Kallie grew more nervous with each passing second. She couldn’t keep her voice from trembling when she placed her order for a bourbon and coke. She acted so shaky that the waitress asked for her ID. Something she hadn’t even considered would happen.

Idiot. Now she knows I’m here. Hopefully she won’t connect me to Sasha.

He might find out anyway, but she wanted to be in control of that as much as she could be since she was in charge of so little it seemed. How she had come to this point in her life, she just couldn’t figure. Spying on a good-looking Russian, in his own bar, who could be an actual mobster, who’d seduced her while she’d worked as a cocktail waitress in a shady part of town? That kind of run-on sentence you couldn’t make up. How could her life get any nuttier?

Kallie sipped her drink with her back kitty-corner to the bar and the door, so she could spy without staring. She couldn’t see Sasha when he appeared, but she sure could feel him. The man had a hell of a presence. She squeezed her eyes shut. How could it be that her body knew he was there? It baffled her and she forced the thought from her mind, refusing to think about it.

Now that he was there, doubts assailed her. What exactly was her motive for doing all this? Revenge? Jealousy? Money? Was this what her life had been reduced to? She was stalking someone! And not just anyone—but a man she’d slept with. What on earth had made her think this was a good idea?

Sasha took what was probably his usual seat at the bar. It was like being at Darkness. In a matter of minutes, a beautiful woman approached him. He put his hand at the small of her back, though he did not touch her in any other way.

Kallie swallowed, immediately overcome with jealousy, all while trying to talk herself down from it. She’d only known the guy for a matter of days. It was stupid to have feelings for him. His life was his own, and he never said they’d be exclusive. Of course, a con man would say he was being straight with her when she asked if she was being played. On the other hand, he never said it was anything more than being kept.

What she probably should be doing was staking out his other houses to see how many other women he was keeping on her dime. Again, she chastised herself; her original intention had been to recoup her losses and find out just how shady he really was.

The woman swayed and kissed him on the cheek.

Kallie felt sick as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to blot out the image. She suddenly was at a loss for what she’d hoped to accomplish by coming here at all. She needed to get a lawyer. She needed the police. No. What she needed to do was stop. And get out of here.

She darted out of the bar at a fast but cool pace.

Once out front, Kallie hid at the side of the bar just for double caution. She pulled her phone out and called for a taxi. She was wasting the money she had by sitting in the backseat of someone else’s car. It didn’t matter. From now on she would start moving forward. She leaned against the building and waited for the cab. People entered and exited, cars pulled in and pulled out. It felt like forever. She checked the status of her taxi on her phone, then lost her signal.

She glanced up from her phone, ready to go between cars to call for another taxi when she met the cold, steely-blue eyes of Sasha Petrov bearing down on her.

He looked her up and down, silently scolding her for her altered appearance.

Finally, the Uber pulled into the lot. “I have to go,” she said, stepping aside.

He merely repositioned his stance and blocked her. “What’s with the hair?” he demanded.

“Making a new start,” she said. “I’ve gone back to my natural color.”

“You’re not blonde?” His eyes narrowed. “You’re naturally dark-haired?”

Kallie didn’t challenge him. He’d be one of the few people in the world who knew for sure.

The cab honked its horn.

Sasha took her by the arm and guided her over to the car. He held the door for her. He leaned down so he and Kallie were more on eye level. “You and I are going to have a conversation. But I’m telling you now, Kallie, you will not play games with me.”

Really? He’d taken everything from her and he wanted to threaten her? “That goes for you, too, Sasha!” She stepped out of the cab and backed him away. She directed him, pushing a single finger on his stone-hard chest. She was hardly eye to eye with him standing, but this definitely put her on equal footing. “You play games. I want what’s mine and then I want nothing to do with you! Damn right we’ll have a conversation. I’m naming my terms. I’ll get everything you took from me or else.”

He stepped closer doing his best to menace her. “Or what will you do?”

“Maybe you should ask what have I done,” Kallie retorted. It was a bluff, and he’d probably detect it, but it didn’t matter. She had a set of her own cards to play, and she had to admit she liked the game-playing. “You need to start thinking. Maybe I’ve been playing you all along. Or maybe you need to watch your back.” She turned to go and then spun around again. “Maybe Jeremy and I are playing you.” There! Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!

The cab honked again.

“Go,” he barked. “I’ll see you later.”

“You’d better go,” she taunted. “Your woman is waiting for you in the bar.”

He waved the cab away. “She won’t be needing a ride.” With a swipe of his bear-like forearm, he hoisted her over his shoulder and sauntered into the bar.

The boisterous entry made everyone there stop cold.

Sasha set Kallie down, looked her in the eye, took her face in his large, powerful hands, and kissed her.