Ethan walks into Lusive with me. He grabs my hand before we walk further into the club. "I want to apologise for not being the one to walk you out the other night."

Looking at him, I say. "It's fine. Your brother walked me out and told me that an emergency came up. Is everything okay now?"

"Yeah, my sister got sick, and Mom couldn't take her to the hospital as she had too much to drink that night. I had to help out and rush her to the hospital as the fever had never decreased over the two hours. Mom did everything she could to reduce it."

"That's not good at all. I know how it feels to someone you love to get sick, and you're the one who needs to drop everything for family."

A guy walks through the door of the club and crashes into me. He grabs me around the waist before I can fall. "I'm so sorry, beautiful."

Looking into his eyes reminds me of Jai. "That's alright. Next time, be careful when you walk through here. You don't want to hurt the person pouring your drinks seriously."

A smile spreads across his face. "So, you're the girl my friends recommended me to get served by when I came to Lusive. I heard they gave you huge tips the other night."

Great! I know he belongs to the rowdy group from the other night. They did give me good tips, though.

Looking at the arm still holding me. "You can let go of me now."

He drops his arm to his side. "I'll see you later, beautiful." He winks at me and heads towards the bar, where I see Keith serving customers with Max.

Ethan walks me the rest of the way to the bar. "I'll see you later." He walks back through the club and returns to the front door to stand guard.

Max walks over to me. "Hey, Chloe. I need to step out for half an hour during the night. I'll need you to ensure everything is running smoothly during that time if anything happens to find Ethan and Alex. They will help you out." He walks to the office behind the bar and closes the door.

I start serving some of the patrons sitting at the bar. Most of them order beer tonight. I hear my phone go off and pull it out of my pocket. I see a message from Jai.

Jai: How do I keep women happy on a long drive?

Me: Lots of chocolate and pit stops. They're going to want to use a restroom and not the bush.

Jai: It will take me forever to get to Miami, then.

Poor Jai. I hope he can make it to Miami, wherever he goes, in one piece.

Me: Lol :P

Jai: :-( You're being mean.

Me: I better get back to work. My boss would hate to know that I'm slacking.

Jai: No, he wouldn't. He would be happy with the amount of work you're doing.

The office door opens, and I watch Max walk out with something in his hands. He moves his arms, blocking my view of whatever he's carrying.

Turning back to my phone, I continue to text Jai.

Me: Good luck with the girls. Let me know when you arrive in Miami.

Jai: I will. If I need you to rescue me, would you?

Me: It depends.

After putting my phone back in my pocket, I serve customers who have empty glasses in front of them.

A group of men wearing Italian suits walk into the bar. They carry guns in their holsters and walk through the crowd like they own the place.

The crowd moves aside for them.

Keith's face pales as he looks at the men. "Shit! It isn't good if they're here."

Who is he talking about?

Keith looks at me. "I'll be right back. I'm going to get Max." he hurries to the office and opens the door.

Max isn't in the office anymore.

The guy tells a group of people at the bar to move, and they move away for the group. He looks at me. "I'll have a beer. Give one to my men as well."

"Yes, sir." I pour him a beer and then move on to the ones for his men. I place the drinks in front of them.

He takes it from me and drinks. "This is great stuff. Only Jai knows the kind of beer to sell in his clubs. Where is he? I would like to see an old friend."

"He's not here."

The guy frowns. "It's not like Jai to up and leave." He looks around the bar. "Where's Max?"

"He stepped out for a moment. He'll be right back."

The guy takes another drink. "I see you're not afraid of me, but I did see that guy you're working with run into the office like a big baby."

Looking at him, I say, "I don't know you. So, I'm not going to run and hide when it comes to patrons wanting something to drink. You came here for a drink, and that's what you get. If you had called ahead, you would've known Jai wasn't here."

He holds his hand out to me. "I'm Knox Moretti."

I placed my hand in his. "Chloe Knight, if you're supposed to be the big bad wolf of Los Angeles, I think they should advertise it in the papers. Because I have no clue who you are. I've been living in New York for ten years."

Knox laughs. "Did you hear about the Italian Mafia Family while you were in New York?"

Shaking my head. "New York is a big city, and I ignored things as I had school and work. That's all I did in New York."

"You didn't have time for fun?"

"I had time for fun. I just wanted to stay home with a good book and try to make enough money to live better, but New York is expensive." I look over at Alex, and he walks over to me.

My phone lights up with a message from Jai.

Jai: The chocolates are working, but the music is terrible. How can I enjoy driving with all the stupid pop music in my car?

Me: They're catchy songs. Just sing-a-long with them. It will make them happy.

Jai: Thanks.

Me: Some guy is looking for you.

Jai: Who?

Me: Knox Moretti. He came by for a drink and asked for you.

Jai: Is he still there?

Me: Yes,

Jai: I'll get rid of him. I never wanted you to meet him this way. He should have known better than to attend my club without telling me.

Me: He's not bothering anyone.

Jai: I don't care. He knows the rules about not visiting my workplace without talking to me first. Are they carrying their weapons?

Me: Yes,

Jai: Be safe.

What does he mean by being safe? I'm not in any danger here.

Max walks behind the bar, about to slip into the office, and then I hear Knox instruct his men to go outside.

Alex stands beside me. "You don't want to be part of this. Max has been playing with fire for a while now, and it's about time someone took care of the guy. I'm not looking forward to when Jai catches up with him."

Ethan walks into the club and yells. "Everyone, the club's closing now." He leads everyone to the door.

Knox puts his phone up to his ear. He looks at me as he answers it. He nods as he heads down the hall that leads to the alley behind the club.

Alex grabs my arm. "You should leave too. I don't think you'd like to see what those guys can do if you're on their bad side."

My phone lights up with a message.

Opening the message, I see that it's another one from Jai.

Jai: You should go home now. Message me when you get there, Chloe. I want to make sure you made it home safely.

Me: Okay, I'll talk to you later.

I grab my bag from under the counter and follow Alex out the front door. When I reach the door, Ethan tells his brother to return inside.

Ethan looks at me. "I heard you met the mafia boss Knox Moretti?"

"Yeah, I did. I didn't know Knox was part of the mafia, but he looked surprised when I didn't run to the office like Keith did."

Ethan stops me by turning towards me and blocking the path. "You were left alone with him? Where was Max? How long did it take my brother to get to you? I'll kill Alex for letting Knox get close to you." His face starts to turn red, and he clenches his fist.

Placing my hand on his arm. "I'm fine, Ethan. Knox didn't hurt me; besides, he had a reason to come here, and it looks like the reason is Max. As for Max, he was hiding in the alley. I don't know what Max was doing out there. Alex, he got to me as soon as he saw them. You know how busy the club can be, and he can't keep his eyes on me all night." I start walking to my car and climb inside. I place my bag on the passenger seat and pull away from the club.