After finishing up and saying goodbye to Bryan in his office, they all headed downstairs. Once they reached the front lobby, Katie held her hand out to Eric.

"Alright, I’m heading back to the office now," Katie said.

"Yeah, thanks, Katie," Eric replied, shaking her hand.

"I’m heading back to the precinct as well. I’ll probably give you a call later for some follow-up statements," Norman said, extending his hand too.

"Got it, Officer Norman. Thank you," Eric replied, shaking Norman’s hand.

Once Eric finished shaking hands and Norman walked out past the building’s front gates, "thud," Katie suddenly wrapped her arms tightly around Eric. He gasped in surprise, instantly feeling the soft warmth of her body pressed against his.

"He... hey... Katie," Eric stammered.

"Hehe... sorry about that. Just needed a quick energy recharge. I still have a mountain of work waiting for me at the office," Katie teased.

"Oh... right," Eric muttered, completely flustered and at a loss for what to do.

"Hey!" Emma, Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura yelled in unison.

Katie peeked over Eric’s shoulder at the six girls behind him, flashing them a playful, mocking smile. "Grrr," the six girls practically growled, their expressions turning icy as if they were ready to tear Katie to pieces. After a moment, Katie released her embrace and patted Eric’s chest. Just then, a car pulled up in front of the lobby. Katie glanced at the car and turned to leave.

"Alright, Eric, see you later. Bye, girls!" Katie said, waving her hand.

"Oh, yeah, bye," Eric said, raising his hand.

"Grrr," the girls kept growling, completely refusing to wave back.

Suddenly, Emma yanked Eric’s arm to pull him away, while Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura instantly swarmed him. Every single one of them glared intensely at Katie’s back until she finally got into the car and drove off.

Before long, Eric’s Maybach was pulled up right in front of the entrance. A valet stepped out and jogged over to hand the keys to Eric. Eric turned to look at the girls.

"Let’s go. Next stop, Laura’s place," Eric said.

"Yeah... let’s go," Emma replied shortly.

"Right," Monica, Chloe, Priya, and Heidi echoed in unison, their tones clipped. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"I’m riding shotgun," Laura stated flatly.

They all piled into the car, and Laura plugged her uncle’s office into the GPS. Eric immediately hit the gas, following the navigation system to get to their destination as quickly as possible. But the further they drove, the more they headed east toward the edge of the city limits, even though they were technically still within the urban sprawl.

The surrounding area was packed with entertainment venues, hotels, and nightclubs. Eric began to wonder what they were getting into, since he had never really set foot in a nightlife district like this before.

Finally, the GPS signaled a left turn into the driveway of a massive, towering hotel. A giant neon sign hung out front, unlit since it was still the middle of the day, spelling out the word "CASINO." As they pulled up toward the lobby, Eric glanced over at Laura, who was sitting casually next to him.

"Um... your uncle... owns a hotel and a casino?" Eric asked.

"Yep... bars and pubs too... right in the heart of the city," Laura answered.

"Wasn’t it just that one bar from before?" Eric asked, checking to be absolutely sure.

"Oh, that was just one of his spots. He let me manage it to learn the ropes," Laura replied casually.

Hearing Laura’s explanation, everything suddenly clicked. Even though he had met Laura at that bar working as a waitress, she had hung out at his table so comfortably without any managers or staff calling her out.

On top of that, she had stayed there late into the night. Even on a day off, it didn’t really make sense for a girl her age to just lounge around a bar until closing time.

"So... that’s how it is," Eric murmured.

Eric checked the rearview mirror and noticed that Emma, Chloe, Monica, Priya, and Heidi had all fallen fast asleep, squished tightly against each other in the back seat.

"Oh, man, they’re out cold," Eric said.

"Don’t worry about it. I’ll ask my uncle to open up a suite for them so they can get some rest," Laura said.

"Oh... okay," Eric replied, processing Laura’s words.

When they pulled up and stopped right in front of the lobby entrance, a valet stepped forward to open the door. But the moment he caught sight of Laura, his expression instantly shifted to one of pure shock.

