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“Right. So. Shoe size and good jewelry.”
“And flowers,” Anita insisted.
“And flowers,” he agreed.
“The right undergarments for shape.”
“Uh...okay?”
“Where are you taking her in this dress?”
“I honestly don’t know yet,” he admitted. “She missed her prom because of a house fire. I want to make that up to her.”
Anita’s face softened. “All right. I’ll help you.”
“But?” There was always a but in these cases.
“I need your help with something.”
“Okay.” He answered without considering that he might be agreeing to something that would get him in serious trouble.
“I didn’t pay before because he warned me not to,” Anita said, her expression twisted with worry. “He said he’ll stop my shipments at the docks, and he’s already scared off three of my shop girls. He’ll go after my seamstresses next—”
“Who?”
“Sean Leung,” she hissed and then glanced at the open doorway as if afraid she had summoned him to appear like some demon.
“This isn’t their territory. You pay us for protection, Anita. We handle that kind of bullshit in exchange for the taxes.”
“This is different,” she insisted. “He’s different. There’s something not right about him.” She gestured to her head. “It’s like staring into the eyes of a shark.”
She wasn’t wrong. Sean did have strange eyes, the irises so dark they were nearly black. There was something unnerving about them.
“I don’t want a turf war starting in my shop. It’s bad for business, and I don’t want any of my employees getting hurt. I know this isn’t about my specific business either.” Anita shook her head. “It’s about me, my nephews and my position right here in Nikolai’s territory.”
“Yes,” he agreed. The bad blood between the Hermanos street gang and the Russian mafia had long since been washed away, but there would always be friction between rivals. If Sean hurt Anita, Diego and Nate would blame Nikolai for not protecting her. It would spiral from there, and all hell would break loose giving Sean a perfect opportunity to exploit.
Worried that Sean was trying to make big moves, Danny left Anita’s and arranged to meet Ilya at the storage facility where he processed all of the incoming taxes. He handed over the collected payments and property, found out the boss was at home and drove straight to the secluded mansion in River Oaks.
Impressed by the newly laid paver driveway, he followed the pathway to the carriage house garage situated on the side of the property. There was a space behind Boychenko’s SUV, and after he parked, he texted the kid to let him know that he was here to see Nikolai. Boy messaged back with one word—tomatoes.
Of course.
Danny entered the backyard through the side gate. It was noisy, squeaking loudly as he pushed it open and clanging when it shut. Any other man would have gone straight to the garage for a can of WD-40 to fix that, but Nikolai left it so he could hear someone coming into his backyard. Not wanting to catch a pair of garden shears to the neck, Danny made sure to move slowly and stuck to the brick walking paths winding through the lush landscape.
“Over here,” Nikolai called out from behind a raised bed of towering tomato plants. His vegetable garden beds were overflowing with produce. Tomatoes, peppers, squash, sweet corn and green beans. There were melon vines climbing arched trellises, and a strawberry patch overflowing with berries in various states of ripeness.
The bright colorful flowers were new, though. As long as he had worked for Nikolai, the boss had never had more than rose bushes in his landscaping. Of course, that was before Vivian. Knowing what he did about her love of flowers, it made sense that Nikolai would dedicate a whole section of their backyard to her favorite things.
“I’m lucky she loves zinnias so much.” Nikolai rose from his crouched position with a basket of freshly harvested produce. “They’re easy to grow, and a few packets of seeds will give her thousands of flowers to enjoy.” He gestured to giant dinner plate sized pink blooms on a tall, thick stalk. “Dahlias. Just as easy to grow, but a little more work.”
“Is this your way of telling me that I need to find a flower that Macy likes and grow as many as I can?”
“It’s my way of telling you that the only time you can be vulnerable and show that soft, weak spot all men have is with your woman. Do things that make her feel special. Do things that show her how much she means to you.”
“I never pictured you as a romantic,” Danny admitted.
“Only with Vee,” Nikolai replied. “You’ll be the same with Macy.”
