Page 25 of Assassin's Obsession

You alright, dolcezza?

Get dressed and go home.

I'll square it with Ugo.

Angelo's position in the mafia doesn't make any difference to me. He'd have to come out of the shadows and talk to me for there to be even a hope of that.

According to Piper, when he saved me from Ronnie, Angelo was still the top enforcer for the Don of the Genovese. The same one of New York's Five Families my sperm donor serves.

That and a fiver will get me a cup of coffee at the corner diner.

I guess Angelo got a promotion of sorts when his boss became the new Godfather of the Cosa Nostra in America and Angelo kept his position as top enforcer for Don Severu De Luca. Now, he's the godfather's top enforcer, not just a don's.

Discovering he's the deadliest assassin in New York doesn't change how safe I feel when Angelo is in the club. If anything, it makes me feel more secure.

Because to me, he's not the Angel of Death but my guardian angel. The scariest guy in the New York underworld is the only man that makes me feel protected.

He always sits in the darkest corner reserved for what passes for VIPs at Pitiful Princess. In all the time since that night when Ronnie tried to molest me, I haven't once laid eyes on Angelo. Even though he's at the club most nights I work.

Even if Piper and the other girls weren't so quick to tell me, I would know he's there.

My body reacts with atavistic instincts when he's around, relaxing, knowing on a visceral level I can't explain that no one will touch me. That I'm safe.

My lizard brain, always on high alert when I'm at work, or anywhere besides home alone with my mom and sister, settles down when Angelo is nearby. That's how I know he's here now. Because when he's not, I spend my time on the stage tense and wary.

I learned to hide the fear in my first foster home when I figured out that some kids and even some adults in the system thrive on the distress of others. The skill is a handy one to have in my profession. Strippers are pros at coming off brash, confident and sexy.

But I'm not the only one who has to pretend when stepping out on the stage. If you look really hard, you can see it in the eyes.

The punters aren't looking into my eyes though, are they?

When my best friend, Bianca, used to dance here, it was better. We had each other's backs. But then she hooked up with Salvatore De Luca and got put in charge of talent management.

Although she has more power to protect me and the other dancers from an employer's position now, she only comes into the club a couple of times a week. Usually early, before things get really busy and I can't always leave mom and Cookie then.

So, I see a lot less of my bestie than I used to.

Piper's a casual friend, like a lot of the other dancers, but no one has my back like Bianca did.

Except, now Angelo does.

Does he know that the moment he arrives, I stop thinking about any of the other patrons? Probably not.

I don't know what this thing is between him and me. I'm pretty sure he's not into me like I'm into him, even if he's here almost every night I dance. Maybe I remind him of his sister, or his mom, or something.

But he's quickly become the only patron that matters to me. The only man Iwantlooking at my nearly naked body.

My job means anyone who pays the cover charge gets to see that, but it's not the same as wanting it.

Even if he never comes out of the shadows to interact with me, Angelo haunts my thoughts everyday while I crush on him like I never did the boys in school as a teenager.

The idea of letting them touch me scared me. Even before that last foster home before I came to live with mom and Cookie.

Maybe that's why I can crush on Angelo. The distance he keeps makes my infatuation safe.

Angelo is the sexiest man I've ever seen and the only one I have ever wanted to touch me intimately.

At least in my dreams, I do.

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