Will this suit your needs, Mr. Volkov?” the landlord asked.

Ben exhaled and looked around the smaller studio loft one floor down from his, bending to scratch Pavlov behind the ears. “Yes, I think this will be fine. Did you bring the paperwork?”

“Yep, I did. Just like you asked.” The super walked over to the nearby kitchen island to set out the contract for signing. The rotund man stifled a yawn as he turned back to Ben. “Sorry, sir. It’s a bit early for me.”

Instead of responding, Ben grabbed the pen from the man’s hand and scrawled his name on the dotted line before handing the man one month’s rent plus the security deposit in cash he’d gotten from the safe in his wall. He’d learned early on to keep a bit of money on hand in case one needed a quick getaway—or a quick escape from a woman he could see all too easily slipping into his life and his bed, and fitting perfectly.  “I appreciate you meeting me on such short notice. Thank you.”

“Anything for you, Mr. Volkov,” the man said, shoving the money and the papers into his pants pocket. “Here’s your keys. Not sure why you need two places in the same building, but it’s not my place to ask.”

“No, it’s not.” Ben leveled the guy a stern stare.

The landlord backed away slowly, his laugh nervous. “Right. Sure. I, uh, I gotta get back to my place now.” He fumbled with the knob on the front door. “H-have a nice day.”

Alone, Ben unleashed Pavlov and allowed him to check out his new digs on his own. The space wasn’t nearly as large as Ben’s on the floor above, but it was clean and safe and would do just fine for Lucy.

His heart pinched at the thought of the woman he’d left sleeping in his bed upstairs.

When he’d awakened two hours earlier, with her warm, soft body draped over his and her silky hair covering his chest, he’d felt a peace and sense of completion he’d never had before—which was terrible. Lucy was all wrong for him in so many ways. She was impulsive and free and far too emotional for her own good. Worse, she busted through all his carefully laid barriers and controls without even trying. And the kicker? Ben wanted to fall to his knees and thank her for the privilege.

Jesus and the saints.

That’s why he’d called his building’s superintendent at such an ungodly hour, insisted on seeing this place, forked over his own funds to pay for it. He needed space between himself and Lucy before he did something insane—like ask her to stay with him forever.

They’d known each other less than a week. Her father was his current target.

If Nik could see him now he’d laugh in his face. Or punch him. Or both.

The great Ben Volkov—lover of all things ordered and analytical—felled by his enemy’s daughter. It made no sense, it was completely irrational and entirely unlike him.

Yet, he seemed unable to fight his growing feelings for Lucy.

She was dangerous to him in far more ways than one. She made him forget his duties, made him forget his plans, made him want to be wild and crazy and free. Made him want to live a life away from the Bratva and all the horrors it entailed.

He raked his hand through his short hair and stalked back to the door, grabbing his own copy of the lease paperwork on the way out. Pavlov would be fine here alone until he could bring Lucy back down to see the place. He’d just walked the dog around the block twice and made sure he’d done all his business. Before leaving, he walked back into the kitchen and fixed the dog a makeshift bowl of water using a Tupperware container left behind by the previous tenant, then closed and locked the door behind him.

On the elevator ride back up to his loft, he called the family’s Bratva minions and woke them up, sending them on a mission to Lucy’s old place to pack up her things and bring them over to the new address by that afternoon, warning them about the humongous dog that would greet them at the door, not caring that at this early hour they’d still be sleeping. After the way they’d fucked up at the art gallery, the men should be thankful for a chance to redeem themselves at all. Most people who screwed with the Bratva never got a shot at redemption.

Peter Mishin certainly wouldn’t. Not if Ben had his way.

He could’ve gotten Lucy killed the other night and that was totally unacceptable.

Not to mention the money he’d stolen, the ridicule he’d brought down on Ben’s family because of his crimes. Hell. No. Mishin would pay dearly for his sins. Ben would make sure of it. Mishin didn’t deserve a daughter like Lucy. Lucy was too kind, too generous, too beautiful for the likes of that man.

Determined, Ben walked back into his loft to find Lucy wandering around the living room, wearing his black T-shirt from the day before and calling out for Pavlov. At the sight of her, his heart raced and his body tightened. If circumstances had been different, Ben would’ve picked her up and carried her back to his bed and kept her there for eternity.

As it was, they both had things to do and people to find.

“Where’s Pavlov?” Lucy asked, frowning at him. “I thought maybe you took him for a walk.”

“I did.” Ben tossed the lease paperwork and keys on the breakfast bar. “He’s downstairs.”

“You left him alone outside?” Lucy walked up to him, cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling with anger. “Why would you do that? He can’t take care of himself.” She eyed him up and down, her gaze narrowed. “And aren’t you up and ready awfully early. Are you running away again, Ben?”

Yes. “Nyet.”

“I expected you to be there when I woke up.” Lucy put her hands on her hips. “I thought we could talk about last night.”

“No time to talk. Get dressed.” He knew he sounded like an arrogant ass, but it was either that or fall at her feet and beg her to forgive him, and even smitten as he was, he’d been trained his whole life to keep his emotions inside. “I’ll make some fresh coffee.”

“Fuck the coffee. We need to talk about what happened. After I get my dog before he’s hurt or killed or worse. Where exactly did you leave him?”

Her voice held a sharp edge that cut him to the bone. Luckily, he had his head buried in the cabinet searching for the coffee so she couldn’t see him. The idea he’d leave an innocent animal defenseless made his chest ache even more. Is that what she thought of him? That he was nothing more than a senseless brute? And yes, he’d done some awful things while working for the Bratva—beaten, stolen, maimed—but never without justification and never, ever to an innocent. He had honor, even if it was a bit skewed. Well, if she thought so little of him now, wait until she heard his bombshell news. He squeezed his eyes shut and grabbed the bag of coffee and a filter before turning back to her. “The dog is not outside. He’s downstairs in your new apartment.”

