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“Thank you, but I fear Thomas has snatched up the only angel at this party.”
Marilyn giggled softly, blushing as she shook her head at him. “Silly boy,” she murmured and then directed her attention at Andrei. “And what about you, Andrei? Are you married?”
“No, Mrs. Lynton. I’ve not been lucky enough to find the one I’m looking for.”
She clucked her tongue at him, smiling. “Marilyn, please.”
“I understand that you were in an accident not too long ago as well,” Lucas said, directing the conversation around to why they’d attended the party in the first place. He noticed the way Marilyn’s hand tightened on Thomas’s sleeve and her smile dimmed while Thomas stiffened, his expression growing grim. “I hope you’ve recovered.”
Thomas grunted, thumping his cane on the marble floor once. “This is a permanent addition, my doctors say, but I’m good otherwise. I appreciate your concern.”
“Marilyn, do you dance?” Andrei suddenly asked, surprising everyone at the table.
“Ah…yes, sometimes.”
Andrei smoothly rose to his feet and extended his hand to her. “Would you do me the honor?”
“Oh, I don’t know if I should.”
“Please. I enjoy dancing, but Lucas has warned me against most of the women here. I feel that I would be safe in your hands,” Andrei pressed, earning a laugh from Marilyn.
“My, you are very smooth,” she said even as she placed her hand into his.
Andrei grinned, slipping her hand on his arm as he led her away from the table. “My mother taught me to be a gentleman always.”
Thomas and Lucas watched as the couple walked onto the dance floor. Andrei held the older woman as if she were a piece of priceless crystal, leading her slowly about the floor in a waltz. The two moved as if they had been dancing together their whole lives. Andrei was a source of endless surprises for Lucas. He couldn’t wait to ask the man where he’d learned to dance and when.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say that friend of yours was determined to seduce my wife,” Thomas announced gruffly, drawing Lucas’s gaze from the dance floor.
Lucas smiled at the older man. “She’s in safe hands.”
Thomas nodded, giving him a grudging smile.
“I was hoping to discuss your accident,” Lucas said and the man’s smile dissolved.
“There’s nothing—”
“It’s my understanding that we were involved in similar car accidents,” Lucas interrupted. Thomas’s eyebrows rose slightly, but he said nothing. “May I ask if you recently acquired some land in Price Hill that might have caught someone’s attentions?”
“No. Corryville.”
Lucas slumped his chair and frowned. This was not what he had expected to hear. He looked over at the dance floor, watching Marilyn laughing at something that Andrei had said as he continued to twirl her about the floor.
“I was told to get out. To sell,” Thomas continued. “You?”
“The same.”
“Do you know who is behind this?”
Lucas shook his head. “Have you sold?”
“Not yet. I’m arranging the paperwork.” Thomas sighed and pounded his fist on the table, rattling their glasses. “I’m too old to fight this, Lucas. The strain is too much for Marilyn.”
“Have you informed the police?”
Thomas shook his head, the lines in his face digging deeper as his eyes searched out Marilyn. “They threatened my wife. My kids. They got to me so easily…” His low, rough voice faded and he cleared his throat. “I can’t risk their lives.”
“Have you had any more problems?”
“No, we added some security, but no one else has approached me.”
Lucas leaned across the table, holding Thomas’s gaze. “Slow up the papers. Give me a few days.”
“You’re fighting this? You know who’s behind it?”
“No, but I will. I’m not going to be fucking run off.” Lucas pushed to his feet and extended his hand to Thomas.
The older man shook it, clasping it in both of his. “You be careful.”
Lucas graced him with a cocky smirk. “Of course. That’s why I have Andrei.”
He deeply laughed, drawing a few gazes to them before people went back to their conversations. “You’ve got the devil’s luck, Lucas Vallois.” He paused and looked at Andrei, a smirk tugging up one corner of his mouth. “And that man has his charm.”
“Keep your head down, Thomas.” On impulse, Lucas reached into the interior pocket of his jacket and pulled out a business card and a pen. Bending down, he quickly wrote his cell phone number across the back. He slid it across the table to Thomas. “You hear anything, call me. And if you or Marilyn need anything, call me.”
Thomas caught his wrist as he started to lift his fingers from the card. “I admire what you’re doing, but you’ve got to remember that it’s just a chunk of land.”
“I won’t be bullied,” Lucas replied, nearly growling.
He nodded, but he didn’t look pleased by Lucas’s words. He turned in time to see Andrei escorting Marilyn back into her seat, which he held out for her. She was flushed and her eyes were once again vibrant. For a time, Andrei had helped her forget about the worries plaguing her and her husband. They might not have accomplished what Lucas had hoped, but he couldn’t call the night a waste after seeing the smiles on both their faces.
