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He chuckled, the vibrations sweeping through me. “You are a very bad girl, my fireball. We will deal with that soon enough.”
With that, he turned around, his moves almost robotic, and walked toward the exit.
And no one dared to challenge him.
I exhaled, leaning against the bar after he’d left. His words continued to shift through my mind, leaving me breathless, my skin tingling. I envisioned another unbridled round of passion, wallowing in the afterglow of raw ecstasy.
“Candy.”
Sean’s voice dragged me out of the fog. I turned around, surprised at how much concern was on his face. “I was just helping a customer.”
He inched closer, shaking his head. “Do you understand who that was?”
“I… I have no idea.” It wasn’t time to start telling the truth now. I could only imagine how well that would go.
“He’s mafia. Bratva. He’s one of their enforcers. Kirill Sabatin.”
Kirill Sabatin. Why hadn’t I made the connection the night before? The Kozlov Bratva. I hadn’t needed to live in New York very long to hear about their brutal methods of handling anyone who crossed them. Every soldier, enforcer and assassin, as well as the male heirs to their illustrious throne had a black dragon tattoo carved on their backs. Kirill’s was dynamic in design, the sweeping arch of the dragon’s wings a true work of art.
But the dragon’s single eye was as bold and dangerous as the man who’d just been sitting in front of me.
All my thoughts and fears had proven to be true. I did what I could not to react in any way, which was next to impossible. I was ready to jump out of my skin, my blood pressure rising. The mistake I’d made wasn’t just a tiny one I could fix any time soon. It was huge. Gigantic. I decided to act stupid, or least like that naïve little girl so many of my family believed me to be. “What does that mean?”
My stomach continued to lurch, another round of terror settling in. The Bratva’s reputation wasn’t just about their savage methods of handling business, but also their primal needs when taking their women. Taking was the operative word. They always took what they wanted, bragging about their conquests as if each member was trying to top the other.
And I’d become another notch on the man’s thick leather belt.
“It means he’s extremely dangerous. I could tell you stories of their heinous deeds, but I don’t want to give you nightmares. I’ll just say he and the other thugs leave a trail of blood a mile wide. He’s made many a widow in this city. From what I know, Kirill handles the family’s… issues,” Sean continued, studying me carefully.
Issues. Which meant I’d been right from the first moment I’d seen him. He was a killer. Butterflies continued to swarm in my stomach, but I found myself glancing toward the door more than once. I was lightheaded, forced to grip the edge of the bar. I had to think of something to say. Anything. Sean would immediately go to my cousin, telling him every detail of what he’d seen and heard. Then all hell would break loose. That couldn’t happen. I had to figure this out on my own.
If that was possible.
It was obvious Kirill had his sights set on me, but why had he risked walking inside this bar?
“What was he doing in here? He didn’t seem like he belonged.” The man hadn’t acted like he’d cared or was worried by the words of hatred spewed at him. This was no time to panic. Kirill had left, likely gone on some mission to bite the head off a snake before gunning down a man or three.
Sean rubbed his eyes, taking another look at the door as if he expected Kirill to come back with backup and guns. “I don’t know why he was here, but that concerns me, and it should you as well. As far as why he and his kind aren’t accepted, it’s a long story, but the Irish and the Russians don’t mix. We’re oil and water, the hatred going back for centuries. You should ask Michael about the years as a boy when he was still in Ireland. They’re… pretty nasty. Anyway, they usually keep to themselves. There’s something going on.” He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the door then swept his gaze toward the small safe located under the cash register.
The lockbox didn’t just keep the night’s cash and credit card proceeds. It also contained a gun. I’d seen it twice before. My God. Would he use it on a member of the Bratva?
“What do you mean? Why do you think something is going on?” As soon as I asked the question, it was obvious Sean knew more than he was willing to tell.
“As I said, it’s a long story. Just do me a favor. Stay away from him. You don’t want to mess with that kind. He’ll tear you apart.”
I held up my hands, backing away. “I don’t have any intention of talking to him again.”
“Good.”
“Oh, but put his drink on my tab.” When he glared at me harshly, I shrugged. “He tried to give me a huge tip. I said no.”
“Be careful playing with fire, Candy. Around here, you will get burned.”
