FIVE

 

 

His assets? Babies? DNA swapping? Meeting his mob boss father?

Confusion swirled through Dale’s suddenly aching head as she stuck it out the bathroom door looking for Farah. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”

They were in her boss’s office, and Dale was using the en-suite to change.

“Why? Are you drunk? We’re the same size, so you’re borrowing an outfit. What’s so difficult?”

“Your brother-in-law…”

She paused, and she and Farah stared at each other. The bloodshot eyes were almost back to normal, but there was still a new strain on her boss’s face that Dale reacted to every time she looked at her. Could she add to that? Did she even want to? It wasn’t easy for her to confide in others. She was terrible at putting herself out there. And asking for help? Yeah, no. She’d just as soon push her car twenty miles to the nearest service station than accept a gas can from a passing motorist.

Not to mention, she wasn’t sure she should be confiding at all. Earlier, she’d made a promise to Samuel and his friends that whatever went on in that meeting room would not be discussed outside it. Did that include kisses and…other insane shit?

“Uh, I don’t get why your brother-in-law thinks my uniform is unacceptable.” Or why she’d rushed down the hall and was now changing just because Lukas Zavrazin had ordered her to.

“Lukas is Samuel’s silent partner,” Farah surprised her by saying. “If my husband told you to change before serving this meeting, would you have an issue with it?”

“No, of course, not.”

“Then don’t make one over Lukas’s request. A boss is a boss.”

Did she mean a mafia-type boss or an employer-type boss? Dale briefly studied Farah’s eyes when they crinkled through a quick smile, but couldn’t tell.

Did it matter?

Nope.

Nodding once, she ducked back into the bathroom to shimmy out of her shorts and bustier. After shucking the fishnets, she stepped into the dress Farah had handed her a minute ago and dragged it up her body. Luckily, the classic velvet creation had a built-in bra.

“This is stunning,” she said as she came out and turned so Farah could zip her up. She could have easily reached the low zip that only came mid-way up her back, but if anyone was going to get it stuck or break it, it would be the owner of the dress herself.

“I’ve never worn it because this shade of green doesn’t work for me.” She turned Dale around by the shoulders. “But it does for you. Your eyes just exploded all over me. Now get your shoes on and get gone. I don’t want to have to listen to Lukas bitch about the time it takes us to change.”

“Would he? Bitch at you, I mean?” They must be close.

“Sure. If he’s in a bad mood. Samuel said he kissed you.”

Warning! Warning! Trap has been set.

“Your husband has never even sneezed in my direction let alone kissed me, Farah,” Dale promised, deliberately misunderstanding. “Swear to God.”

Thank fuck Gretchen, another of Dale’s co-workers appeared in the doorway as Dale shoved her feet into her stillies as fast as she could.

“He just called me, Farah.” Gretchen’s tanned skin looked sallow, her normally bright eyes dull. And she wasn’t smiling, which was unusual.

“Who?” Farah asked after giving Dale a sly look that said she knew what she was about.

“Garrett.”

Their boss’s eyes widened as her attention shifted. “Are you shitting me?”

Gretchen shook her head and came into the office with her phone on offer. “He left a message.”

Grateful for the distraction, Dale got moving. “I have to go. Thanks for the dress.” She blew Farah a kiss and gave Gretchen a sympathetic smile before leaving. Garrett Dawson was a pain-in-the-ass customer who crushed on all the girls. One as pretty as Gretchen shouldn’t have expected to be any different, though, if Garrett was bothering her more aggressively than he had the rest of them, Dale was glad Gretchen was bringing it to Farah’s attention.

As she hurried down the hall toward the back of the building, questions whizzed through her head? Had Samuel told Farah to test her? Had she passed? Was she being paranoid? Had she seriously made a date with a fucking Russian mobster? Had their kiss been as spectacular as she’d thought? What would he be like in bed? Could she handle more of what he’d already given her? God, being pressed up against him had been like being attached to a live wire. Was she crazy to want more or just really, really stupid?

“Deep end? Meet Dale,” she murmured, hearing voices as she neared her destination. She slowed then stopped altogether to compose herself with a calming breath.

She should have slapped the man’s arrogant face when he’d told her he wanted to impregnate her.