"Welcome back, Young Miss," he greeted her with deep respect.

"Hi. Please take care of the car for us," Laura told him.

"Right away, Young Miss," the valet replied.

Eric and Laura woke the girls up in the back, and everyone piled out of the car. As they stepped into the relatively quiet hotel lobby, Eric noticed several men dressed in black suits, black ties, and leather dress shoes, all wearing earpieces. They marched directly toward the lobby doors.

"Welcome, Young Miss."

They all bowed in unison before Laura, prompting Eric to slowly turn his head and look at her. His mind was racing with a million different thoughts. As he studied the men standing in front of them, he caught a glimpse of their wrists slipping past their suit cuffs, they were heavily tattooed, and clearly not just regular ink.

They were those distinct blue tattoos often seen on ex-cons. On top of that, almost every single one of them had a battle-hardened face; these were men whose lives were defined by violence, and street fights were just another day at the office.

"Is Uncle Joe in?" Laura asked.

"Yes, Young Miss. He is waiting for you in his office," one of the men answered.

"Alright, I’ll head up," Laura said.

But the men didn’t budge. Instead, they fixed their sharp, intense glares right on Eric, causing him to flinch slightly.

"Who is he, Young Miss?" one of the men questioned, jutting his chin out toward Eric to point him out.

"He’s my friend... I’m bringing him along to see my uncle," Laura explained.

"Hey... Laura, let us borrow a room. We’re exhausted," Emma chimed in.

"Yeah, exactly. Make sure it’s a big one," Chloe chimed in.

"And have some food sent up. I’m starting to get hungry," Priya added.

"If possible, on a high floor so we can see the view," Heidi requested.

"I’ll just tag along. Too tired to care," Monica mumbled, looking half-asleep.

"You guys heard them, right?" Laura asked the men standing in front of her.

"Yes, Young Miss!" the men shouted in unison, bowing deeply.

The men then politely and respectfully escorted Emma, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Monica over to the front desk to get their room keys and open up the room-service menu.

Meanwhile, Laura took Eric by the arm and followed two of the men leading the way. Looking around at the hotel’s layout and hearing the title the dangerous, bodyguard-looking men used to address Laura, Eric’s mind spun wildly into overdrive.

"Hold on a second... don’t tell me her uncle isn’t just a gangster... but a full-blown mob boss. Ah, no way... come on, stop overthinking this," Eric thought, trying to shut down his imagination before it ran completely wild.

They stepped into the elevator, and the two men escorting them stood guard by the doors, pressing a button on the panel. Eric began to feel a knot forming in his stomach, his instincts screaming that he had walked into the wrong place. But seeing how completely unbothered Laura was, he ignored the churning in his gut and tried to stay positive.

"Ding," the elevator doors opened. They had arrived at the top floor of the hotel. Before them lay a single hallway lined with doors on both sides. These weren’t guest rooms, but corporate offices, indicated by the signs reading accounting, management, and other department names on the plaques.

The two men led Eric and Laura to a set of double doors at the very end of the hall. They threw the doors open, revealing a man sitting with his back to the entrance, staring at a painting. Wisps of cigar smoke rose from behind his high-backed chair.

"Boss, the Young Miss is here to see you," one of the men announced.

"Hmm. Fine. Get out," the man replied, his voice deep, gravelly, and commanding total authority.

The two men who had escorted Eric and Laura immediately backed out of the room. Then, the chair slowly rotated, and Eric nearly dropped dead of a heart attack right then and there. Sitting before him was a massive, middle-aged man with a completely bald head and a prominent burn scar running across his fierce face.

He looked like a man who rarely smiled. A lit cigar was clenched between his teeth, and he wore a white designer suit, a silk dress shirt, and a blue tie. His razor-sharp eyes drifted toward Laura, who seemed to shudder slightly next to Eric, her grip tightening on his arm.

"Okay... I am dead this time... absolutely a goner... the guy in front of me is definitely a mob boss," Eric thought, doing everything in his power to hide his sheer terror.