Page 55 of Dangerous Men (Fortune City Mafia #1)

SYDNEY

Perfect. The next day, the feeling continues, making everything look and feel brighter. Everything is perfect .

Thirty minutes after the best ice cream of my life, Ashton walked me home. I’d been nervous as we approached my door, not sure how to go about inviting him in, or asking him to stay the night…

Not even sure if I wanted him to stay the night. My run-in with Chase had left a sour taste in my mouth and a panicked flutter in my belly. I didn’t feel as adventurous, suddenly. Didn’t feel as comfortable coming on to him or having a man in my bed.

But at my door, Ashton had done nothing but give me a sweet, toe-curling kiss that tasted like chocolate before wishing me a good night and walking away. He didn’t push. He didn’t pressure me. He just… left. Like he sensed my hesitation without me saying anything, and understood.

It feels too good to be true. They feel too good to be true.

I woke up to a text from Alec the next morning. Not jealous or demanding answers about what happened on my date with Ashton—no, Alec simply asked when I was free next, so he could take me out again.

I can’t keep the smile off my face all day. I’m grinning like an idiot all day at work.

Even with the increase in customers, the usual post-lunch lull arrives, and the crowd begins to thin. I help Jade clean up, surprised at how empty the bakery case is—wiped clean by wave after wave of customers eager for her tasty treats—and then take a much-needed coffee break.

When I’m caffeinated and energized, I finally finish the restocking I started yesterday. A new Stephanie Kong thriller just came out, and I’m pleased I thought ahead and ordered extra copies of her earlier works. Every time she comes out with a new bestseller, her old work just flies off the shelf.

I feel happier than I have in years as I step out the side entrance of the building into the alley.

It’s a creepy, unsettling place, weirdly thin because the buildings on this block are built too close together, and even in the daylight, it’s always a little dark here, but it keeps the trash and recycling bins out of sight, so who am I to complain?

There’s someone out there leaning against the building next door, smoking, when I drag a pile of broken-down cardboard boxes outside. I don’t mind if people use the alley, so long as they aren’t bothering anyone, and this man certainly isn’t.

He’s a massive thing, though. Almost as big as Ashton, which is saying something. I nod politely to him as I pass, but he doesn’t return the gesture. He just watches me, tilting his head to the side like I’m a puzzle he’s trying to solve.

He’s not unattractive. In fact, he’s rather sexy, even with the scar above his eye and his short, buzzed hair. He looks wild. Feral .

But I don’t give him much thought as I open the recycling bin and toss my boxes inside.

After a few seconds, I’m not even thinking about him at all.

Not until he grabs me, shoving me hard against the brick wall of the alley, and puts a knife to my throat.