Lucy blinked at him a moment. “My what?”

“Your new apartment. We can’t keep living on top of each other here. It’s not working for me.” He swallowed hard against the lie. “You are too disruptive to my plans. So, I took the liberty of renting the open apartment downstairs for you. I’ve paid the first month’s rent and security deposit and have sent men to retrieve your belongings from the old place and settle your debts there.” A muscle ticked near his tense jaw as he scooped grounds into the filter then slipped it into the basket of the coffee maker. This was good. Routine was good. It kept him focused and on track. Kept him from pulling her into his arms and telling her how sorry he was. He filled the carafe and poured water into the machine then hit start before finally turning to face her again. He pushed the keys and lease papers toward her, across the bar. “Here. I gave the dog water, but he’ll need food.”

Her expression slowly shifted from disbelief to hard fury. “So that’s it then? We’re done? You fuck me, then shove me aside, and I’m supposed to just take it and go like some simpering idiot?” She grabbed the keys and the papers, crumpling them in her fist. “Well, fuck you, Ben Volkov. You don’t control me. You aren’t the boss of me. I’ll go downstairs but only to get my dog. Then I’m out of your life forever. Don’t worry.”

Ben waited until the guest bedroom door slammed behind her then leaned back against the counter and exhaled. He’d made a plan, dammit. A plan which most sane people would’ve been grateful for. But his plan had failed to take into account Lucy’s emotions.  Moments later, Lucy stomped past him and headed for the front door of his loft, still wearing his T-shirt, over a pair of jeans, her feet in flip flops. She looked so adorable he couldn’t stop himself. “Lucy, I—”

She flipped him off as she headed out the door.

Perfect.

After fixing himself a cup of caffeine, Ben slumped down on one of the stools at the bar and picked up Mishin’s phone Lucy had stolen the other night at the gallery party. Maybe he could salvage something from this train wreck of a mission yet, if he found something on the phone to use to find his target again. Plus, it had the added benefit of keeping his mind off Lucy, which was becoming increasingly harder and harder to do, especially after last night. At least if he found Mishin, he could ensure Lucy would be safe.

Typing in a code the Bratva had developed to bypass the device’s security passwords, he pulled up Mishin’s recent call list and found a number that had been used numerous times over the past three days. He checked the clock—after eight now—then hit the redial button.

An answering machine picked up. “You’ve reached the Chicago Diamond Exchange. If you’ve reached this recording during our normal business hours…”

Fuck.

Mishin wasn’t hiding his stolen mafia cash in art. He was buying gems.

And given the size of the order, he’d never trust a courier to deliver the goods.

Ben quickly hung up then typed the name into the phone’s GPS. It was close by, off South Wabash Avenue and didn’t open for another hour. If he hurried he could get there first thing and hopefully catch Mishin in the act. The guy had to be desperate now that he knew the Volkov’s were on to him. He’d want to get the money converted and get out of the country as soon as possible.

With the Lucy situation hopelessly screwed, there was no sense waiting around for another argument. She still had the key to his apartment, if she needed to get back in and with her stuff being delivered later, that should keep her busy and out of trouble. Still, he chugged down the rest of his coffee then scribbled a fast note letting her know he was out in case she came looking for him again for some reason. After making sure he had his Sig Sauer and a clip stowed in his pocket, Ben was off. Five minutes later, he was downstairs and hailing a cab at the curb.

Turned out the business was located on the first floor of a high-rise office building. Nice facility with marble floors and a young sales clerk setting out lots of twinkling stones in the glass cases to entice the tourists. He knocked on the glass door, hoping she’d be willing to open the door for him even though it wasn’t quite nine.

“May I help you?” a sales clerk asked from the other side of the door. She was pretty, but her blond hair and dark eyes left him cold. Seemed he’d developed a preference for black haired, green eyed temptresses lately. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to see if he could use this girl to get into the store.

“I’m looking for an engagement ring. Would you have any yellow diamonds available?” Ben smiled at her, laying on the charm.

“Oh.” The clerk’s appreciative gaze turned greedy, as she unlocked the door and let Ben inside. “I’d be happy to show you our selection of engagement rings.”

“Uh, actually, I was hoping to speak with your manager,” Ben said, and the girl’s expression went somehow flat.

“I’m sorry,” she said sweetly, “he’s in the back helping another client.”

His instincts told him it might be Mishin.

“It’s just—I was hoping to look at loose stones,” Ben said. “One carat or greater.”

“Well, I can help you with that,” the girl said, her smile returning. “Would you care to come back to my office where I can show you what we have in stock?”

“That sounds marvelous.” He followed her behind the counter, through the door to the back area and stopped short. There stood Mishin, with his back to Ben as another clerk counted out a stack of cash beside a small pile of diamonds. Acting on pure adrenaline, Ben pulled the gun from the holster at his side and aimed. “You son of a bitch!”

Mishin turned fast, his own weapon drawn and his scowl dark. “I wondered how long it would take you to find me again, Ben. You always were too smart for your own good.”

Both clerks moved off to the side, eyes wide and hands up.

“How about you both put the damned guns down and we discuss this like civilized people?” Lucy asked as she burst through the door behind Ben.

He glanced over at her, never taking his aim off Mishin. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“You’re not the only one who can tail people.” She crossed her arms and glared at both men. “Now put those stupid ass weapons down before these clerks call the cops on your asses and you’re both hauled off to prison.”