Page 50 of Shackled By the Mafia Boss

I sigh. I’m not in the mood for his shenanigans, but he’s better to look at than Rodriguez. Josh may be a misogynist, but he doesn’t irk me as much as Rodriguez does. “What do you want?”

I assume he’s here to gloat about being right all along and how a woman is not fit to be a detective.

“Come on, you don’t have to be so rude.” He spins the seat across my desk and straddles it, plopping his hand on the backrest. “I know must be hard for you dealing with Rodriguez.”

I huff. “Are you worrying about me?”

“I don’t like you, Sullivan, so I’d be lying if I said I was worrying about you, but I do feel bad for you.”

“Well, thanks for the pity, Josh. But I’m too hungry to continue this conversation with you.” I push back from my seat and pick up my handbag. “See you tomorrow.”

My phone rings just as I step from the office and Kimberly’s number flashes on my screen. An unintended smile quirks my lips. “Hey, girlfriend.”

“Hey, bestie! Are you free this evening? I’m off work now and need someone to eat dinner with.”

“I’m up for dinner. I’ll warn you though, I’m starving and I could eat a whole truck load of food.”

Kim giggles over the phone. “I’ll buy two loads of food for you then. I’ll text you the address.” She hangs up and my phone buzzes less than a minute later with the address.

Entering my car, I ignite the engine and the car surges forward. There’s some traffic tonight. Cars line the road and the hooting is driving me nuts.

I play a song on the radio, tunning the volume up and singing along to it. What’s supposed to be a twenty-minute driveto the address Kimberly texted me, takes thirty-five minutes. My stomach is nearly ripping itself in two when I pull to the curb in front of the restaurant, pick up just my phone and credit card and start for the restaurant.

The smell of fresh, savory food hits my nose the second I step inside. My stomach goes berserk with the need to be filled and I almost keel forward from the sharp pain that splinters through.

My eyes scan the room for Kim and I smile when I find her. She’s sitting at a corner table, her smile wide as she waves to me.

I make my way to the table and pulling out a chair, I sit. I take a look around the restaurant. It’s my first time here and it’s totally my vibe. It’s quiet, without unnecessary decoration. The colors are white, black and green—thanks to the flowerpots stationed in all four corners.

If this were a café, it would be a good spot for me to read or rummage through murder case files. I like it here.

“Girl, I didn’t hear from you for two days. Do you know how worried I was?” she purses her lips like a mother angry at her teenaged daughter for sneaking out to a party. “I called all of last night and you didn’t answer or return any of my calls.”

I blink at her, completely lost. “Wait, you called me?”

“Check your phone.”

I lift my phone to unlock it using the face ID feature. I scroll through my call logs, my jaw dropping when I see I have twenty-six missed calls from Kim. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t see your calls.”

“Yeah, I know you didn’t. Which kind of brings me to the next question, what’s going on with you?”

I roll my lips between my teeth. “There’s nothing wrong. You can see I’m good.”

She disagrees with a shake of her head. “I can’t see anything. It’s unlike you not to answer your phone. Does this have anything to do with the case you’re working on? Or the guy you’re seeing?”

I pretend I don’t know what she’s talking about. “What guy?”

Her eyes glitter with mischief. “Don’t give me that, girl. I know you’re seeing the mafia guy. Have you slept with him?”

I lunge across the table and cover her mouth. “Shhh. We’re in public.”

She bites my hand softly and I pull it back. She’s grinning and I know she won’t stop until she’s rooted out every detail about me and Marcus. “Girl, you better spill everything. I’m desperate to hear about this guy.”

I slide down in my seat. I know trying to lie to her isn’t fair, but I have to act tough. “What makes you think I have slept with him?”

“For starters, you spoke of him last week like you were crushing on him, and now you’re blushing just because I mentioned him.”

God, there’s no winning with her.

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