Page 6 of Mob Boss's Second Chance

Regardless, it has to be done.

If there’s one thing I don’t tolerate, it’s people who think they can outsmart Ethan Cross. I might not take a gun to their forehead—Anthony’s favorite fantasy—but I’ll make them wish they hadn’t strayed.

Reaching for a notepad in my desk drawer and my fountain pen, I go through the report again, making notes of discrepancies.

I’llhandle them after the party.

***

The hours go by, but I don’t notice them until my phone beeps with a message from Anthony. Swiping the notification open, I pick up my phone and stand up, stretching my legs.

My stomach grumbles lightly, a quiet reminder that I haven’t eaten since morning. Slipping my phone into my pocket, I stride across my study, intending to head to the kitchen, when a burst of laughter pulls me to a halt.

I freeze mid-step, the sound catching me off guard. It’s light, airy, and unmistakably close.

Frowning, I instinctively glance around the room as though I might find someone standing there. The silence settles again, but just as I start to move, the laughter echoes once more, faint but distinct.

My ears perk up, tracing its direction to the window. Slowly, I step closer, the palm against the dull drapes as I wage a losing battle with curiosity.

Who is that?

The sound of muffled voices joins the laughter, low and indistinct as if someone is having an animated conversation just out of view. The mystery stirs something within me, and my fingers curl around the curtains, wanting to pull back and take a peek.

I shouldn’t.

It’s not usual to hear voices around the house when there are people constantly coming and going. With the event planner and her crew, there are even more unfamiliar ones.

And yet… I can’t seem to pull myself away.

“You’re too kind, Miss Monroe.” My eyebrows pull together when I hear the voice of one of my men, Sebastian. He’s a handler, equipped to handle people who need to be taught alesson.

I hear the laugh again, but it’s more of a giggle this time. A lilt. “Please,” she says. “I did nothing. You’ve been helping me all day. It’s the least I could do.”

“They are amazing,” someone else chimes in. A man. “But if I had unlimited access to them, I might get addicted.”

She laughs again.What’s so funny?“I doubt it. As someone who spent a good chunk of the past year perfecting it, the thought of having a bite makes me sick.”

Walk away, Ethan.

Walk away.

My fingers curl tighter around the drapes, and I pull them to the side before I can stop myself. It’s her—Natalie. I knew there was something about the voice for it to steal my attention so effortlessly and hold it spellbound easily.

She’s standing with Sebastian and three other men that I recognize because they work for me, with a basket in her hand.

“Do you need help with anything else?” Sebastian asks, smiling.

She waves her hand. “Oh, it’s fine. I’m sure you guys have things to do.”

He shakes his head. Promptly. My jaw almost drops. The only other time I’ve seen him react to something like an order is whenIgive an order.

“You just tell us what to do, and we’ll get right to it.”

Get right to it?

I have to believe that what I’m seeing is an act because there’s no way men who have no issue taking a gun to a person’s head would act like giggling high schoolers.

“They wouldn’t,” I shake my head, muttering in disbelief.

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