Page 1 of Her Michigan Mob Boss

ChapterOne

Annie

Apprehension gripped me as my cab pulled away, leaving me on the sidewalk outside a sleazy-looking club. I couldn’t help wondering if I’d made a huge mistake in coming here. So far, I hadn’t ventured far from my hotel in downtown Detroit. I’d spent the last week admiring the amazing architecture, shopping in fabulous stores and visiting museums. I relaxed at the manmade beach in the park and tried pizza at a dozen different restaurants. Before I came to Detroit, I preferred a thin crust, but the pizza here was totally addictive. I’d have packed up my life in Scotland and moved to the States for the pepperoni alone.

Everywhere I’d gone, people had been friendly, but something about this place made me think I was about to experience another side of the city. The club looked shady with a capital S.

When I decided to break out of my comfort zone and make the trip across the Atlantic in search of long-lost relatives, I hadn’t imagined my quest would lead me somewhere so unlike anywhere I’d been before. It’s not that I had some moral objection to strip clubs. It was just thatLucky Lola’s Loungewas waving several big red flags at me.

For starters, it was in a run-down area far from the tourist spots. Several buildings on the street had boarded-up windows on the first-floor level. One empty unit looked as if someone had tried to burn it down. Scorch marks blackened the bricks. Most of the cars parked on the street were ready for the scrap heap. One looked as if there was nothing holding it together but rust. Every second streetlight seemed to be out of commission. If it wasn’t for the garish pink neon sign hanging over the door of the club, it would be pretty dark.

The doorman stationed outside the club appeared to be as rough as his surroundings. Heavyset with a severe buzz cut, he looked like he’d gone ten rounds with Anthony Joshua. His nose was flat and squidgy. I guessed it had been broken more than once. With his towering height and muscular build, he was intimidating enough, but he also carried a weapon. One of those jagged-edge hunting knives, it stuck out of the belt of his jeans for anyone to see. Though I knew little about the law in Michigan, I doubted it was legal. It wasn’t as if there were any elk in downtown Detroit.

The cab driver who brought me to the club from my swanky hotel in the Book Cadillac building had asked me a dozen times if I was sure this was where I wanted to go. Now that I was here, I understood. The whole place reeked of lawlessness and neglect. Part of me wanted to turn and flee, but it might be my last chance to track down one of the elusive descendants of my mother’s great-uncle Johnny, so I resisted the urge. Pulling up my big-girl panties, I walked to the door.

As I approached, the doorman tilted his head to one side and studied me, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“You lost, princess?” The words rumbled up from deep inside him.

A princess, I was not, but I guessed not too many people dressed so demurely to visit a strip club. Wanting to make a good impression if I finally tracked down Danny Mulhearn, I’d worn a cute blue floral dress that fell below my knee. On its own, it screamed innocence. Paired with the fluffy white cardigan I brought in case the temperature dipped below sweltering at any point, it was positively angelic. The virginal vibe it gave off was all wrong for this place.

“Yes, I am, unfortunately.”

The doorman flashes me a grim smile that told me no woman found herself atLola’sunless she’d been extremely unlucky.

“You twenty-one?” he asked.

“Yes.” In fact, I’d turned twenty-three less than a month ago. I hoped he wouldn’t ask me to prove it, though, because I’d left my passport and driver’s license in the safe in my hotel room. Carrying such important documents around with me seemed like a bad idea.

The doorman looked me over once more. He said nothing, but nodded toward the door. Either he took me at my word about my age or he really didn’t care if I was old enough. I suspected it was the latter.

It was too much to expect him to be a gentleman and open the door for me, so I walked past him and entered the club. Expecting to be immediately thrust into a rabble of leering men staring at bare breasts and other body parts, I was relieved to walk into a quiet reception area. A woman, probably around my age, sat behind a counter that looked like it was made of white plastic. Her bright-pink hair clashed violently with the vivid corset she wore.

“Hey!” She smiled warmly as she greeted me. “You lost?”

Well, that confirmed what the doorman thought. I was totally out of place. “I, eh, I’m looking for someone.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“His name’s Danny Mulhearn.”

Her face fell. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen this reaction when I mentioned his name. Clearly, the man was bad news. That should have deterred me, but I’d flown over from Scotland to find a connection with my late mother’s family. Even if he turned out to be an asshole, I wanted to meet him.

“Oh, he doesn’t really come around here anymore.”

Disappointment swamped me as I learned my only lead was out of date, but perhaps it wasn’t a totally lost cause.

“Can I go in and see if anyone knows him?”

“Sure.” She motioned toward the white-leather-padded door to her left.

As I pushed it open, heavy pounding music hit me. It wasn’t as loud as I thought it would be, but I imagined if I stayed in the club too long, I’d end up with a headache. The club seemed busy for a Wednesday night. Dozens of men sat at tables close to the stage. Surprisingly few of them were watching the three scantily clad women who danced for them. Instead, they talked to each other or looked at their phones. A few more people occupied booths at the far side of the room. There was only one guy sitting at the bar, so I took a seat at the opposite end to him. I needed to build up my courage before I asked anyone about Danny.

“What’ll it be?” The bartender came over as I tried to haul myself up onto a high stool. Though taller than the average woman, I still struggled to climb up. Were these seats made for giants?

“Do you have any wine?” I asked as I finally got settled.

The older man’s arched eyebrow saidare you shitting me? He carried the air of someone who’d seen things that would terrify most people.

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