Bad Men Say the Sweetest Things 1 - The Underboss Said I Was His

Danny Hayes knows the quiet man at the end of his bar is trouble. He just doesn't realize exactly how much trouble until a gunman walks through Saint Jude's locked side door. Anthony Moretti is an underboss accustomed to controlling every room he enters. Danny is a smart-mouthed bartender who throws cocktail cherries at armed men, drives a battered Honda named Beverly, and has absolutely no intention of being ordered around by organized crime. But Danny saw the shooter—and the shooter saw him. Anthony takes Danny under his protection, bringing him into a guarded world of family loyalties, betrayals, safe houses, and enemies willing to use an innocent man as leverage. What Anthony doesn't expect is for Danny to challenge the way he thinks about protection, control, and the difference between claiming someone and earning his trust. Because Danny doesn't want to belong to Anthony. He wants Anthony to choose to stand beside him.