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Her eyebrows were creeping up again. “Oh shit.”
“Yeah. I asked the girl about it, and she said she’s not even dating anyone and has no idea who the man was who protected her. One of the neighbors called the cops, and they found her ex’s gun on the ground outside. Then they found him half a block away having a panic attack behind a car.
“He was so scared of the guy who went after him that he begged to be put in jail. Cops were happy to do it after they found out what he was up to before he got chased away.”
“Sounds like he was planning to straight up kill the poor girl.”
“Yeah, it’s the instability most of all that scares women off from these guys, and this is why. Some men, you can’t tell they’re going to be abusive or a danger to you until you’re with them. But a guy like that practically has abuser tattooed on his forehead.”
“I think she tried pity-dating him.” Young girls always seemed to think they could fix guys or inspire them to grow up with enough love. Thank God some random man decided to step in.
“Yeah. I wonder who the hell he was.” She scratched her chin, then unwrapped one of her caramels.
“Only thing I know is what the guy said while he was being arrested. Dark hair, light eyes, nice suit, accent, gun.”
“So, James Bond.” The corner of her mouth curled up and I laughed.
“Whoever he was, we owe him one.”
***
I didn’t know what I was feeling when Viktor finally walked through the door. He had two of his brothers with him, the huge coarse-faced one who was almost always by his side, and another man, shorter than both of them but just as beefy, who was mostly watching his associate more than Viktor.
The vibe between them distracted me a little from my confusing jumble of emotions. It seemed odd. Not like the dynamic I had seen between him and his men, and between his men, before. It almost looked like Viktor and the other guard didn’t trust his right-hand man so much anymore.
I got up to greet Viktor and shake his hand, and all the words dried up in my mouth when he took my hand and kissed it instead. Just the lightest brush of his lips and I was a wreck.Damn him.
I struggled for a moment, then pasted my smile back on and offered them a seat across from my desk. Only the big one sat beside his boss, the third stood near the doorway, alert as a Doberman. But again, his eyes went back to the big guy more than anywhere else.
I was in a room full of mobsters. Killers. And one of them had way too much power over me.
“I’ve already gone over the basic auction schedule with you, so today’s meeting is mostly about this weekend. The auction is all of your uncle’s lower-ticket items, so it will be mixed and open to the public. We get a lot of people at the public auctions, so I expect everything or nearly everything put out to sell. If not, we can find room for the unsold items on the rest of the schedule, unless you have another preference.”
The big one adjusted his tie unnecessarily. His gaze floated from me to his boss to the window and back again. Nervous. But what about?
There was a whole little drama going on in front of my eyes, but I had no idea what the context or details were. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
“That should be sufficient for a first run. The higher-ticket auctions are to be by invitation only?” Viktor glanced at the man next to him and his eyes narrowed just slightly.
“Yes.” I produced a copy of the guest list for the second auction. “Book collectors, scholars, and anyone in the business of handling first editions who is established enough to be on the local radar. Please let me know if you want any alterations to the list.”
“I want a dozen of my men included on the guest list. I don’t want us all coming in together. I will give you their names via email.” He sat back in his seat, his gaze flicking to meet that of the man beside him, who almost flinched.
“Understood.” I suddenly realized that the man was at least a little drunk. I couldn’t smell it on him, but something in the stiff, nervous way he held himself told me. Drunk and pretending not to be.
He considered the papers I had given him so far, then looked up again. “Will you be attending the auction?”
“All of them. You’re my client, they’re my accounts, it wouldn’t be right not to be there.”
He pursed his lips slightly with pleasure as if to hide a smile, his eyes hooding in a way that made them smolder even more. “Good. Is there anything else I should know about this weekend’s auction?”
“Here’s a list of the staff working the event, including our house security and their photographs.” I passed him the printout. “I’ll be sending all of these via email as well.”
“Good.” He peered at the list, and then set it with the other papers. “I am assuming your security people are armed?”
“Armed, licensed, and bonded. We handle billions of dollars in goods yearly.” They all also wore concealable bulletproof vests under their suits. I had pushed the change a couple of weeks ago, claiming it was because of a deadly robbery at another auction house across town. Even if absolutely nothing bad happened at Viktor’s auctions, you really never knew.
Marcie walked past my door with a stack of papers, glancing in just as Viktor looked up curiously. She caught sight of his eyes and almost dropped the stack before recovering, giving me a startled look and then continuing her walk.
