Page 35 of Her Ruin

Across from him sat Angelo, one of my regulars—Italian, ruthless, and the kind of man you didn’t piss off unless you had a death wish. Angelo’s fingers drummed absently against the armrest of his chair, his attention fixed on the man across from him like he was deciding whether to be amused or offended.

Thatdefinitelywasn’t a game you wanted to play.

I let the steady hum of conversation around me fade into the background as I stepped up behind Angelo’s chair, resting my hand on the back of it. The tension between the two of them was coiled tight, and I felt Rye and Jayden move closer, the other tables slowing their conversations, sensing the shift in the atmosphere.

The man in the suit swallowed thickly when he realized I was watching him.

I smiled, slow and easy. Friendly. “You have a problem.”

I didn’t ask if therewasa problem. I told him he had one. A fact he didn’t miss.

I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he cleared his throat. “I—” He cleared his throat again. “I was having a conversation, that’s all.”

“You were asking questions?” I guessed, not bothering to look at Angelo.

“Just a few,” he confirmed.

“Just a few,” I echoed, keeping my voice casual.

He hesitated, then nodded. “I was…I was just curious about some things.”

Angelo chuckled, low and sharp. “Curiosity…dangerous in a place like this.”

I smiled wider. No fucking shit, especially when you were asking it of the mob’s fucking enforcer. This was a hairbreadth from going left fast. I maintained my calm, cool demeanor, never breaking my gaze from Navy Suit. “And you?” I asked him, watching him squirm. “Are you dangerous?”

His lips parted and then snapped shut. Like he had gone to say yes, then thought the answer might get him killed. He looked around at the men who were now surrounding his table. Rye to his left, Jayden behind him, blocking his exit. Me to the right of the man across from him.

He was wise to think about his answer. “No,” he said slowly. “I don’t think I am.”

I hummed a confirmation, too low to be heard by anyone but Angelo. I stepped back from his chair, my movements measured.

“I don’t know you,” I told him, my voice calm. “I do know you don’t belong here, and yet here you are, asking questions of my guests.”

“I—” His hands flexed against his knees. “I was just?—”

“Leaving,” I finished for him.

But Angelo spoke at the same time. “Looking for something.”

The silence was the only confirmation I needed.Shit. I had a town official at the bar. I didn’t need this in here tonight.

“You been here before?” I asked him.

He shook his head.

My eyes flicked to Rye’s, and the unspoken question ofhow the fuck did he get inflashed between us.

“So you’re new here.” I saw Jayden tense, already looking over his shoulder at the security at the door. There would be more questions of them later. “I’ll explain this real quick,” I carried on. “You don’t ask questions in my club. You don’t ask my customers questions. You don’t come in here unless you’re invited. And you sure as shit don’t sit across from Angelo Rana and act like you have any leverage.”

The man was pale, but he was determined. Or stupid. “I wasn’t asking him anything he doesn’t know the answer to?—”

Definitely stupid.

My loud sigh as I shook my head, pinching the bridge of my nose as I watched him, cut him off. “Do you know what happens to the people who don’t follow the rules here?”

He stilled. His eyes darted around him to my companions.

“They leave,” I said quietly. “One way or another.”

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