Page 2 of The Mob Boss' Pet

“Did you want cinnamon on top?” Tony asks, holding the shaker over my iced coffee.

“No...” I step closer to the counter. There’s a tall pile of whipped cream. “Oh. Tony, I didn’t want... never mind, that’s fine. But no cinnamon.”

“Sorry, Stephania.” Tony grimaces. His attention flicks to the kitchen door again.

“Not a problem,” I say. I take the coffee when he hands it to me. “Thanks.”

As I turn to head to the door, I catch sight of the floor. The dark wood of the café hides it pretty well, but I know what I’m looking at. There’s a trail of blood dotting its way across the café, disappearing behind the kitchen door.

“Tony, you sure everything’s all right?” I ask once more, turning back to face him. A head pops out of the kitchen. The man attached to it steps out. His shirt is covered in blood.

“Stephania, go. Everything’s okay,” Tony urges me with panicked gestures. But the bloody man locks his gaze on me and shakes his head.

“You a doctor?” He points a red-stained finger at me. I’m wearing my light blue scrubs.

“Yes? Why?” I answer. Chairs scrape against the flooring, and the two men crowd me. I grip the coffee tighter.

“I need your help.” He crooks his finger, like I’m supposed to jump up and do what he says.

“With what?” I ask, ripping my arm out of the smoker’s grasp when he goes for me.

“No questions, just get back here and help.” He disappears back into the kitchen, and the two guys grab me, hauling me around the counter.

“I’m sorry. Stephania, just do what they ask. Please, don’t fight with them,” Tony calls after me as I’m dragged into the kitchen.

As soon as I’m in the room, the goons let me go. My gym shoes slip on the puddle of blood. On the table lies a man. He’s not conscious, and his shirt’s off.

“He’s been shot!” Switching into emergency mode, I put the coffee down on a surface and drop my bag to the floor.

“I know that,” the guy who called me in here says. “I got the bleeding to stop mostly, but he won’t wake up.”

I maneuver around the table and check him over. Two clean entrance wounds in his left shoulder; rolling him to his side reveals only one exit wound. That’s where the blood is still coming from.

“Here.” I wave the big guy over. “Grab that towel and press on the exit wound. The bleeding is slowed but I can’t tell if there’s damage inside. He needs a hospital.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening. You’re going to have to fix him up here,” the smoker says. At least he put his cigar out.

“Here?” I look around the kitchen that doubles as a storage room. “No. You need to take him to a hospital. Call an ambulance, or drop him at the front doors, if you’re scared.”

“No hospital.”

I glare at the guy holding the towel against the shot man’s shoulder. “I don’t have anything here to help him with. It’s a coffee shop!”

“Tony!” he bellows without looking away from me.

“Yeah?” Tony pokes his head in, fear written clearly all over his face. He’s pale.

“You got needle and thread?”

“I’ll check Eleanor’s bag.” Tony waves a hand and disappears.

“Where is Eleanor?” I ask. If her bag’s here, she’s here.

The big guy grunts. “She’s safe. So long as my little brother here survives, she’ll stay that way.”

“You took her?” I yell. “I’m not doing a damn thing here unless you let her go.”

He frowns. “You think you have a bargaining chip here?” He draws his gun that was tucked neatly in a holster below his jacket. “You’ll fix up my little brother or I’ll put two bullets in you. And I have better aim than the asshole that shot him.” He raises the gun until the barrel is pointed at my head.

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