AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What about it? I mean, I know the diner isn’t much to look at, but…”
“You have to quit,” Luka interrupted firmly.
Kira looked shocked for a moment, then almost angry. She shrugged out of his grasp and stepped backward, shaking her head. “That’s ridiculous. I can’t do that,” she asserted.
“Kira, it’s not safe for you out there,” he argued back.
“What? In that neighborhood? I know it’s not the greatest area, and there could definitely be more streetlights on that block, but it’s notthatbad,” she said.
Luka’s own anger flared up like a flame inside of him. He curled his hands into fists at his sides. It made him furious to remember the way those two horrible scumbags had stalked and attacked her from the alleyway. The image of two strangers laying their filthy hands on his girl incensed him. He could still vividly hear the way Kira had yelped with fear.
“You were almost mugged,” he reminded her. “If I hadn’t been there…”
“But you were there. I was lucky,” she said.
“Luck is a shitty thing to rely on,” said Luka. “Luck is fickle. It won’t be like that the next time. What if I’m not there? What if someone had come after you tonight, when I was out in the field carrying out a mission?”
“You know, I got by just fine without a bodyguard for twenty-three years. I think I’ll take my chances,” Kira said defiantly.
Luka stepped toward her aggressively and she shrank back a little. “I will not allow you to compromise your safety like that,” he informed her.
She raised one perfectly arched eyebrow and scoffed, “You won’tallowme?”
“That’s what I said,” he affirmed.
“Okay, listen. I like you. I love hooking up with you. I’m grateful that you helped me out of a bad spot once or twice. But you can’t just show up at my house unannounced, let yourself in, and boss me around like this!” Kira maintained. “It’s my life, Luka. Not yours.”
“You won’t have a life left to live if you don’t listen to me. I could have lost you that night outside Cal’s. If you think you can keep going back out there every shift without running into more trouble, you’re even more naive than I thought,” Luka hurled back at her.
She folded her arms over her chest. “Naive? That’s what you think of me?”
“Prove me wrong,” Luka dared her.
Kira rolled her eyes and turned away, shaking her head with frustration. “So you’re telling me I have to quit my job, which pays my bills and keeps me from ending up on the street, just because you said so? Maybe you have a nice nest egg from doing the mafia’s dirty work, but some of us have to get a regular job,” she said, stinging him.
Luka took a slow, deep breath to steady himself. He was not the kind of man to let insults pass without reaction. He had shattered bones for much less. But the urge to inflict pain was not there, not with Kira. Luka knew he couldn’t do anything to hurt her. In fact, it seemed that ever since they’d met, Luka couldn’t bear the thought of anything harming her in any way. He knew without a doubt that he would bend every rule and pull out every stop to protect her.
Whether she liked it or not.
“I can help you if you let me,” Luka offered in a low growl.
“Help me how? If your answer is just to throw money at me…”
“Da. Anything you need. How much is your rent?” Luka pressed her.
Kira gave him a puzzled look. “What, are you going to cut me a check or something? I make a good salary at Cal’s Corner, Luka. I don’t need your dirty money.”
“And have you ever stopped to question how a low-traffic, rundown diner in a seedy part of town can afford to pay you so well?” Luka interrogated.
Kira opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, pursing her lips when she realized she didn’t have a good comeback. Instead, she sighed, “Of course I wondered. But who cares? It’s a good job and I’m good at it. I like my regular customers. I like making good tips. I like working the late shifts. It’s going to take more than a couple of scruffy criminals in an alleyway to make me quit.”
“Why are you being so goddamn stubborn about this? You quit the Shining Star like it was nothing.Thatwas a good fucking job, Kira. Where you are now… it’s not safe.”
“Why? Because you can’t hang around keeping an eye on me the whole time?” she retorted. “Because it’s not owned by the mafia?”
Luka pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. “You think you’ve got it all figured out, don’t you? ‘Mafia’ equals danger, ‘civilian’ equals safety,” he groaned.
“Am I wrong?” Kira challenged.
