Gregor sat in the office with Yuri and Kris, and stared at the garden through the French doors.
The rabbits were making an appearance again, and Tulli and Lara were standing quietly on the patio, watching the furry monsters darting around the lawn.
The pleasure the two women were taking from such a simple sight had him smiling.
“Do you know how many times those damned rabbits have set off the security alarms at night?” Kris asked him.
“No.” Gregor shrugged. “But I wouldn’t care if it was every night, as at least it’s keeping the security team from falling asleep on the job.”
“Gregor, they’re highly trained, former military personnel.” Yuri sighed. “They’re not the sort of security that falls asleep on the job.”
“They are, however, the sort of guys who would enjoy a nice rabbit stew.” Kris grinned. “Now I think about it, I’m partial to a good…”
“There will be no rabbit stew eaten on these premises, nor will any harm come to the rabbits on my lawn.” Gregor insisted. “Sophia knows every last one of them, so if one goes missing, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Kris snorted.
“That girl has you wrapped around her finger, y’know.” Kris pointed out. “Has had since she was old enough to demand what she wanted.”
Gregor smiled.
“She had me at her first gummy smile.” He admitted. “But considering who her parents were, and that money has never been in short supply, I’d say her ‘demands’ have been few, and rarely anything for herself.”
“True.” Yuri agreed. “And I do have to say that your ways of giving her what she wanted were often ingenious. Sponsoring a homeless shelter and an animal pound was a good way to keep Sophia happy.”
Gregor glanced at Yuri and chuckled.
“It was either that or have my home open to every stray animal or homeless person Sophia laid eyes on.” Gregor acknowledged. “I either had to make sure they were taken care of, or answer to Sophia’s wrath. I preferred not to have a house full of mangy pets.”
“It seems Sophia got her love of helping strays from her father, then.” Tulli’s voice came from the door. “She came by her empathy honestly.”
Gregor’s head spun around to see Tulli and Lara standing inside the French doors.
“Tulli, that’s…”
“That’s something my sisters and I are truly grateful for.” Thankfully she was smiling at him.
The sound of the office door opening interrupted any further conversation, and Dmitri showed Tuck, Candy, and JT into the room.
“I hope we’re not interrupting anything?” Tuck smiled at the ladies.
“Not at all.” Tulli replied easily. “Lara and I have just been watching the rabbits play, and enjoying the tranquillity of Gregor’s beautiful home.”
“Then, I hate that we have to spoil that for you.” Tuck frowned. “We’ve just finished our meeting with the agencies and wanted to let you know what the position is.”
“Come in and take a seat.” Gregor waved them in and sat back down, while Tulli took a seat next to him with her sister on the other side.
“Ok, well, first of all, there’s absolutely no update regarding the whereabouts of Castille’s daughter.” Tuck reassured them. “This morning’s meeting has just been about making contact with the right people and getting all the players on side.”
“Players?” Lara looked confused. “You make it sound like a game.”
Candy smiled at Lara.
“It almost is a game. A war-game.” She said ruefully. “The people we’ve been meeting with this morning are from the various law enforcement agencies that have an interest in cartel activities, plus some of Ryan’s Marine contacts. We want to make sure that when Luciana Vega comes looking for Gregor, we’re watching her every movement along the way.”
“Do you know for certain that she’s coming here?” Tulli glanced up at Gregor. “That she’s coming after you.”
“I think it’s almost certain.” Tuck explained. “She wants someone to blame for her father’s death, and Gregor’s is the name she’s been given. She’s not interested in digging any deeper to find out who pulled the trigger. She just wants a high-profile target, and he’s perfect. Not only will she get her revenge, but she’ll cement her place in the cartel as an effective and ruthless capo, or leader.”
“How soon will she come?” Lara asked, glancing between Tuck and Gregor.
“We don’t know anything for certain, yet.” Tuck shrugged. “All we know for certain is that she knows her father is dead, and she’s gunning for revenge. There is a DEA agent planted in her organisation, and he’s the one feeding information back. But although he’s in quite a high position in the cartel, he’s not one of her own lieutenants. He’ll find out what’s going on, as he works for her brother-in-law, but the detail may take a few hours to filter out to him.”
“We think Luciana will want to come here herself.” Candy explained. “That means quite a bit of planning, because they’re going to want to keep it as low key as possible. It’s doubtful that she’ll fly, as there are too many checks done at the airports these days. More likely she’ll come over the border on one of the trucks they use to ship the legitimate goods they trade in.”
“So, that means she won’t be here for a couple of days, right?” Kris asked. “That gives us plenty of time to get you out of the way, and plant a decoy in your place.”
He stared hard at Gregor, until Gregor couldn’t help but smile.
“You know that’s not what’s going to happen.” He shook his head, knowing that Kris was just trying to protect him. “I’m not hiding from this. Nor am I going to put someone else in my place and have them in danger. I’ll stay exactly where I am, and let them come to me.”
“What about the sisters? What about Marcy?” Yuri asked, pointedly. “Do you intend to keep them here as well?”
Shit!
Gregor had expected this question all along, but he’d hoped when it came, a solution would present itself at the same time.