Shh. Brain. Not now.

She had to have misunderstood. Somehow, her receptors had screwed up what she’d heard with what had actually been said. Because, come on. Who the fuck would say such a filthy, strangely erotic, dream-come-true thing to a complete stranger in front of his freaking brother?

Seriously. Not now.

Drawing her lips up into a smile that was welcoming but not personally welcoming, she entered the room that already smelled sweetly of cigars and swiftly counted ten men. Going to the nearest group, she quietly waited for a break in the conversation before imagining them wearing rubber horse heads and asking if anyone could use a refreshment.

As she took the order to the bar and prepared what were basic straight shots on ice, she focused on the task and kept her eyes, and thoughts, as far away from Lukas Zavrazin, and his sperm, as she could.

 

***

 

Lukas never thought he’d live to see the day when a woman could distract him from business with so little effort. Especially business that was essentially very personal. Maksim had confirmed there had been three gunmen last night but was otherwise keeping quiet about any other details he might have learned.

As Lukas continued to listen with only half an ear to an associate from Detroit bitch about being summoned to Houston, he watched the efficiency and professionalism his future wife displayed as she dealt with the others who’d also arrived and didn’t seem bothered by the last-minute trip. Even those who’d traveled from Montreal, Toronto, and L.A. appeared at ease and ready to sit down.

Lukas and Vasily had extended the invite to only the most powerful Bratvas, knowing the higher-ups kept abreast of what the lesser organizations were involved in. Namely, a foolish but nervy attempt to take the life of the Pakhan who dominated Houston’s underworld with the Tarasovs and—the most lethal of them all—the Fanes, who would not be represented tonight.

He took his phone out when it buzzed, and read the text without considering how rude the gesture was in the middle of Nero’s rant that had now veered over into the shitty service he’d received from the bitchy flight staff on his father’s jet. Self-entitled prick never failed to annoy.

She made a joke when I mentioned you. Which means I still don’t know if you guys are bullshitting. Did you kiss her? And if so, did you like it?

He didn’t reply to his sister-in-law but tucked the device away and hid his satisfaction.

Dale wasn’t a gossip.

Dale. The chubby comedian.

No wonder Samuel had laughed when Lukas had referred to her in such a way. He made a mental note to get Farah something nice for her birthday. Maybe for Christmas, too, because, apparently, his brother’s significant other knew Lukas well enough to have picked out his future wife.

“Excuse me, Nero.” Samuel shook the idiot’s hand as he came over. “I need to speak to Lukas before we begin.”

Leaving the over-weight son who shouldn’t have come here in his father’s place to find someone else to bore, Lukas allowed his brother to lead him a few feet away.

“I think you should go.”

That gained his attention. He pulled his eyes away from the way Dale’s new dress showcased the perfection of her body. Round, plump breasts. Her waist…fuck him. Small ribcage. Flared hips just begging to be gripped for any number of reasons. He would keep her naked for days. Weeks.

Forever.

To lose himself in. To care for and protect. To shelter. Not just to fuck.

But, oh, how they’d fuck. He remembered her immediate response to him during their kiss. Her lips had been pliable and eager as she’d welcomed him. Her tongue wet and warm as it had played with—

“Seriously, Lu. Get the fuck out of here and take her with you before something happens.”

Samuel’s concerned face came into focus, and Lukas patted his little brother’s jaw to reassure him all was well. “What could happen? And you were right. She grew up this side of poor, yet she still got herself through college with a place on the honor role.” Since learning she was Dale, he’d reread her very thin file three times. “Do you know her well enough to know if that’s because she’s book smart? I have a feeling her intelligence might impress me. You can see it in her eyes. Or it might not, and she could simply amuse me with foolish observations that make sense to no one but her. Normally, I find that irritating in a woman. But her…? Mm-mmm. I think I’ll enjoy it. I know I’ll enjoy her.”

Samuel was looking at him like Lukas had just pissed down the leg of his Tom Ford and was now proudly pointing at the puddle forming at his feet.

“What the fuck’s happened to you in the last two hours? It’s like Papa’s standing here with me talking about mom.”

