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He glanced behind me and straightened. “Good. I’ve got to make my rounds.”
He put his hand on my upper arm, a completely innocent gesture, as he began to step past me, but it was like he tripped a sensor.
A dozen men were suddenly holding guns aimed directly at us.
I froze while Ama turned her head, taking in the scene. “What the––”
Two doors leading to a kitchen or backroom swung open, and twenty or so men flooded in, guns raised.
Oh, shit.
I knew there would be a reaction to him touching me. I’d kept my distance for just that reason, but anyone watching clearly would have seen it was an innocent gesture.
A standoff between two rival groups? Yeah, not what I had on my bingo card for the evening.
The music stopped, and the small crowd turned, taking in the scene. A few more men pulled out their guns, while the women backed away.
I glanced back to Derek. He was still, his gun in hand but hidden behind his leg. How close were the others?
Did they have eyes on what was going on?
Would they step in?
I had to assume we were on our own. I would try to defuse the situation, but if I couldn’t, I needed to get myself and Ama out of here as quickly and safely as possible.
“What the fuck is going on?” Michael roared, looking behind me.
“I warned you not to touch what’s mine,” Alessio said in a voice I hadn’t heard before. It was deep, low, and threatening. This was his boss tone. If we weren’t in a potentially life-or-death situation, it might have been sexy rather than terrifying.
Shit! Why was he pushing the man who was in control? We were on his turf, with his men surrounding us, outnumbering Alessio’s two to one, and those were just the ones I could see.
Michael glanced around eerily calm but not giving an order for his men to lower their guns, unfortunately. “I did you a favor. I gave you a deal. Hundred grand and a sliver of territory for this night.”
A few of Alessio’s men huffed and groaned.
“I invited you into my world,” Michael said, “and this is how you think you can treat me?”
I glanced back to Alessio. “He was just wishing me a happy birthday.”
He didn’t look at me. It was like I hadn’t spoken at all. “With one condition. You and your men stay away.”
Michael lifted a brow and slowly grinned, revealing a row of gold teeth. “You insecure little pussy.”
“Oh, fuck no!” One of Alessio’s men cocked his gun to my right.
“He can’t talk to you like that, boss,” another added.
I shifted my weight to my right foot, gradually blocking Ama. Her hand found mine and squeezed. She was aware of my movements.
“No, he can’t.” Alessio stepped forward, not yet in Michael’s face but close.
With the men focused on the two idiots facing off, I slowly stepped backward and felt Ama moving with me. I wasn’t armed, and I doubted she was. If things turned, and I had a strong feeling they were about to, we had no option but to run.
We hadn’t made it that far into the club yet. A shame as much as it was a blessing. The exit was behind us to the left, next to Derek. We’d have to turn in about four yards. He would cover us.
“Don’t be an idiot.” Michael scoffed. “Take your trash and get out.”
I cringed. Throwing insults wasn’t the smartest thing to do in a heated moment. Hopefully, Alessio would listen and leave, but I wasn’t betting on that.
