I TOLD THE MAFIA BOSS I CLEANED FOR THAT I HAD A DATE
PART 2
I thought he was bluffing until he said the café name without looking at me.
Then he lifted his glass, barely touched it to his mouth, and told me exactly where I had been sitting.
By the window.
Left side.
Closest to the street.
My pulse turned violent.
Because that was not jealousy anymore.
That was proof.
“There was no man,” he said.
Not loud.
Not angry.
Just certain.
I should have denied it again.
I should have protected the lie a little longer.
But the worst part was not that he knew.
The worst part was how tired he sounded when he said it, like the truth had hurt him long before it reached my mouth.
So I asked the only question I could still hold onto.
“How much do you know?”
His jaw locked.
And for one second, I saw something I had never seen on his face before.
Fear.
Not fear of being caught.
Not fear of losing control.
Fear of saying too much.
That was when I realized this was bigger than my stupid fake date.
Much bigger.
Because men like Declan Sullivan do not watch women from across the street just to protect their pride.
They do it when something is already moving in the dark.
He stepped closer and lowered his voice.
“I know you lied.”
Another step.
“I know no one met you.”
Another.
“And I know if you had stayed out ten minutes longer, I would have had to make a choice neither of us would be able to undo.”
That line hit harder than anything else.
Because he didn’t sound possessive.
He sounded cornered.
Like there was something he had been hiding from me, and tonight had almost forced it into the light.
I should have walked away.
Instead, I asked the one question that made his whole expression change.
“What choice?”
He looked straight at me.
May you like
Then his eyes dropped to my mouth.
And that was the moment I understood the lie was over, but the real danger had only just begun.
