| Creepy Looking Guy

𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐀

    Detective James looked surprised, like really, really surprised in a "what the fuck" kind of way. I couldn't say I blamed him. If he was really as clued in about us and them, the infamous Boston crime families, he knew exactly how screwed up and wrong it was for me to have any kind of history with one of the Morello brothers. 

    I scowled at him. "Don't you dare judge?" 

    "Not judging at all. You gotta do what you gotta do…or who you gotta do." He snorted, and I frowned at his attempt to crack a lame-ass joke. 

    "I need to get out of here." I was about to turn and head up the stairs when that voice stopped me dead in my tracks. 

    "Vanessa Bologna." 

    I winced at the painfully familiar tone, and I couldn't shake the chills it sent down my spine. I had no choice but to face him, and the moment I looked into his eyes was like a punch in the gut, leaving me without a damn breath. Every memory I'd tried to suppress for the last four years came flooding back, wreaking havoc through my insides like a hurricane. The dark eyes that once had the power to enthral me with a single glance now seemed hard and cruel, suited for the cold bastard I now knew he was. 

    Enzo smiled like an arrogant son of a bitch. "Vanessa, you look as lovely as ever." 

    If I weren't struggling to get a sufficient amount of air in my lungs, I would have spat in his face. 

    "Hello, Enzo." I straightened and squared my shoulders, trying to act as confident as possible, even though I felt like I'd rather become one with the floor beneath my feet. 

    "It's been what? Two, three years?" 

    "Four."  

    He acted surprised. "Has it been four years already? My, how time flies these days."  

    "It sure does." 

    Our eyes remained fixed on one another, and I could almost see the memories of that night playing inside his head. The filthy, dirty, sordid memories of what was supposed to be something beautiful, something I now knew I never should have shared with him. 

    Then his gaze slipped to James. "And who might you be?" 

    Oh, dear God, earth swallow me now. 

    James placed his hand at the small of my back and leaned forward, extending his hand toward Enzo for a handshake. "James Gunner."  

    Enzo glanced down at James' hand like it was infected with Ebola, then back up at his face. After about two seconds, James realized Enzo did not intend to shake his hand and pulled back. By now, I no longer had a spine, but rather a giant block of ice lodged in my back keeping me upright. I knew there was a chance Enzo would show up. What I didn't know was Detective Gunner and that smug grin permanently plastered on his face would show up at a damn nightclub, of all places. And I did not think I would be caught in the middle of the world's most awkward moment ever.

    "Is he with you?" Enzo nodded toward James. 

    James stepped forward, and I was sure Enzo would interpret that move as a challenge.  

    "Actually," James started, "he is right here, and he doesn't like being referred to in the third person when, in fact, he is right in the middle of the damn conversation."

    Enzo also took a step closer, putting his eye to eye with James, and the legion of idiots he arrived with formed a half moon behind him, ready to attack like a pack of wild dogs. Within a nanosecond, all the air got sucked out of the club, and I was holding my breath like I was waiting for the entire world to come to an end.  

    Dramatic? Maybe.  

    But I knew Enzo, and the way James straightened, not backing down, made me think the battle of the fucking Titans was about to commence. 

    Enzo lifted his chin as he glared at James. "If I had any desire to talk to you, Mr Gunner, I would. But I don't go around making conversation with Africans." 

    Fuck. 

    James slanted his head. "That's a damn shame because I'd love to converse with your Italian ass and toss in the words 'fuck' and 'you.'"

    The way James carved a glare on Enzo's face, and the way his jaw ticked with tension, I was about one hundred and thirteen per cent sure he was a second away from conversing with his fist against Enzo's jaw—which would be a bad thing. Bad. 

    "Do we have a problem here, gentlemen?" Antonio's voice broke the tension like a wrecking ball through a building as he stepped in next to me. I wasn't sure whether I was relieved or more anxious that Antonio had decided to join our little gathering of guaranteed carnage. 

    Neither James nor Enzo even attempted to respond. It was like they both had turned into giant concrete walls. Something told me that even though James was outnumbered by an entire gang of ruthless Italians, he would not back down. This may seem brave to some, but to me, it was just plain stupid…and suicidal. 

    "James." I took hold of his elbow, but he didn't move an inch. I placed my other hand on his arm and tried my best to urge him back. "Look, please."  

    At first, he didn't budge, but then he relaxed a little and took a tiny step back. 

    "Well, I never thought I'd see the day Detective Gunner backed away from confrontation."  

    Everyone turned simultaneously, and there stood this creepy-looking guy with a beer in his hand, a smug grin showing off a gold filling between his two front teeth.  

    Enzo's eyes widened as he looked at James. "Detective?" Then he looked at me with knowing eyes. I ignored it and tightened my grip on James' elbow. 

    "Fuck off, Rio." Antonio stepped forward. "Take your cheap-ass beer and move the fuck along, you low-life piece of shit." 

    Enzo didn't say a word, but I noticed him nodding slightly at this Rio guy before the weirdo disappeared into the crowd. 

    "Dating a detective now, hey, Vanessa?" Enzo sneered while he straightened the collar of his grey suit. 

    I was just about to correct him, to tell him James and I wasn't dating, when James loosened his elbow from my grip and placed it firmly around my waist, pulling me against his side. My breath hitched, and I almost stumbled over my own damn feet. 

    "What happens between me and Vanessa is absolutely in no fucking way any of your business, Morello." James tightened his hold around my waist. I tried my best to ignore the heat that flared where our bodies touched. It spread up to my chest, and I felt my neck and cheeks flush almost instantly.

    Well fuck! It seemed no matter I hard I tried, detective Gunner was going to somehow still affect me. I should be running away right now. But it seems my body had other plans. If I didn't find a way to escape this attraction soon, I and a lot of people will be in deep deep shit.