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“Sure thing, boss.”
She drops my groceries on the kitchen counter and Gomez turns to leave. Dani and I are finally alone for the first time in a week. It takes all my strength not to go to her, to pull her toward me and kiss her until I’ve had my fill.
Dani starts putting my groceries away—like she totally isn’t eyeing me up like a piece of candy. “Keeping out of trouble?”
“If you’ve been watching the cameras, then I’m sure you’ll know I’ve been a saint.”
“I haven’t been watching.”
“No?”
She turns her back to me and opens the fridge, putting away a carton of eggs and a jug of orange juice. “Nope,” she mumbles, except I know she’s lying because the tips of her ears are bright pink.
“That’s a shame,” I confess.
“Why?”
“Knowing you’re watching makes me feel a little less lonely.”
“You’re lonely?”
“Kind of hard not to be. Nobody to talk to here. I have nothing better to do than think about you.”
Dani rolls her eyes. “Stop it, Luka. Not here.”
Slowly, I reach down and take her hand, tracing my fingers over the curve of her wrist. It’s out of sight of the cameras, hidden behind the kitchen counter. “Kiss me,” I tease her. “Come on, I know you want to.”
She gives me a pointed look. “Luka… It’s only going to take Gomez two minutes to walk the perimeter.”
“That’s a hundred and twenty seconds of you getting your way with me.”
“I looked up what you said, by the way,” she whispers.
“Hm?”
“In Russian.”
I give her a crooked smirk. “Oh?”
Dani takes a single step toward me, our hands still joined beneath the cover of the kitchen counter. “You have a filthy fucking mouth, Mr. Antonov.”
“There’s plenty more where that came from.” I dip down low, my lips brushing her cheek. “Send him away, Dani. And then I’m all yours.”
“Even if I wanted to, I have a meeting with my immediate supervisor downtown.”
I exhale slowly. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed, but I understand. I really do. Dani’s a busy woman, and I know how much she’s risking just by being with me. If only we’d met under different circumstances, then maybe…
“Have there been any updates?” I ask her. She’s still holding my hand, our pinkies hooked around each other in a quiet attempt to remain connected.
“Nothing yet,” she confesses. “I’m working with a liaison from the NYPD. Lots of red tape to sift through. I’ve been trying to get my hands on the hospital’s security tapes. I’m sure one of them must have captured the shooter’s identities, but it’s taking too long to get ahold of the copies. If you have any information, anything at all…”
“I don’t know what to tell you,” I say honestly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if these men have nothing to do with the Bratva. Konstantin, Levitsky, and Salkov have used mercenaries in the past. Since their connections outside of Russia are slim, there’s a good chance they’ve hired outsiders to handle their dirty work.”
“What are we talking here? Russian ex-cons?”
“Possibly. Not to tell you how to do your job or anything, but I’d look up a list of recently released inmates with Russian ties. They won’t be acting out of loyalty. American Mafia and Russian Bratva are two very different beasts. Oil and water, but neither are above saying yes if the price is right.”
Dani nods, her brows knitted together in thought. I like how serious her expression gets, like she’s drinking in my every word and giving it genuine consideration. “Okay, I’ll put some feelers out. That’s actually really helpful. Thank you, Luka.”
