Page 49 of Dangerous Command
“We aren’t the only people who hate for Muro,” he said. “It’s nothisclub. It’s a club for wealthy criminals. I am, indeed, a wealthy criminal.” I cracked a disapproving smirk, crossing my arms, and he tilted his head. “What? You’ve always known that.”
And if I hadn’t been drowning in thoughts of spending weekends with Mack once again, I would never have taken the job working for his family.
But secretly, I was glad I had taken the job. More than I cared to admit.
“Go as my servant,” he said.
“Excuse me?”
“My mother can’t handle it. And Axe, nor Wil, are going to let me take their wives.” He shrugged. “I don’t trust many people.”
But that meant he trusted me. Why did that make me feel good?
“I can’t keep leaving Mack,” I said.
“You won’t have to leave him.”
“I can’t exactly take him into the cigar club.”
“But you can let me protect him.”
I wrinkled my brow. “Are you asking if I’m willing to put his safety and well-being in your hands?”
“He won’t get hurt.”
“But I would be exposing him to that life, Derek.”
He stared into me, not seeing the gravity of what he was asking. “He’s already been exposed, hasn’t he?” he asked. Did he mean himself, or Mack’s father, my stepdad? I wasn’t sure. Derek grabbed my hands. “I want to protect you and Mack. So let me.”
I wanted to believe him, and a part of me did. It felt good to have that kind of trust in someone, and yet it was still hard to let go.
“Okay,” I said quietly. “But only for tonight.”
“Fine.”
I held onto the belief that once this was all over, Mack and I could go back to our lives. I was no longer sure if that meant with Derek or without him.
Derek stayed to meet some of his men at the warehouse, and after I convinced Derek that I would be okay by myself for a few hours, I took a rideshare back to my apartment. We had plans to go to the Byron Estate Club later that night, which meant I had to make sure Lucy was okay with watching Mack overnight and put together an outfit. What did someone wear to a cigar club as a servant, anyway?
The door was open. Comic books and toys were scattered on the floor, the picture frames ripped from the walls, the only frame of Mack and me broken, the photograph torn down the middle. My heart jumped into my throat.
My stepdad.
A gloved hand pressed into my mouth, another around my throat. The door slammed shut behind us, locking us in. I cried out, but he tightened his grip on me, and I shrank down, his cologne suffocating me.
“So you’ve been keeping him away from me?” his raspy voice asked. I kicked my legs back, twisting my whole body, but he squeezed me tighter and laughed. I bit into his fingers, but the gloves made it impossible to do any damage. “Nice try.”
The barrel of a gun pressed into my temple, and he kicked me forward. My heart rate spiked, blood pressure pounding in my ears. Was this it?
Why hadn’t I asked Derek to protect me right now?
My stepdad positioned me in front of the full-length mirror, the gun still angled at my head. With his other hand, he groped my breast. I looked away.
“Here’s what’s going to happen, Maddie,” he cooed in my ear. “You’re going to give me Derek Adler. You’re going to work overtime, and give me his brothers too. Or I will kill your son.”
His dark eyes stared back at my reflection.
“You understand what I said, don’t you?” he asked.