“Marcy can take the rest of the week off. I’m sure we can manage to feed ourselves until this is over.” Gregor nodded. “As for Tulli, Lara and Mischa…”
“We were actually hoping they would come and stay with us for a few days, just until this was resolved.” Candy smiled. “Most of the Alpha Company side of the family have returned to the UK, so that’s freed up some bedrooms. JT’s still with us, and Danny and Hannah are going to stay with us as well. Plus, Sara and Marcus live just down the road, so Sara will be close by to look after Mischa.”
Tulli glanced up at Gregor, and his heart nearly broke. She looked like she wanted to cry but was holding things together by a thread.
“What do you think? Is it absolutely necessary?” She asked quietly.
NO! Gregor wanted to shout.
“It’s probably a good idea.” He admitted. “At least, as soon as we know she’s on her way. We don’t want to move Mischa unnecessarily, right? She’s settled in here so well.”
Gregor glanced at Tuck, silently begging the man to agree.
“We probably won’t need to do anything today.” Tuck agreed. “But it would probably be a good idea to be ready to move tomorrow, just in case.”
“We can do that.” Gregor nodded. “Thank you both for the offer.”
“Like I explained before… it looks like we’re going to have a family connection, what with Sophia and Alex making cow-eyes at each other all the time.” Candy smiled. “Family looks out for each other.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go and sit with Mischa for a while.” Lara smiled nervously. “Marcy has been with her for the last hour.”
“We’ll get out of your way, as well.” Tuck stood up. “I want to set up my home office as a base of operations over the next few days. We could get word that something’s going down at any time of day or night. Hannah’s going to need access to her beloved satellites, so it makes sense to be able to do everything from the house.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Kris asked. “If the sisters are staying with you, do you want us to accompany them, for added security?”
“No, but thanks for the offer. We have enough security to keep them safe.” Tuck explained. “I think your best bet is turning this place into a fortress. When she arrives, Luciana isn’t going to come unarmed.”
Gregor acknowledged the truth of Tuck’s assessment.
“I’ll show you out.” He walked his guests to the door, and waved them off, with Kris and Yuri standing beside him.
“Get your men organised, and let them know what to expect.” He growled. “I want nobody on guard that’s not trained for the job.”
He watched his two oldest friends turn and head towards the security gate, and closed the door behind them.
As he walked into his office, Gregor noticed that Tulli was still sitting on the sofa.
He approached her and as she glanced up at him, he could see the worry in her face.
He took the seat next to her, but turned, so he could look straight at her.
“I’m sorry you have to go to Tuck’s place.” Gregor whispered. “The rational part of my brain knows that it’s the safest place for you to be, but still… I’ve been enjoying the time we’ve spent together and the chance to get to know you.”
“Come with us?” Tulli took his hand and held it tightly. “You don’t have to stay here. Let them come and find an empty house.”
Gregor smiled.
“The point is to get this over with. If Luciana comes here and finds an empty house, she’ll either target my offices, or wait until I’m no longer prepared for her arrival, and pounce when I’ve got my defences down.” He explained. “Once you’ve gone, and we know she’s on her way, I’ll make myself visible to anybody she’s got scouting out the area, and then make a show of coming back here. It’ll hopefully get her where we want her.”
“What if you get hurt? Or… worse?” Tulli’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t think I could stand it.”
Gregor reached up and cupped her cheek, wiping a tear away gently with his thumb.
“I promise to be very careful, and do everything I can not to come to any harm.” He assured her.
He stared down into her cloudy grey eyes, desperate to take the worry away.
“You promise?”
Gregor couldn’t resist the temptation any longer, and leant down to touch his lips gently to hers.
Tulli was soft and warm, and when her lips opened on a half sigh, half sob, Gregor wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer.
As he deepened the kiss, he felt her hands clutching his shirt front, crushed between them.
He explored her mouth with his tongue, his hands running up and down the length of her back.
Again, his conscience was trying to tell him he shouldn’t be doing this, but he was doing his damnedest to shut the voice up.
When he eventually pulled back, Tulli’s eyes were dark and full of emotion, and her lips were red from his kiss.
“Please don’t apologise for that one.” She whispered, staring at him, imploring him with her eyes not to regret the kiss.
He smiled, reaching to push a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
“Would a ‘thank-you’ be more appropriate?” He asked, enjoying the smile it brought to her lips.
“Ok, then.” Her eyes lit with mischief. “Thank you.”
Gregor snorted a laugh.
“I actually meant for me to thank you, not the other way around.” He pointed out.
“Technically, you kissed me when I really wanted you to, so I think it should be me who does the thanking.” She explained.
Gregor stared at her in surprise.
“You wanted me to kiss you?” He asked.
“I’ve wanted you to do that ever since the first one.” Tulli’s cheeks started to pink. “And I’ll probably want you to do it again. Quite soon.”
Gregor couldn’t have been more shocked if she’d slapped him.
“Ok.” He murmured. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I’d better check on Mischa.” Tulli edged back with some reluctance.
Gregor stood up, giving her a hand to rise.
“I’ll probably sit with her for an hour or so, but I’ll come down to join you for lunch if that’s Ok?” She offered.
Gregor couldn’t help but grin.
“That sounds like an excellent plan.” He nodded.
“Good.” Tulli stepped away from him, taking a few paces towards the door. “Because I may be ready for another kiss by then.”