An Offer You Can't Refuse, Sal Bianchi [free ebook reader .TXT] 📗

his childhood, or really about anything that had happened when he was still with the mafia, but he’d told me enough that I knew it had been rough for him. He and his older brother had spent some time in foster care after their mother died until their father finally got his way and got custody of them again. As a mob boss, his father had incredible reach and influence, so it was inevitable that they’d fall back into his clutches, eventually.

“Hey, those girls at the end of the bar are pretty cute,” I whispered to him in an effort to change the subject. I wasn’t actually in the mood to hook up with anyone right now, but I figured chatting with some pretty girls would be better for him than whatever was going on in his head.

He lifted his gaze toward the end of the bar where a group of three women were speaking together, laughing at something one of the three had said. One of the women looked up at us just as Nick looked over. She had striking green eyes and bleached platinum blonde hair pulled up into a half ponytail, and she smiled at Nick before looking away bashfully.

“Yeah, let’s go talk to them,” Nick replied. He already sounded less sullen, and I almost snorted at how easy it was to lift his spirits.

I could see the trio of girls whispering and giggling as we approached them.

“Hi.” Nick smiled charmingly at the blonde woman he’d made eye contact with just a moment ago. “I’m Nick, and this is Jase. Could we buy you ladies some drinks?”

“I think you can,” the woman hummed after making a show of thinking about it for a moment. Nick ordered a round of drinks for the five of us before he started murmuring something to the woman.

“Excuse me,” one of the other girls caught my attention. I blinked at her in confusion before regaining my composure. I’d been so focused on cheering my buddy up, I’d kind of forgotten about the two other girls. “Do you mind if I ask where you’re from?”

She had short, curly hair that fluffed out around her face, and a full sleeve of tattoos down one arm.

“Mandy, that’s rude,” the other woman elbowed her friend gently.

“No, it’s okay,” I smiled. I’d grown up in the United States since I was a baby, so I didn’t have an accent or anything, but it was a question I was used to hearing, anyway. “My parents moved here from Korea.”

“Wow, that’s cool.” The girl grinned. “Your friend said your name was Jase, right? I’m Mandy, and this is Kat.”

“Nice to meet you,” the third girl said as she leaned forward to shake my hand. She had long, straight brown hair and blue eyes. She hadn’t dressed as provocatively as her two friends, but in my opinion, she was still the prettiest of the three.

“Nice to meet you guys too.” I nodded. “And it’s Jae-Sung, actually, but Jase is usually easier for people to say.”

“That’s so pretty,” Mandy cooed. I grinned back at her. I wasn’t sure if I should be pleased about it, but women really seemed to become more interested in me the more ‘exotic’ I seemed.

“So what do you do?” Mandy asked.

“I’m a federal agent,” I replied. The SDCT wasn’t exactly a secret organization, per se, but considering the types of cases we took on, it was better to keep answers about my job vague to avoid any sensitive information accidentally getting out.

“Seriously?” Mandy gasped. “That’s so cool. Is your friend a federal agent too?”

“No,” I replied. “He’s actually a--”

“He’s a damn traitor is what he is,” a harsh voice cut through our conversation. I was immediately on edge, and my hand twitched as I instinctively reached for my gun. I turned around and found myself face to face with a broad-shouldered man several inches taller than me. His face was red, and he was swaying slightly, and I knew immediately that he was drunk.

“Ah, Domenico,” Nick sighed as he moved to stand beside me and in front of the girls. “What an unpleasant surprise. What are you doing here? It’s rare to see you anywhere aside from the Taverna.”

The man, Domenico, scowled and puffed out his chest in a show of dominance before responding.

“I heard a rumor you’d started hanging around this dump,” he jeered as he took a disparaging look around the small bar. “I wanted a chance to continue our discussion, since you hid behind Colletta this morning like a coward.”

It was clear that he was trying to provoke Nick into reacting, but Nick just stared back at Domenico with a look of contempt.

“Go home, Domenico,” he advised in a bored tone. “Allessandro will be angry if you show up to work late because you’re hungover again.”

“Don’t you dare bring up the boss,” he snarled as he advanced aggressively toward Nick. I moved on instinct to defend my partner, and this time my hand did land on my holster. I didn’t want to draw my gun unless I absolutely had to. There were too many civilians in the bar, and shooting a mobster wasn’t going to make life any easier for Nick or me, but I wasn’t about to stand by and let him hurt my friend, either.

“You must be kidding me,” Domenico spat. “To think I’d see the day when a federal agent would step up to protect a mafioso. You’ve got a pretty well-trained dog there.”

His comment didn’t affect me. I’d heard much worse, and I wasn’t thin-skinned enough to let some weak taunt from a mafia member upset me. Nick, on the other hand, was just drunk enough to lose control of his inhibitions.

“What did you just say?” he snapped angrily.

Domenico smirked when he saw that he’d finally gotten the reaction he wanted, and I gritted my teeth in frustration.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re out drinking with a fed,” he sneered. “But even I thought you’d be able