Page 57 of Mob Boss's Second Chance

I’m not going to let myself cry over a man. It’s not like I was in love with him.

It was a temporary delusion. Without another glance back, I turn on my heel and walk out of the house.

I slide into the backseat of a cab, my heart hammering as the car pulls away. My phone vibrates in my lap, Danielle’s name flashing across the screen. I ignore it. The call goes unanswered, but a text immediately follows.

Pick up. Or I’ll come find you. Don’t tell methey don’t allow you to answer calls in the kitchen.

My phone rings again. With a deep breath, I steel myself before answering.

“I could’ve been handling something hot,” I quip, forcing a lightness into my tone.

Danielle doesn’t miss a beat. “And yet, I know you weren’t.”

I can practically hear the smirk in her voice, but there’s an edge of concern beneath it. “You read my message. If you were really busy, you wouldn’t have. That’s how I know you’re lying.”

A small laugh slips out, easing some of the tension in my chest. “Fine,” I sigh, my voice a little softer now. “What do you want?”

“Well,” she says, making a happy sound, “I was thinking we could hang out. It’s been a while since we did that—you and me, a girls’ night out.”

“Danielle?” I ask with the tone of someone who knows there’s something behind it. “What happened? Don’t tell me you secretly got your heart broken while I was busy and you’re trying to recover?”

She scoffs, and I hear the sound of a chair scraping against the floor in the background. “Me? Get my heart broken?”

I roll my eyes.

I might’ve fallen into delusion for a few weeks, but Danielle’s love life is basically one fairytale after another.Fairytales never last.

“What is it?” I ask, leaning back.

Her voice drops into a whisper as she replies, and I have to bring the phone closer to hear better. “Well, my boss is being a dick. He’s been on my tail for the past week and I’m tired. If I don’t get an outlet, I might turn in my resignation letter tomorrow morning.”

A quiet snort bubbles out of me, but she doesn’t catch it. The irony is not lost on me—I just ended what could’ve been a long-term contract and Danielle is hanging on to hers.

At least one of us should keep their means of employment.

“Sure,” I shrug. “Where?”

“The club!” she yells, and I press my fingers to my temple with a heavy, knowing sigh. “I’m sorry,” Danielle drops her tone, “but I’ve been thinking about it all week long. I wasn’t going to broach the subject because you’ve been in a different headspace, but I need you. I need my best friend,” she whines.

And I need a distraction.

“What time do you want me to be there?” I ask, resigning myself to a night of drinking, loud noises, and even louder music.

***

“Natalie!” Danielle pulls me into a bear hug that almost squeezes my lungs when she spots me standing near the club’s exit. “I’m so glad you came.” Her voice is high-pitched,whichis the only way I’d be able to hear her anyway.

“I didn’t think you’d show up,” she adds as she takes my hand, pulling me further into the crowd on the main dance floor.

Me too.

I debated not coming, especially when she sent me directions to an unfamiliar place—Luna Royale. I’d heard of it before, always in conversations about “high-end” clubs, the kind that catered to the city’s elite. The kind where people went to indulge, not just unwind.

But I’m not here to have fun.

I’m here to forget.

“Come on,” Danielle urges, tugging me through the throng of bodies pulsing to the music. “I need to introduce you to a couple of people.”

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