AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Everything hinged on the answer he would give her.
He decided to open the door.
“I work for theBratva,” he answered. “The Russian mob.”
Kira was silent for a moment. Then, she giggled. “Okay, I almost believed you for a second there. With the accent and everything.”
Luka broke another rule. He lifted one hand to touch her cheek. She froze, eyes wide.
“I’m not joking, Kira,” he murmured.
She stared at him, waiting for the punchline. Slowly, her smile faded.
“Wait. No. That’s insane,” Kira breathed. “You’re such a good guy. There’s no way you—I just don’t believe it.”
“It’s true. I work for the mafia. Technically, so do you,” he answered.
“What do you mean? I’m a cocktail waitress,” she gasped. Kira recoiled from him like she had been stung by something. She stared around at the casino floor in disbelief as it slowly sank in.
“The casino…” She trailed off. “The whole thing. The best job I’ve ever had.”
Luka’s heart began to beat faster again, but for a different reason this time. She was not reacting the way he’d expected. She was even more innocent than he’d thought. Her pale blue eyes, once starry with adoration, were filling with tears.
“Kira. Hold on. We should talk about this,” Luka said, reaching for her.
But she backed away, shaking her head. She swiped a hand across her face, gave Luka the world’s least convincing smile, and whispered, “I just, uh, need to run to the bathroom.”
Looking like she might topple over, she swiveled on her heel and took off toward the women’s restroom. Luka took a few broad steps after her, but stopped himself. He couldn’t follow her there. Especially if she didn’t want to be followed.
He glanced down at his watch and swore under his breath.
It was nearing two. He had to leave. Now.
Luka stared at the neon sign above the women’s restroom for a few seconds. He fought a vicious battle within himself, and then the call of responsibility seized him as it always did in the end. He had somewhere to be. New soldiers to train. Just as his father had trained him.
Luka turned and walked out of the Shining Star without another word to anyone.
Just as his father had taught him, there was no room for anything else in the field. He had to clear his mind and zero in on the mission. Whatever lay beyond the edges of that purpose was not for him to determine. Not tonight.
The storm would wait for him after the battle.
CHAPTER10
KIRA
“So,what would you say your strengths are as an employee?” asked the bored-looking young man. He was leaning all the way back in his chair so that the front two legs were lifting slightly off the sticky floor.
“Uh, well, I’m very punctual. You know what they say: if you’re not early, you’re late, right? And I’m a really hard worker. I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty,” Kira answered stiffly.
In contrast to the interviewer, Kira was sitting straight up on a bar stool across the high-top table from him. She felt weird looking over him from above, but the guy was hardly paying attention to her anyway. He was just going through the motions of the interview, clearly reciting the questions without really considering the answer.
“Mm. Okay. How dirty?” he asked, showing interest for the first time.
Kira’s face burned pink. She tried to look professional as she stammered, “I’m not opposed to bussing tables or washing dishes if needed.”
“Uh-huh. We don’t serve a lot of food here. Mostly just peanuts and popcorn. Stuff that goes good with beer,” the interviewer said. “People don’t really come here for the cuisine.”
“But youdoneed a waitress, right? The ad mentioned that this was a waitressing job,” Kira prodded. Her hands twisted anxiously in her lap.