The comparison made Lukas feel special. “Her father lives in Houston, but she doesn’t live with him, and only one friend—who works here—and an unnamed roommate were listed under acquaintances. Do you know what that means? I could take her tonight,” he said without waiting for a response as he had a habit of doing, “and the backlash would be minimal.”

Samuel’s sigh was quiet and long. “That’s not what I meant. You can’t steal the fucking girl from her life, idiot. No matter how boring it might sound to you. When I said take her with you, I meant to take her to the condo and talk with her. Let her know why you want to bring her to the hospital tomorrow. Maybe feed her while you get to know her. You don’t want it to be obvious to Papa that you just met.”

Dale had drifted back to the bar and was standing there looking edible. She didn’t needlessly wipe the clean surface in an attempt to appear busy. She merely waited, poised and ready.

He would have her do the same next to his bed. Tonight. Only she’d be naked. And she wouldn’t be wearing that indifferent expression.

Her eyes clashed with his then bounced away. She’d be wearing that one. The one that continued to crackle with interest whenever she looked at him.

She came back out and took another order. He watched her prepare it and then measured the swell of her ass when she went back and leaned slightly to place the drink in front of Tomas.

She touched his elbow. “Your drink is at four o’clock, sir.”

Tomas was blind, but it wasn’t apparent as the proud man had perfected the ability to look as if he were just bored, gazing here and there when in reality, he saw nothing. Dale had picked up on a hidden disability that had taken Lukas two meetings to recognize. Because she was attuned and observant?

“Did you tell her Tomas is blind?” The man’s byki was looking at Dale with a masculine appreciation that was forgotten when his boss began speaking with him.

“No, Lukas. I didn’t. Are you listening to me?”

“Then she’s observant. I’ll have to remember that.”

“Remember it on your way out.” Samuel’s gaze went beyond Lukas, and he suddenly looked perturbed, which had Lukas turning…

Nero had his empty glass in the air and was signaling Dale over with a curling finger and a wolfish grin.

Ah, so that was his brother’s concern. He thought Lukas was going to react badly when the others began noticing how much Dale had to offer a man.

Lukas watched the subtle sway of her hips as she answered the call and came their way. She didn’t look at him as she passed by within touching distance. As her decadent yet somehow innocent sweet berry scent trailed under his nose, he had the oddest urge to take the pins from her hair and let the locks fall down her exposed back. Not to cover her, because he enjoyed the sight of her bared too much, but to see how much length he had to work with. Would he wrap it around his fist once to yank her head back to expose her throat? Or twice?

“Hey, doll. Freshen this up for me, would ya? And not so much ice this time. I like my drinks the way I like my women. On the warm side.” Nero winked and handed Dale his empty glass.

Her gracious smile didn’t falter as she nodded and turned away.

Lukas waited until she was almost even with him before stopping her. “Dale.”

A small knot formed on her fragile jaw as she paused and looked up at him. “Yes, Mr. Zavrazin?”

The arm’s length title was bothersome, but he let it go this time because he was a reasonable guy. “Why do you have a man’s name?”

No one could hear them but for Samuel, and maybe Nero, if he were straining his ears. Dale’s eyes took a spin around anyway before she pleased him by coming a half a step closer.

“Dale is a short form of my full name.”

“Which is what?”

“Magdalena.” She was looking at his tie rather than at him.

Magdalena. Well, fuck him. “Sounds both virtuous and lascivious.”

Her mouth tightened. She rubbed her nose. She bit her lower lip. But, in the end, she couldn’t stop the smile that overtook her face. “Lascivious?” she whispered, her green eyes dancing as they met his. She had a goddamn dimple. Right cheek. “Really? Who uses words like that, Lukas?” Her amused giggle reached in and stroked what felt like his heart. And the way her lips pursed when she said his name? Yeah. He liked that.

Christ. His mother had always glowed when she said his soft heart had been a trait he’d inherited from his father. But Lukas had had no idea what heart she’d been speaking of.

Until now.

“Magdalena was my grandmother’s name. She was German, and lived with us…” Her smile faded, and she looked momentarily confused. “Uh, sorry. Now isn’t the time for sharing meaningless information, is it?” She glanced from him to Samuel. “Um, let’s just say shortening my name to Dale got me teased less growing up. Having boys tell me I was named after a prostitute wasn’t fun. But only because, at the age of twelve, I thought prostitute was a different brand of salami than the one my Oma used to buy for my lunches.” That impersonal smile came back as she glided away to refill Nero’s drink.

