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I laugh. “No. Unless you want cereal. I have a full staff.” I grab the clothes I had brought over for her from the top of the dresser behind me and bring them to her.
“What’s that?” She points at the pair of jeans and sweater in my hands.
“Clothes. It’s cold outside. You’re not wearing that flimsy dress.” I put the pile on the ottoman. “There’s panties and a bra as well.” I point to the undergarments neatly tucked beneath the light purple sweater.
“You always have clothes just lying around for a girl who spends the night?” She frowns.
“No, but there’s very little I can’t get with a phone call. Dress, then we’ll go down to breakfast.” I tug on the corner of the towel she has her hair all wound up in. “There’s a hairdryer in the drawer in the bathroom if you need.”
She nods. “Thanks.”
“I’ll be downstairs.” It takes herculean strength not to rip the towel from her body and throw her on the bed.
“All right.” She avoids my eyes and grabs the clothes before darting back into the bathroom and shutting the door.
My phone rings, ending my staring contest with the bathroom door.
“Yeah.”
“Roman.” Arman’s hard voice cuts the phone. I leave the bedroom and head down to the kitchen. She can have a little space this morning, but the time will come soon that she won’t have any at all.
“News travels fast,” I mutter into the phone as I descend the stairs.
“What news?” he asks and sounds genuinely confused. “Did you make the agreement with the Kozlovs?”
“No.” I swing around the banister and head to the kitchen. “Not yet. There was an issue.”
“What happened?”
“What did you call for?”
“I ran into Josef Novikov last night while I was out with Anya. He’s up here for a few months.” Josef belongs to no family. He works for himself, doing whatever job comes his way that will fill his pockets. He manages easily enough to keep himself from stepping over the line, never insulting one family or another, and never betraying any trust they put in him. He’s a cleaner mostly: comes in, takes care of a mess, and exits.
“Do you need him for something?” I lift the lid of the pan sitting on the stove. Scrambled eggs with chives. My mouth waters, but I’ll wait for Billie to get down here.
“No, we just got to talking. He didn’t name any specific names, but there’s a new line coming through the ports down by you. Girls.” The distaste of the business is evident in his voice. We may peddle ecstasy and help move arms from one bad guy to another bad guy, but we do not peddle flesh.
“And you think it’s Kozlov?”
“I think they’re looking for new ports in Boston.” Just like my brother to walk the line carefully balancing without tipping to one side or the other.
“I told him I didn’t want to know what his product was.” I don’t want that shit going through my warehouses any more than my brothers do, though. “I’ll look into it.”
“So what news?” Arman asks. “What happened last night?”
“Kozlov has a daughter he wants me to marry.” I lean my hip against the counter. “But unfortunately, I’m already engaged to Billie.”
Dead silence.
“What?”
“It was a misunderstanding that saved me from having to find a reason not to pursue his daughter.” And gave me the perfect opportunity to make Billie mine.
Billie walks into the kitchen, her damp hair bound into a braid down her back. The sweater and jeans fit her perfectly, and all I want to do is get her out of them.
“A misunderstanding you didn’t clear up?” He’s not angry, unlike our father last night on the phone.
“No. I will, eventually, but not yet.” I scoot over from the stove. “We can discuss it later. I have something to do this morning.”
