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“I think that what we are is something we’re still figuring out,” I clarified as I brought her over to the couch. “Though clearly Michael’s presence necessitates that we have some kind of relationship.” I smiled back as gently as I could manage, trying to keep my eyes off the shine of her hair or the way even that modest dress clung to her curves as she sat.
“Yeah, that’s the thing. It’s too soon.” She forced a smile. “I prefer to at least be going steady before my first car chase, though.”
I laughed a little, and then cupped her cheek. She was still trembling, her pulse beating fast below the corner of her jaw. “Well, you’ve kept your sense of humor and you haven’t run from me. Those are good signs.”
Her smile was wobbly. She was scared and exhausted. There would only be so much I could do about that.
“Over the last several months we have become aware of a local rival gang moving in on our territory. They have always lived here, but now they have decided to branch out into areas where we have had a local monopoly. The competition is unwelcome. But I still hoped for a sane treaty with them that would avoid bloodshed.”
I brought her a cold lemonade, with cut strawberries floating among the ice cubes. “This should get the taste out of your mouth. And besides, best not to drink on an empty stomach.”
She frowned at me, but sipped obediently while I put a bottle of champagne on ice. “I guess. So these guys, they want a war. You don’t want a war, but you can’t afford to back down either.”
“Exactly.” I set the ice bucket with the champagne aside on the counter, poured my own lemonade, and came to sit beside her.
“You never told me who these people are.” She looked up from her drink, her manner almost timid.
“They’re a Puerto Rican group known as the Pueblo. Part of a larger organization based mostly in Puerto Rico, partly on the East Coast. We are the northernmost group that has ended up butting heads with them.”
“Why were they so hot to attack you?”
Basically, because they had a chance of finding me there. I do not know why they decided to incite violence, but this isn’t their first assassination attempt against my organization. It’s simply the first unsuccessful one. In part thanks to your quick thinking.”
She blinked rapidly as she tried to hide her expression behind a sip of lemonade. “I wasn’t about to let Michael’s father die at the hands of these guys. I mean, what would I tell him if I went and did something like that? How would I explain?”
I smiled lopsidedly. Of course, it was too soon for me to be that precious to her personally. And yet I was still moved by the risk she had taken. “You were very brave. And I will make sure that your courage is not repaid with more danger.”
“See, you keep saying that, but I don’t know how you plan to do it.”
“Besides putting you and Michael somewhere safe if it comes down to it? I’ll have a man watch your work in case they decide to drop in on you.”
It was the wrong thing to say. She moved away from me slightly, a flicker of doubt in her eyes. I restrained myself from moving closer or reaching after her. “What is it?” I asked gently instead.
“This is all too much. Maybe where you come from it’s a normal day when you shoot three people in the middle of an active assassination attempt, but for me, this is all…it’s just…” She went quiet, gesturing in frustration as she struggled to find the right words.
I found that I was bracing myself. She hadn’t run from me yet, but perhaps I was making her feel smothered. Perhaps she was working her way up to running.
“Take your time,” I urged softly. “You’ve been through a lot.”
She leaned her head on my shoulder mutely and I put my arm back around her, letting her shelter against me. She made a small, unhappy sound, and eventually asked, “When did you first end up in a situation like that? You’re as cool as if we spent the day at a museum or something.”
Now it was my turn to force a smile. “I grew up in the business. This isn’t the third time or even the dozenth that I have been in a firefight. I wish I could say otherwise, given the look on your face. But I will not lie to you.”
“Well, I’m glad about that part. But how old were you when it started?”
I took a long swallow of my lemonade and looked at her, weighing how much to tell. My life was so far from anything that someone like her would consider normal.
“I was an orphan. I grew up on the streets in Russia. For someone like me, crime wasn’t so much an option as it was a necessity to survive.”
She blinked and gave me a startled look. “But I thought your uncle—”
“He adopted me legally so I could inherit. He did not raise me. He’s not even a blood relative. In fact, by the time I met him, my childhood was well over.”
She nodded, glass halfway to her mouth. She noticed it and blushed, then hastily took another drink. “I see. So you didn’t have any family either. Not until you joined up with your…brothers.”
“That is correct.” Then I caught the either, and it was my turn to look surprised. “I thought you had a sister.”
“What? No…”
