Page 37 of Dangerous Men (Fortune City Mafia #1)

SYDNEY

Another day, another good morning text from Alec. Followed an hour later by one from Ashton.

And another day of feeling Sebastian’s eyes on me while I work, watching me from the table he occupies each and every day.

At least there’s a semblance of comfort in the routine of it all. The days have a familiar cadence, and I’m lost in the rhythm of it, setting out some of our newest shop merchandise near the front of the store, when the door chimes and a familiar older woman in a bright floral blouse enters.

“Hello, deary,” she calls to me.

“Mrs. Cohen!” I greet the older woman with a smile. “What a pleasant surprise! Can I get you anything? I’m sure Jade has some of those little chocolate cookies you like so much.”

I wave a hand toward the pastry case, but Dorothy just shakes her head.

“No, no, dear, I’m fine.” She sighs and straightens her spine, drawing her shoulders back. “I’m afraid I’m not here with good news.”

My chest tightens.

“Your son?” I ask, already fearing the worst. Dorothy’s son went through chemotherapy a few years ago, beating back an aggressive form of cancer. He was lucky to survive it, and it’s been a constant worry of hers that one day it will come back.

Dorothy’s smile is a sweet relief.

“Oh no, he’s fine. Better than fine, actually. They’re adopting a baby!”

I clap my hands excitedly. “That’s wonderful!”

So… where is the bad news?

“They want me to move out there, to help them,” Dorothy says, lips folding into a frown. And I know. Before she even says it, I know why she’s here, and my heart sinks like a stone. “I need to sell the property, dear. It’s time.”

I struggle to keep the smile on my face, but somehow manage it. I’ve spent a lot of time practicing, after all.

“I understand,” I tell her, clasping my hands together in front of me to stop them from shaking. And I do understand, of course I do. Dorothy should be able to go live with her family, finally retire, and enjoy some money from everything she’s built.

But at the same time, my mind is racing, my chest tight with dread.

One of the only reasons we’ve stayed in business is because of Mrs. Cohen. Sure, the rent for this place is only a little below the market rate, but if she sells?

A different business could make much, much higher profit in this location, I’m sure of it. And a more profitable business could pay a higher rent. Any new owner would be crazy not to take advantage of that. Would be crazy to extend our lease when they could charge so much more .

I’m suddenly sick with dread.

Whoever buys this building is sure to hike up the rent higher than we can reasonably afford to pay. And since my apartment upstairs is included in the rent, that would mean having to move into a new home as well. With things going the way they are, Jade and I are barely making a profit as it is…

Dorothy must see the worries written on my face, because she reaches out, taking my hand and giving it a comforting squeeze.

“I will do my best to sell to someone who cares about this property,” she assures me. She stares into my eyes, sincerity etched in every line on her face. “Someone who wants to keep you as a tenant.”

I shake my head, forcing myself to smile.

“You will do no such thing,” I tell her, firmly. “You will sell to the highest bidder, no matter what, because you deserve that money, Mrs. Cohen. Your family deserves that money.”

She shakes her head in protest, though, and I let myself cling to that tiny hope that she will find that perfect buyer. Someone who actually cares.

Because that small hope is all I have left to cling to.

Our conversation weighs on me for the rest of the afternoon.

The worries and anxieties pile up in my mind until it’s all I can think about.

I know I should start researching other buildings we could move the business to, if it comes to that.

Hell, I should start looking for apartments.

Jade wouldn’t hesitate to let me crash with her, but that’s a temporary solution, at best.

I try to focus on my restocking, perched on the top rung of the step of the ladder I use to stock the higher shelves, but my head is full of static. Overwhelmed. All I want is to curl up on my couch and forget the world exists, if only for a few hours.

Which is probably why the universe decides to throw another hurdle my way.

“Hey, babe,” a familiar voice says from behind me, smooth and casual. “Miss me?”

The voice alone sends a chill down my spine. I go still, frozen on the stepladder, my arm outstretched. I don’t need to turn around to know who it is. My hand trembles as I finish placing one last book on the shelf.

Maybe a week ago, a small part of me was missing him. But not anymore. Now, just hearing his voice makes my stomach curdle.

“No, Chase,” I say, anxiety settling into my throat and coloring my words. “I don’t miss you.”

He’s too close when I glance down, so close that I’m forced to brush against his chest as I step down from the ladder.