“Beautiful,” he murmured. His father was going to love her.

“Lukas? May I have a word?”

He tore his gaze away from her to nod at Vasily, who was now standing next to Samuel.

Without asking questions, Lukas followed the Pakhan to the corner where he made a concerted effort to focus.

“When I was with your father earlier,” Vasily began without pause, “I couldn’t get him to talk to me about last night. In fact, he wouldn’t speak of anything but the girl you were bringing to meet him.” He gave Lukas a pointed look. “His happiness was undeniable.”

“I’m sure it was. He’s been waiting a long time for some grandchildren.”

Vasily’s brows came together. “And for you to find someone to spend your life with,’ he added, then asked, “Why do you and Samuel think it is acceptable behavior to bring a stranger in front of him?” He held up a hand to prevent Lukas from speaking. “I don’t know the specifics, even though Maksim was dying to explain them to me, but I am shocked you would use this girl to fool an injured man who has done nothing but protect and adore you boys your whole lives.”

Around the blatant chastisement, Lukas experienced a cleansing sense of relief when he was able to honestly explain what was now the reality of the situation. “It might have started that way, but deceiving in order to placate is no longer the case. When I introduce Magdalena to my father tomorrow, claiming she is mine, it will be one of the most definitive statements I will ever make.”

Vasily’s disapproval faded to make way for a light humor tainted with a relieved interest. “Is that so? Does this mean you are now able to identify with Kostya’s story about how he met your mother?”

Lukas didn’t hide his surprise. “He shared that with you?”

“He’s shared it with me more than once. Bragged about it, actually. He’s very proud of how they came together.”

“So was she. But she didn’t brag about it. She spoke of being grateful.”

“I imagine she did. Leane was nothing if not gracious. She would be thrilled with this turn of events. And since neither she or your father is present, and in the vein of keeping the peace, I, as your elder, will ask you to take your new lady and leave. Samuel said he was going to do the same, and I think that would be wise.”

Lukas was very close to feeling offended, but he couldn’t quite work up to it. Not only because of who was making the request, but because of how tactfully it had been made. Had he been a different kind of man, Vasily could have come out and demanded Lukas leave, and there would have been nothing he could have done about it due to Vasily’s close relationship with Kostya.

But caving immediately might make it seem as if starting his life with Dale was more important to him than his father’s wellbeing, so he made a token attempt to stay.

“With all due respect, Vasily, I am fully capable of separating business and pleasure.” A pointless attempt, he just then realized, because leaving with Dale would be something his father would encourage rather than discourage.

A quiet laugh he instinctively recognized as forced captured his attention, and turning away from a man one should never dismiss came as naturally as if God had placed his hand on Lukas’s head to spin it to the side himself.

Nero had made his way to the bar. He was standing in the narrow exit. Dale was trapped, drinks in hand.

As Lukas felt the hair on his body rise along with his inner temperature, the door opened once more, distracting him for only seconds. Milan, who’d been instructed to wait in the corridor with Yasha, stepped into the room. He met Lukas’s eye with a barely perceptible frown.

“I’m not going far, Nero.” Dale’s hushed voice was friendly but verging on curt. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll return after I deliver these drinks.”

Lukas knew he had to pay attention to who’d arrived, because going by Milan’s signal, it was someone interesting. But Nero was making a nuisance of himself. He’d cornered Dale. Had introduced himself. Had he been disrespectful? Mentioned to her he wanted to fuck her? Or eat her pussy? Or any number of things Lukas had heard the crass prick say to other women over the years?

Business was cast aside as his focus was dragged back to the bar.

“Lukas…”

Vasily’s quiet tone held a warning Lukas discounted because Dale was taking a step back. Nero had just reached out and cupped her shoulder. “…won’t last long,” he was saying. “What time are you finished?”

She put the glasses down on the bar top and picked up a napkin to dry her hands. “I’m working all night, and then I’m afraid I already have plans with a friend.”

“I’ll make it worth your while to break them.”

