Page 2 of The Mafia's Second Shot

I stare at him, my heart pounding with a mix of fear, fury, and something I can’t name. “I didn’t ask for your help.”

“No, you didn’t,” he says, his voice steady. “But you needed it.”

The words cut deeper than they should. I’m furious—at the attackers, at the fear still coursing through my veins, but mostly at him. He has no right to show up out of nowhere, saving me like some dark knight. Not after everything.

“What are you doing here?” I demand, my voice rising. “How did you even?—”

“You’re in danger, Zoey,” he interrupts, his tone grave. “Because of me.”

His words hit like a physical blow, stealing the air from my lungs. I take a step back, trying to process what he just said. “What are you talking about?”

He shakes his head. “Not here. Not now.”

“Don’t you dare?—”

“Just... be careful,” he says, cutting me off. “Stay alert.”

Before I can say another word, he’s gone, disappearing into the night as suddenly as he arrived.

I’m left standing in the empty street, the echoes of his warning ringing in my ears. My hands tremble as I clutch my phone to my chest, and the weight of his words settles heavily over me.

Danger. Because of him.

I don’t know what Cooper’s gotten himself into—or why it’s dragged me back into his orbit—but one thing is clear: my life just got a whole lot more complicated.

2

COOPER

The whiskey burns as it slides down my throat, but it doesn’t do a damn thing to quiet the storm in my head. The glass feels heavy in my hand, heavier than it should, as I sit in my office, staring at the city lights that stretch out endlessly beyond the floor-to-ceiling window.

Zoey.

Her name lingers in my mind, cutting through the haze of alcohol and regret. I can still see her wide, furious eyes staring up at me in the dim light of that alley, the disbelief etched into her face when she realized it was me. That moment—her voice saying my name like it was a curse and a plea at the same time—has been playing on a loop ever since I walked away.

I never should have walked away.

“Boss,” a voice interrupts, pulling me back to the present. Marco, my most trusted lieutenant, stands just inside the doorway, his face as hard and unreadable as ever. “You’ve been quiet.”

“I’m thinking,” I say flatly, setting the glass down on the desk. The sound of it meeting the wood is sharper than I expect, like a gunshot in the silence.

“You’re brooding,” Marco counters, stepping closer. “What happened tonight?”

I glance at him, debating whether to tell him. Marco knows better than most how Zoey fits into my life—or how she used to, at least. He was there when I made the worst decision of my life, the one that drove her away for good. But he’s also the one who warned me it would come back to haunt me someday.

And here we are.

“Zoey,” I say finally. Her name tastes like ash in my mouth. “She’s been pulled into this mess.”

Marco’s brow furrows, and he leans against the edge of the desk, crossing his arms. “How?”

“She was followed tonight. Two of Rosetti’s men,” I explain. The words sound colder than they feel, like I’m trying to convince myself this is just another business problem, not the woman who ripped my heart out when she left.

“Rosetti,” Marco repeats, his tone darkening. “You think they know about?—?”

“No.” I cut him off. “They don’t. But they think she does.”

The silence that follows is thick, suffocating. Marco doesn’t need me to elaborate. He knows exactly what they think Zoey might know, and how far they’ll go to get answers. The deal I brokered years ago to take down Rosetti’s empire was messy, dangerous, and left bodies in its wake. Zoey was never part of it—at least, notintentionally. But now? Now she’s a loose end they think they can use to get to me.

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