It hits me, then, how far back we are in the store. This is the farthest section from the entrance, and there’s no one else around. No one to step in if things get bad.

Knowing that makes my palms start to sweat.

I don’t want to talk to him. I don’t even want to look at him. But when I try to step around him to leave, Chase grabs my arm, pulling me back toward him.

“Come on, don’t be like that,” he chides, his voice dripping with feigned sweetness. “Jesus, Sydney, I just want to talk.”

I manage to yank my arm out of his grip, but when I take a step back to distance myself from him, I find the wall of books at my back. Trapped.

It hurts where he grabbed me. I rub my arm, trying to shake off the ache, but my voice remains steady. “We don’t have anything left to talk about.”

I remember, belatedly, our conversation at the charity banquet and how he’d wanted to return some of my things. I’d never contacted him to collect them. I’d never even bothered unblocking him from my phone.

Since that night with Alec and Ash, I haven’t thought about him at all.

“If this is about my stuff, you can have the rest of my things shipped to my apartment,” I say. “Or throw it all away for all I care. I haven’t missed any of it since I left. I doubt I’ll even notice it’s gone.”

I’m surprised at how easily I say it. I spent so many years submitting to his every whim that I forgot how to stand up for myself. I forgot I can speak up for more than just Jade’s sake. But I remember now.

I finally remember what it’s like to stand up for myself.

I can’t help but feel like Alec and Ash have something to do with this. They make me feel like I’m enough. Like I don’t have to play pretend all the time. God, even Sebastian seems to like me more when I stand up for myself.

Chase isn’t as taken aback by my attitude as I expect him to be, though he does narrow his eyes, considering me.

“That’s not what I want to talk about,” he says, frustration simmering beneath his tone. He rakes a hand through his hair. “Could you just listen to me? Please?”

The pleading catches me off guard. And, as quickly as it came, my confidence waivers. Just like that, I revert right back to the people-pleasing version of myself.

Maybe it’s okay that he’s here. He doesn’t seem angry. Doesn’t seem like he’s in one of his moods. Maybe I can just hear him out. Maybe if I just listen to him, he’ll leave without a fuss.

My curiosity is piqued, and like always when he’s in one of his sweeter moods, I find myself relaxing, just a bit.

“Fine. What is it, Chase?” I ask tentatively .

“Come on, you never call me by my name. Why don’t you call me ‘babe,’ like you used to?” He smiles, the kind smile I remember, the one that used to make my heart flutter. The sweet smile I used to love. “You know I like it better when you call me babe.”

“ Chase, we broke up,” I remind him. I rub my arm again, absently. “Please, just tell me what you want to say and go before Jade sees you and has a meltdown.”

Just like that, his mood shifts, and his smile shifts to a scowl. “That girl always had her issues with me,” he says. “It’s not my fault she never liked me, you know. That’s on her . It’s not my fault she’s always been a bitch.”

I know the drill. I’ve heard this argument too many times. How Jade had never given him a chance. How a real friend wouldn’t be so critical of my boyfriends. And even if she had given him a fair shot—even if she’d loved and adored him—how Jade wasn’t someone I should spend time with, anyway.

Jade was a bad influence, according to Chase. According to Katie and Sarah, too, he’d told me.

I’ve heard it all before, for years. But I never really appreciated what utter bullshit it was until this moment.

Because, yeah, maybe Jade never gave him a real chance, never really warmed to him, but she was right about him in the end, wasn’t she? He was every bit as bad as she thought he was.

Worse, even.

She’d kill you if she knew , I think. She’d never let you live another day if she had any idea how awful you really were to me .

“You’re frowning,” Chase admonishes me. “Don’t frown, babe. You’re so much prettier when you smile.”

I ignore that. “Chase, I?—”

“Look, it’s over between Caroline and me. We’re over.” He reaches out to straighten the strap of my dress, and his fingers linger a beat too long on my shoulder. I have to fight the urge to flinch away from him.

“What do you mean you’re over? What are you talking about?”

“I broke up with her,” Chase says, all too casually.

“It’s you, okay? You’re the love of my life, babe.

My favorite person. I just needed time to…

figure myself out.” He says it all with absolute sincerity and a self-deprecating little shrug.

“But deep down, I always knew it was going to be you. It was always going to be us .”

He shifts closer to me, eyes locked on my lips, and this time I do flinch away. He doesn’t seem to notice.