Lukas heard the door close, but only because a hush had fallen over the room. He didn’t look to see why and assumed it was because all the men present were watching Nero take out his wallet and throw three hundreds on the bar.

“You fuckin’ whores get more and more expensive and less and less accommodating.”

Nero’s words caused an earthquake to rip through Lukas, the cracks and fissures ravaging the qualities that made him a good leader-in-training. Things like diplomacy and tact and self-control were eradicated and replaced with rash lunacy and a primitive rage unlike anything he’d ever felt.

For a split second, as he approached, his gaze connected with Dale’s. She was shaking her head and saying something he couldn’t hear over the blood roaring in his ears.

“She. Is. Mine,” he growled as he raised a hand already curled into the shape of a claw. He gripped Nero by the hair and smashed that ruddy face against the bar top.

“Knew this was coming,” Samuel complained to someone. “But if you ask him, he’ll deny being a greedy prick with his belongings.”

“Looks like she’s fallen into that category.” Maksim sounded amused. “Doesn’t look thrilled about it, either. And I can see why. Watch when he lifts the D-bag’s head.”

Lukas tuned them out and did just that. And, yeah, he could understand why the sight of Nero in the state he was now in would bother Dale. Oh, well, she’d get over it.

He hammered Nero’s head down again, two more times in quick succession, which had blood splattering across crystal and liquor bottles. By then, the glass that had been on the bar, the one Lukas had shattered with the first hit, had broken apart so that only the base and one long, jagged side remained. Though, the side was no longer visible because it had been nailed too deeply into Nero’s eye socket and was now probably lodged in his brain—if the man’s uncontrollable shaking was any indication.

A feather-like touch on his arm had Lukas landing in his right mind with an almost audible snap. He looked to see Dale staring at Nero with eyes so wide and white it was obvious she’d never done a drug in her life.

“You…” Her head was moving from side to side. “Overreacted.” Her hand slid away, and her face grew pasty. “I’m…c-canceling…our d-date.” A disturbing vacancy replaced the horror in her eyes and Lukas didn’t think twice about letting Nero fall so he could move to catch Dale before she hit the floor.

He scooped up her light weight, barely swallowed a moan at how natural it felt to hold her, and stepped over his victim to head for the door.

That was when he saw the reason quiet had descended earlier. Though, because the sizable inferno they’d left at the warehouse last night had been plastered all over CNN today, with secret sources claiming organized crime involvement, he shouldn’t have been surprised a representative had been sent by the most influential man in their world.

Gheorghe Fane stood by the table, a curious smirk curving his mouth up. He was dressed in black slacks and a maroon dress shirt that had the top two buttons undone, and, as usual, no tie in sight. There were two men with him—at least they were in suits—that Lukas had never seen before, and that mattered little. As Lucian Fane’s rep, and blood relative, Gheorghe could have brought a harem of showgirls down from Vegas and they’d have had to look okay with it as they made room.

Milan, Yasha, and Adam were now on standby. Adam had his keys out. Milan was rolling up his sleeves. Yasha was on the phone. Lukas was pretty sure he’d just ordered a cleaner, which meant they thought Nero couldn’t be saved.

“Gheorghe.” Lukas walked over with Dale and extended the hand he had tucked under her knees. It was shaken. “Forgive the unscheduled entertainment. If you’d like to make yourself comfortable, I’ll return—”

“That call Gheorghe will make tomorrow, if he even bothers to spend the night in your city,” Vasily interceded as he, too, came over and shook the Romanian’s hand. “Gheorghe. Nice to see you. Go on, Lukas. Take her home and care for her so that she’s in top shape to meet her future father-in-law tomorrow. Samuel can fill you in later. We’ll take care of Nero.”

“If the red flags that have popped up amount to anything,” Maksim said as he joined them with phone in hand, “Gheorghe and Lucian aren’t going to give a shit about this anyway.” He pulled Dale’s dress down so not as much of her tanned thigh was showing.

Moving her out of Maksim’s reach, Lukas looked around with the title father-in-law still ringing in his ears. He glanced at a now unmoving Nero then nodded. He knew when he was beaten. His gaze trailed over the woman in his arms. And he knew when he wasn’t.