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Instead of taking that hour or so in between missions to rest, Luka had gone to the Shining Star. He knew Kira’s schedule by now, and there was nowhere else he wanted to be. Besides, being around Kira was far more stimulating and rejuvenating than any power nap. She was all the caffeine he needed to prepare for another mission.
He thought he had taken enough time to clean up in between. But Lily looked over at him, raised an eyebrow, and asked quietly, “Is that blood on your ear?”
Luka reached up and swiped at his ear, pulling back a tiny dot of scarlet. He hastily grabbed a napkin and cleaned it up. Lily shook her head as she wiped another glass.
“Dare I ask?” she muttered.
“You don’t want the details,” he replied.
“I believe that. Don’t tell me,” Lily agreed. “But hey, if you’re looking for another fight, I may have a few charmers lined up for you.”
She nodded her head in the direction of the far corner of the room, where there was a small lounge area set up. Luka squinted across the busy casino floor at them. There was a group of men, varied in age, but all looking sufficiently wasted.
“They’ve been rowdy as hell tonight. They’re only quiet now because they have poor Kira trapped over there,” Lily added.
Luka observed them, getting angrier by the second. He had felt something was slightly off when he first entered the club, but truthfully, he had assumed it was just him. After all, he was hopped up on adrenaline, fresh from a mission with blood still on his flesh. But he could see now that there was less of a crowd than usual on a Saturday night, most likely scared off by the guys in the corner. They were the ones poisoning the vibe in the casino tonight.
And now they had Kira in their grasp. Literally.
The man at the front of the group had grabbed Kira by the arm. She was still awkwardly balancing a tray with her off hand, and all her body language put Luka’s nerves on edge. She looked uncomfortable, trying to be polite while edging away from them. Luka’s hands curled into fists at his sides as he watched.
Instead of releasing Kira, the man tugged her down closer. She was hunched over now, with the drunk man running his filthy fingers over her hand. He peered at her nail polish, gripping her hand and holding it up for the other guys to see. He began inching his fingers up her arm, and Luka got to his feet.
He was already seeing red, but he was trying to stand back for the time being. After all, Luka knew what kind of scene he might make by getting involved. Luka was a big, bulky, intimidating man. He was hard to miss. As soon as he stepped into the fray, people would definitely notice. Luka wasn’t specifically employed by the casino. He didn’t work security there. He knew he could call for them and they would come, but he also knew that Kira wouldn’t want a scene. She was soft and gentle, but Luka understood the drive within her to be independent, or at least feel that way. There were many times he wanted to intervene when a customer got short with her or even gave her a rude look. But Luka always held himself back. He knew how quickly things could escalate. Kira didn’t know all the facts about him yet, and it was safer to keep it that way. For now, at least, until he knew she could handle the truth.
He couldn’t let himself be distracted. He had somewhere to be at two in the morning. He needed to stay detached so he could leave at the right time. He needed to give Kira space to work out her own problems.
But then he saw that man grab her hand again and jerk Kira down into his lap, and all that went out the window.
Luka was charging across the room before he even had time to think. People moved right out of his way, as always. Within seconds, he was looming over the group of guys in the corner lounge, interrupting them as their leader manhandled Kira.
“Let her go now,” Luka growled.
The man was clearly surprised. He put both hands up, even though his eyes were glassy and he had a pompous smirk on his face. Kira slid out of his grasp and rushed to Luka. He threw his arms around her for a brief moment, almost by instinct. Luka felt a powerful flush of heat come over him when he felt Kira’s perfect, petite body pressed up against him.
Then she slipped aside, nervously starting to clean up after the men as though nothing had happened. She was trying to play it off, even though they both knew people were looking. Luka felt eyes burning into him from all angles, but he didn’t care. He was focused on the target before him. He had to hold back. He couldn’t just rip this guy to shreds in the middle of the casino. He would only let himself use one percent of his usual interrogation tactics.
Meanwhile, the leader was sizing up Luka, too. “Oh, big boy wants to play,” the man sneered. Luka instantly picked up the faintest hint of a Russian accent.
“Is that what you were doing? Playing?” Luka asked him.
“Oh, with her? We were just having a moment,” he said dismissively. “I didn’t realize she was spoken for, but you’ll get a chance with her once we’re finished.”
Luka’s blood boiled. He took a ferocious step closer and the smile disappeared from the man’s face momentarily. “That’s not how you treat a lady,” Luka snarled.
“Relax. She’s fine. You should probably mind your business,” the guy quipped.
“You and your boys should learn not to disrespect what doesn’t belong to you,” the enforcer answered. He gestured to the floor. “This rug is worth more than your lives combined. That chandelier has more history than any of you could comprehend.”
The leader leaned forward, looking intrigued. There was a strange mad glint in his eye.
“You know a lot about this place, but you’re not dressed like an employee. Who are you? Some kind of vigilante superhero?” he accused. His drunk friends cackled.
“Just a guy who will shatter your hands if you don’t keep them to yourself,” Luka said.
The guy jokingly offered his hands out. They smelled of cigarettes. Luka had to bite back the desire to crush them.
He turned to Kira and kindly told her, “You’re needed back at the serving station.”
