Chapter 1 - THE WORD THAT MADE THE MAFIA KING SMILE"Slower."
Roman Gallagher's voice was barely above a whisper, but every man at Booth Four heard it.
I stood frozen, my fingers still curled around the edge of his table.
For a moment, I wondered whether exhaustion had finally made me hallucinate.
"Excuse me?"
Roman leaned forward.
"You heard me."
One of his bodyguards, a broad-shouldered man with a scar across his eyebrow, shifted uncomfortably.
"Boss, she's just a waitress."
Roman didn't look at him.
"I know exactly what she is, Vincent."
His gray eyes returned to mine.
"What's your name?"
"Claire."
"Claire what?"
"Claire Bennett."
Something changed in his expression.
It happened so quickly I almost missed it.
His smile disappeared.
"Bennett?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
Roman stared at me for another second.
Then he closed the leather-bound ledger.
"How old are you, Claire?"
"Twenty-six."
"Where are you from?"
"Brooklyn."
He sat back.
For a man who supposedly controlled half of New York's underground businesses, he suddenly looked strangely distracted.
I glanced toward the bar.
"Mr. Gallagher, I'm sorry about what I said. I've been working nine hours, and my boyfriend keeps texting me. I didn't mean anything by it."
"Your boyfriend?"
His voice had gone cold.
"David," I answered.
Roman's eyes flickered toward my apron pocket as my phone buzzed again.
"Does David always interrupt your work?"
I laughed nervously.
"Only when he needs something."
Roman studied me.
"That wasn't an answer."
I straightened.
"With respect, sir, my relationship isn't your business."
Vincent inhaled sharply.
Another guard muttered something under his breath.
Roman stared at me.
Then he laughed.
Not loudly.
Just a short, surprised laugh, as though I'd done something nobody had dared attempt in years.
"Fair enough."
He reached for his bourbon.
"Go finish your shift, Claire Bennett."
Relief flooded through me.
"Thank you."
I turned away.
"One more thing."
I stopped.
Roman held up a folded hundred-dollar bill.
"For the drink."
"The drink's forty-eight dollars."
"Keep the rest."
"I can't."
His eyebrow lifted.
"Why?"
"Because I accidentally called you baby. I don't want you thinking I'm charging extra for that."
For the second time, Roman Gallagher laughed.
His men looked genuinely frightened.
I walked away before I could embarrass myself again.
At the bar, my coworker Jenna grabbed my arm.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"I made a mistake."
"Roman Gallagher doesn't laugh at mistakes!"
I glanced toward Booth Four.
Roman was no longer smiling.
He was staring at something Vincent had placed on the table.
A photograph.
Then Roman looked toward me.
Not at my face.
At the small silver necklace resting against my collarbone.
The necklace my mother had given me before she died.
Roman stood so abruptly that his chair scraped against the floor.
May you like
And I heard him say something that made my blood run cold.
"Vincent, find out whether her mother was named Evelyn Bennett."
