with a tiny tug at the corner of his mouth. I pursed my lips while Josh bent forward, his sides shaking as laughter bubbled out of him. I joined him in giggle snorting because I needed an outlet for the fear that had coiled in my belly.

The light turned green, and we jerked forward. My brother concentrated on the artificial tinny voice of the GPS as it directed us to… wherever we were going. Dinner maybe? His place?

But the neighborhood changed from the downtrodden one where I lived to a more upmarket area. I sat up straight as he sped along a street that passed where my other boss, Dane, lived and let out a long breath when he continued driving.

“That’s it.” He pointed to a modern building, maybe ten stories high, clad in silver and black, that stood out from the aging skyscrapers on either side.

“What are we doing here?” My near-death experience had wiped my memories.

“Speed dating, remember?” Josh grabbed my arm and marched me to the door. Locked. And no buzzer, just a keypad. “How are we supposed to get in?”

A bunch of hulking growly guys, talking loudly about mates, approached, and we got out of their way.Neither Josh nor I were tall or broad-shouldered, and I figured they could toss us aside with one flick of a finger.

One punched in a code, and they walked in. We hauled ass and followed, but another guy barred our way.

“You’re not one of us.” He folded his arms and put his face close to mine before sniffing. He made a face, and I hissed, “It’s the socks, sorry.”

Josh guffawed, and I elbowed him. This wasn’t a moment for laughter.

One of the guy’s friends backtracked. Sheesh, he looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him. He could have been a delivery guy I’d only seen wearing a bike helmet. Or was he from my other life? Images fast forwarded through my mind as I tried to place him.

“I know him.” He jerked his head at me. “Let ‘em in.”

Instinct told me to run. To leave the city and live in a cave, having no contact with the outside world. But the fight-or-flight instinct deserted me and was replaced by another F word.

I froze.

Josh grabbed my arm and dragged me inside and into the elevator, as we were surrounded by those five guys, towering over us, their musky cologne overpowering in such a small space.

The words “what if?” ran on a loop through my head. I couldn’t afford to bump into someone I knew as Michael when I was Matt.

My knees buckled, and bile slid up my throat as I imagined the fate that might await me.

I was forced out of the confined space by the five-strong herd behind me. The strangers melted into the crowd while Josh and I stood near the elevator surveying the room.

Men with ear pieces, similar to what my mob boss’s bodyguards wore, were positioned around the perimeter. My anxiety level ratcheted up, and I scanned the faces, but no one stood out other than the man who let us in.

There were rows of small tables filling most of the space, but my gaze was drawn to a logo on the wall. It appeared to be a wolf’s head surrounded by the words La Luna Noir. I gulped. The distinctive name that caught my attention because of a grammatical mistake was one I’d heard Dane mention. He’d been fucking with one of their businesses, trying to be numero uno in the recycling world.

We had to get out of here.

A middle-aged man in a purple jacket rushed up to us, flapping his hands. “Can I help you?”

“We… we’re here for the speed dating,” Josh said.

“Oh, I think there’s been a mistake.”

The man who recognized me appeared at purple jacket guy’s shoulder. He wore a sticker on his chest with the scrawled name Hawk.

“I can vouch for him, Rudy.” He whispered in Rudy’s ear, and the older man’s mouth gaped and formed an O.

“But we didn’t invite them,” Rudy blustered as he stabbed at a tablet.

My belly heaved, and I swallowed what remained of the cereal I’d eaten earlier. This was bad, worse than that. Bad didn’t describe how dangerous this was.

We’d stumbled into a den of thieves, a mafia stronghold. Did Hawk belong to The Obsidian Circle? Fuckity fuck! I wanted to shake Josh and ask him how he found out about this event. But that was for later.

Before I could say we’d blundered into the wrong place and apologize, a voice that reminded me of velvet, plush, soft, and luxurious, penetrated my thoughts.

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