Read Mob Rules for Free Online

himself.”
    I guess that would have been too easy. “Okay. Thanks, Adan, this is really helpful.”
    â€œWhy are you asking? Is Jamal in some kind of trouble?”
    I decided not to tell him, at least not yet. If his father wanted him to know about outfit business, he could tell Adan himself. He’d eventually hear about it anyway. I changed the subject.
    â€œDo you have a girlfriend?” I groaned inwardly. It had been the first thing that came to mind.
    â€œNo. I did in college, but it didn’t work out. It’s hard to find someone, you know?”
    I nodded.
    â€œWhat about you?” Adan asked. “Boyfriend? Is there a Mr. Domino?”
    I smiled and shook my head. “The only guys I meet are gangsters. It’s hard to find someone to bring home to Momma.”
    He laughed, tilting his head back so the strobes danced in his liquid-brown eyes. “Does your mom know what you do?”
    â€œYeah, she’s always known. She’s just glad I have a job.”
    â€œShe probably worries about you. You’re her baby girl. This line of work, it’s gotta freak her out.”
    I shrugged. I didn’t tell him my mom was a fortune-teller, a good one. Mom probably knew more about my life and my future than I wanted to think. Then again, maybe not—the fortune-telling game is notoriously unreliable, even for Mom.
    I’d probably learned as much as I was going to, and really, that was more than I expected. I’d found a connection between Jamal and Papa Danwe’s outfit. Maybe Jamal was doing business with Papa Danwe. Maybe the kid had unknowingly picked up one of Terrence Cole’s girlfriends and tied her to the bondage rack in his apartment. I could see Jamal getting himself squeezed for something like that.
    And then there was the Vampire Fred. I couldn’t probe his mind as I could a normal human’s, probably because his brain was as dead as the rest of him. But I didn’t like him. I didn’t like him lurking around my boss’s son. I didn’t know exactly what Jamal had been up to in the club, but I didn’t like the apparent coincidence of an unaligned supernatural creature hanging out in the place—hanging out with Papa Danwe’s guys. I was itching to connect Fred to the murder in some way.
    Mostly, though, I didn’t want the undead piece of shit with Adan. Maybe it wasn’t any of my business, but I thought his father would want me to step up. Okay, maybe I had ulterior motives. Maybe it was some maternal, protective part of me screaming to get involved. Or maybe it was the romantically challenged part. I was sure it was what the maverick in the cop shows would do, so it had that going for it.
    â€œDo you think your friends would mind if we got out of here?” I asked. I’d planned to wait until the end of the songto make my move, but I think the same damn song had been playing since I walked into the club.
    Adan’s arms tightened around me and he breathed in my ear. “I don’t think I care what they think, Domino.”
    We left the club without returning to the table. Fred, of course, was leaning against my car when we got outside. My vintage 1965 Lincoln Continental convertible with the original Arctic White paint. The vampire gave me the Look—the usual vamp shtick that would make a mortal woman his willing slave or whatever. To me he just looked like a really pale and very gay fashion model.
    â€œScratch the paint and I’ll shove a stake far enough up your ass to pick the blood clots out of your teeth.” I smiled and tucked my arm inside Adan’s. “Fred,” I added.
    I’d like to say Fred sensed my great power and backed down. I’d like to say he recognized the more dangerous predator and submitted to the law of the jungle. But he didn’t. Fred made a move.
    There aren’t a lot of vampires in L.A. They don’t like gathering in large