Page 5 of Above ’N’ Beyond

“Okay, hot stuff.” None too gently, she grabbed Smarmy’s fingers and yanked them away. “I think that’s enough sleazy groping for one day, don’t you?”

Smarmy’s brows lowered. What little she could still see of his eyes was shooting sparks. She’d embarrassed him in front of his friends. Tough.

Smarmy remained seated but turned to face her. “We were just getting to know each other. Weren’t we, sweetheart?” He grinned at Sierra, an arrogant smile that made Bella want to scrape it off with a cheese grater.

Sierra backed farther away and gave a quick shake of her head to confirm she wanted nothing to do with this guy. Not that Bella needed confirmation. It wasn’t the first time a customer had hit too hard on one of her staff. Sadly, it wouldn’t be the last.

“My waitress disagrees,” she shot back with a patently false smile of her own. “So how about you all finish up the rest of your meal quietly? And while you’re at it, keep your hands off my employees.” Or I’ll cut them off and shove them down your throat. Yeah, too bad she couldn’t say that. That was more Tony’s style.

“Whatever happened to Italian hospitality?” Smarmy’s words slurred.

“It went down the toilet when you assaulted my waitress.” From the corner of her eye, she caught Tony and his crew eyeing the situation, ready to leap to her aid if necessary. One of the busboys had stopped to listen in, also watching, in case things went completely down the crapper. Conversation in the restaurant had quieted as other customers watched.

“Now, if you apologize to my waitress, then sit back down and enjoy the rest of your meal quietly, I’ll comp you all dessert and coffee.”

Smarmy crossed his arms. “I think you should comp our entire meal.”

“Knock it off, Sean,” one of Smarmy’s friends whispered.

“I’m so curious, I have to ask. Given your sex offender behavior, why would I do that?” A guy like this had to have a string of women he’d assaulted in his past.

Sean stood, towering over her five-foot-three frame. “To reimburse my friends and I for your rudeness.”

“I don’t think so.” She chuckled. “If you’re going to behave like an animal, then you can eat like one.” She grabbed Sean’s plate of linguini with clam sauce and set it on the floor at his feet. “Buon appetito.”

One of Sean’s friends snorted. The other laughed outright.

Sean curled his fists. “Why you little bi—”

“Think carefully before you finish that sentence,” a calm, deeply menacing voice interrupted. Not Tony. Not any of his crew.

The man who’d just walked into the Bistro—Satan—stood a few inches behind her. She’d never really thought of brown eyes as having a piercing effect. His not only did, but they radiated a lethal intensity, like he was itching for a fight. Waves of power mingled with obvious irritation, judging by the firm set of his jaw and the way his nostrils flared, poured from his huge body. And yeah, it was huge.

Bella had thought that sleazeball, Sean, towered over her, but this stranger had several inches on him and about thirty pounds more muscle straining against the fabric of his black, short-sleeve Henley. She’d never seen such bulging biceps and forearms before. And what was that cologne? Mmm. Whatever it was, she could take a bath in it, it smelled so darned good.

“Everything okay here, cuz?” Tony had sauntered over with one of his men, Marco Ianetti, backing him up.

“You know this is Paola Mancuso’s place,” a woman at one of the adjacent tables whispered to her date. “They call her The Godmother.”

Bella fisted her hands, resisting the urge to scream at the moniker thrown around the Bistro at least once a week. It always made her feel as if people came here because of Paola, not for the great food, friendly service, and warm atmosphere.

“Well?” the deep voice said from behind her. “What’s it gonna be, fellas?”

“Yeah, um. I think we’ll be going.” One of Sean’s friends stood, then fished out his wallet and dropped a wad of cash on the table. From the size of it, enough to cover all three of the men’s meals, plus a hefty tip Sierra deserved.

Sean was practically dragged from the Bistro, barely sidestepping the plate of linguini. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyer,” he shouted over his shoulder. “I’ll sue you for discrimination.”

“Good luck with that.” With all these witnesses, she could easily call the police and have him arrested for sexual assault. That would only be more disruptive. Still, she really ought to install those tiny cameras she’d bought months ago to monitor the inside of the Bistro. They could have provided recorded evidence in case this jackass actually made good on his threat.

Bella waited until they’d hauled ass out the door before picking up the plate and setting it none too gently on the table.

Clapping came from all over the dining room.

“Attagirl, Bella,” someone said.

“You tell him,” a woman from the far corner shouted, raising her glass of wine in tribute.

“Nice goin’,” Tony said. “Making him eat off the floor like a damn dog.”