Alex DeMarco

ROMANY

What th fuck? Isn’t anyone going to answer?

Ping

Ruby-

Just come in bitch. It’s unlocked.

Oh. Fuck. Okay.

I lifted my hand up to the gleaming gold handle and turned. The moment I stepped past the door, the damn thing swung shut with an automatic grace and a definitive click. The black of the open hallway and the floor to ceiling macabre marble seemed to swallow every ounce of light in the space. Shuttering me in complete darkness.

“Hello?” I called out. I couldn’t see a damned thing. Nothing.

“Ro!” Ruby’s voice sounded on my left, down a short lonely hallway. I instinctively turned that direction, taking a small step and triggering the sensored track lighting along the floor.

Well, thank fuck.

Finally I could see the pitch black before me was actually a long marble lobby leading to another room on the other side of the wall.

Stomping in the direction of Ruby’s voice, I rounded the corner to find her lounging along a large half moon sofa. Black, just like the rest of this place. She was not alone.

The most gorgeous man I had ever had the joy of laying my eyes on sat draped in a separate corner of the room. His heavily muscled frame somewhat hidden behind a heavy mahogany desk. He wore the look of someone who is never kept waiting. Full lips in a half frown, he lifted his chin in my direction. His sparkling green eyes flared as they assessed me. Their emerald depths falling over my body in a slow perusal and his sharply chiseled jaw clenching in what I could only assume was disapproval. He was much younger than I pictured he might be. Especially for a so-called mob boss.

The soft arch of his carefully manicured brows seemed to twist upward in amusement as he shifted his gaze toward my beautiful cousin. As if to say, this is her? This is who I’ve been waiting for?

I glowered at him, turning my attention toward Ruby instead.

“Hello, cousin,” Ruby said. “Long time no see.”

“Hey,” I choked out, noting the narrowing of DeMarco’s gaze at the sound of my voice.

Ruby’s bright turquoise eyes were outlined in silver and charcoal eyeliner and despite that I hadn’t actually seen her in a year, she looked exactly the same. Gorgeous and deadly. Her short cap of bright red hair cradled her deceptively doll-like face, shimmering with every little toss of her head, making her look like a model. Or… a mafia princess.

Ruby leapt from the couch to gather me in a tight welcoming hug and led me further into the room until we were stopped in front of DeMarco’s desk.

“I’ve b-been here for an hour,” I said softly, stuttering as my anxiety rode in on a four horse carriage. I have never been this close to anything mafia in all my life. Unless you count Ruby, which I don’t.

“I know,” Ruby tsked, tearing her eyes away from mine to glare at her employer. “Somebody needed a little more convincing.”

I swallowed thickly, the embarrassment of the situation giving rise to a blush. Convincing? Really? I’m not a damn beggar! I glared at the someone in question, ignoring the sneer of his lips as he continued to scowl at me.

I turned back to my cousin. “Oh, well… I already told you I’m not comfortable becoming a dancer.”

“A dancer?” DeMarco snorted, catching my attention as he rose from behind the desk to stand. Jesus, he’s tall. Six feet easy. “Wrap this up, Ruby, I need to be on my way.”

My breath caught. His voice was so smooth and rich that it singed my ears. I felt them turning pink even as I stood rooted in place gawking at the shift of his muscles behind his expensive Armani suit. The curves of his biceps seemed to be fighting his sleeves as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at me.

“Right,” Ruby agreed, turning to face me yet again. Her electric blue gaze twinkled with mischief. “You’re not being hired as a dancer, Ro. I've gotten you a job as a live-in maid instead.”

“Live-in?!” I squeaked, unable to disguise my relief. “Thank God! Perfect! That will solve so many problems for me! I knew I could count on you! I just knew you wouldn’t let me down! You know how scared I am of these places. You know how I like my life quiet and unexciting. How did you manage it? Who am I going to be working for? Where do I sign?” I grinned.

I should have paid attention to the way her lips pursed and worry jutted across her brow as I spoke. Should have heeded the warning bells that went off in my head when she clamped her eyes shut guiltily, but I didn’t. I was too thrilled that I wasn’t going to have to get naked for money. Too happy that I was being handed a place to live. I didn’t put it all together until the room became as silent as a tomb and DeMarco cleared his throat in annoyance.

“Romany, let me introduce you to Alexander DeMarco. Your new employer. You’ll be living with him, as his maid. And you’re heading there with him… right now.”

I blanched. I mean - I’m sure my normally golden tanned skin went stark white. My stomach hit the floor like a ton of bricks and I was suddenly reminded of all the news stories I’d never taken the time to actually watch. All the reports of people being found dead and DeMarco’s name being attached to their demise. All of the speculation and the suspicion and the glamorization that went along with the man that is known to be Alexander DeMarco.

The man who was at that very moment, staring at me with a cold calculation in his eyes. As if he was daring me to refuse.

I should never have agreed to show up in his club, but I did. And now… all I could think to say was, “What?”