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Luka slides in and shuts the door.
“Never again, Kate.” He pulls at my hand, turning it over in his own. A pointer finger runs circles on the inside of my palm, and I shiver. “Never again. I will buy every building in this city or make a thousand phone calls, so your only option is to stay with me.” He takes my wrist and brings it to his mouth, kissing that soft spot he’s addicted to.
“That sounds tedious,” I say, running my fingers up his arm.
He holds my stare. “Worth it.”
Chapter44
Luka
Nik walks into my office at 9 p.m., and a dull pain indicates a headache coming on.
“Get out. I’m going home.” My sharp tone stops Nik in his tracks before he sits down.
I need to go out to the new warehouse location and see how that progress is going. We bought a lot instead of buying a new warehouse as we originally intended. We have been constructing a new warehouse on the property, but Nik has been the only one out there.
My plan was to leave by 7 p.m. but I’ve already failed. The urge to go home and spend time with Kate is growing by the minute. I knew from the moment I saw Kate at the first event that I wouldn’t let her go—or couldn’t let her go.
“Nyet. Luka, we have some information,” Nik says. His usual playful tone is somber and serious. “Antonio is in New York. Security picked him up on the cameras. We are positive he wanted you to know.” He’s right. Antonio is an ass, but a smart one, and he knows how to avoid the cameras.
“Do we know what he is doing here?” I ask.
“Nyet. He’s been around the restaurants and meeting with a few of his capos, but it’s been quiet.” Nik reaches back and rubs the back of his head. Worry is etched into the frown lining his face. “I’m worried, Luka. He’s disregarding the Cosa Nostra playbook. With the boss isolated and Antonio running things, it’s gotten unhinged. There are rumors of his brother coming into town and reports that a container of girls was found, and it has ties back to the Cosa Nostra. There are too many people who are willing to back him right now. We need our alliances strong.”
Nik’s worry amplifies my own. Antonioisunhinged, and he has been unpredictable, playing games as if he is running around a school yard rather than running a multi-million-dollar Mafia organization.
“Double security at the warehouses and I want a total of four guards on Kate.” She isn’t going to like this, but she means too much to me to take any chances.
“Also, the election is almost here, and Senator Hope is having his reelection event be one of the biggest in the city. He has requested we be there,” Nik says.
Senator Hope is like the dog shit under your shoe. Once you step in it, getting it off requires a lot more effort, and even then, the shit stinks.
“I plan to go. Need to make sure we have our investment pan out. You need to be there too.” I also want Kate to come, but I haven’t mentioned it to her yet. The thought of seeing her dressed up—I need to go home.
Nik and I end up working for another hour before I head home. I heat up some leftovers and undo my tie, plopping on the couch. Kate’s door is shut, and I assume she is asleep. HerRussian for Beginnersbook is on the sofa, and I pick it up to flip through.
I pause.
She has written in the margins on many of these pages.Learn how to say pickles,learn the swear words, andask Luka about ‘malyshka.’ A lightness washes over me and I laugh. It’s foreign, and uncomfortable. I rarely laugh, nor am I in situations that result in laughter, but Kate’s presence has added a dimension to me.
A loud clanging noise in the kitchen has me jumping to my feet.
The hell?
“Sorry.” Kate clears her throat and goes on to busy herself with getting a glass of water. When she reaches up to the cabinet, my eye catches where her shirt rides up, giving me the perfect view of her. I blink my eyes several times, trying to make out where I’ve seen that gray shirt before, and inch to get a closer look.
“Is that my shirt?” I ask. My eyes roam all around; they don’t know where to land. Her hair is damp, pulled back into a bun, and her face washed free from makeup. Desire, raw and real, hits me. I’ve always thought Kate was attractive, even from that first night, but knowing her—she is stunning.
“I—yeah, it is. I’m sorry, all my clothes are in the laundry, and when I got out of the shower earlier, I didn’t have anything to put on.”
Several more excuses run out of her mouth, but I’m not paying attention. All that is playing in my brain right now is Kate in my shirt, in my penthouse—in my life with me. I circle the island, stalking toward her. Her eyes narrow, and she takes a few steps back. I reach out, snagging the hem of my shirt to pull her toward me and she crashes into my chest.
“You have no idea what you’ve done.”
Chapter45
Kate
