Page 98 of Coerced Kiss

My phone rings. It’s Giorgio.

It’s not the time, but he doesn’t call unless it’s urgent.

I answer with the handsfree function. “I’m in the car with Anya.”

“You better come down to Obsidian. Two of our men are down.”

I grip the wheel hard. “I’ll be there in twenty.”

He hangs up with, “I’ll tell my father you’re on your way.”

Taking the first side road, I turn the car around.

“What’s going on?” Anya asks in a nervous tone.

Goddamn.

Obsidian is our second biggest club. If two of our men are down, it wasn’t an accident. The attack was targeted, and that means war.

“Sav?” Anya says again.

I call Kevin and instruct him to meet me there so he can take her home. A battlefield isn’t a safe place for her, but time is of the essence. It’ll take too long to drop her off first.

I’m a good driver. My father knew how to handle cars as well as he knew their insides. He taught me to drive as soon as I could see over the dashboard. With Anya in the car, I don’t push down on the accelerator though. I sharpen my focus and stick to the speed limit.

In just over twenty-five minutes, I stop in front of the club that’s tucked between two theaters in Broadway. As I told Kevin to go home when I met Anya at Livy’s, it’ll take him longer to get here.

I take my gun from the glove compartment and shove it in the waistband of my pants under my jacket, ignoring the nervous flare of Anya’s eyes.

A valet runs up when I get out. I hand him my key and get Anya’s door. I shouldn’t take her inside, but I can’t leave her alone in the car.

One of our men who stands at the entrance greets me with a nod.

“Secure?” I ask under my breath.

“You can go ahead. Luigi is waiting.”

“What’s going on?” Anya asks when I take her elbow and steer her inside the building.

Looking on from the outside, everything seems normal. The music is pumping, and the bar is crowded. At the absence of waitresses, the clientele have to get their own drinks. The décor is unsophisticated, and the liquor is cheap. Whereas After Dark caters for the rich and famous, a younger crowd with less money to spend on booze frequents Obsidian. It’s a popular hangout for new generation upcoming professionals. If After Dark is focused on quality, we make our money here on quantity.

A bouncer catches my gaze and tilts his head toward the stairs. Giorgio stands on the landing, gripping the balustrade. The end of the cigarette in his mouth glows red. He grabs the filter between a forefinger and a thumb and flicks the butt over the rail.

The bouncers at After Dark answer to me. Luigi may think they work for him, but that’s not how I run the club. Although I oversee Obsidian like I manage all Luigi’s assets, I don’t work with these guys every night. I don’t know them well enough to trust them.

Not taking a risk, I hold Anya close to my side and move around the back of the bar, where there are less feet, before taking the stairs.

Giorgio waits in front of the office with a grim look on his face. “In there.”

I open the door of the adjoining private lounge and stick my head around the jamb. The room is empty of people. It’s reserved for management and staff. The only furnishings include a couple of sofas, a coffee table, a bar fridge, and a big screen television mounted on the wall.

Satisfied that there’s no one, I drag Anya inside by the hand and grab a bottle of water from the fridge that I leave on the table.

“Stay here until I come back for you,” I say.

“Where are you going?” she asks, her expression panicked.

I wrap my fingers around her nape, pull her closer, and press a kiss on her forehead. “I promise you’ll be out of here as soon as Kevin arrives.”