"Another threat," the man mumbled to himself, his short blunt fingers tapping nervously.
He was nervous because he was going to kill her. Or have her killed. Would he do it himself?
Did Nikky do his own killing?
"This was a mistake." Chan pressed a button. The divider between them and the driver lowered. "Take us back." The divider rolled back up again. "Please express my apologies to Kaerta for this." He gestured to her. "To offset any inconvenience, the two of you will have a seat at my table tonight."
That was not a request. They were having dinner with the wife-killer. "Thank you. I'm sure Nikky will be ecstatic."
"She's back, Boss."
Back? She was alive? Nik turned, dazed.
"Bring her here, Pavel."
"Grandfather." He would go to her. She was back. Back. His brat. Nik had thought, when they saw her on the surveillance video, struggling, Joey Chan's man tossing her into the limo, he'd thought...
"In private, Nikolay." Grandfather puffed on his cigar. He had spent the entire morning chain smoking. "You don't want them to see you like this."
Like he cared what other people thought. "She's my fiancee." His. He thought he'd lost her.
"Showing weakness in front of others puts her at greater risk."
What a hypocrite. "If it had been Grandmother?" Wars had been waged over his grandmother, their tempestuous relationship a thing of family legend.
The cigar was crushed in the ashtray. "We are not talking about your grandmother." No one did since she passed.
"No, we're talking about my fiancee." His. "And I will kill Chan for taking her." If she'd been harmed...
"You will not." She stood in the doorway, hands on her hips, so tiny, so defiant.
All his worry converted into anger. "You will not tell me what to do, Brat." He directed that anger at her. "You gave up that right when you left me." She left him. That cut him to the bone.
"For your own protection, ass." She looked absolutely beautiful in her Walmart t-shirt, black pants, and her hair loose and frizzy. "And I didn't do that so you could get your idiot self killed. You are not messing with Joey Chan. The man murdered his own wife, his pregnant wife. He'd kill you in a heartbeat."
"He messed with you." Nik stepped toward her. She left him to protect him?
"I needed a ride, he gave me a ride. I wanted to come back to you, he brought me back to you." She tilted her chin up.
He cupped it with his palm. She came back to him. "He took you."
"He made a mistake." That mud green gaze held his. She was the strongest woman he'd ever met. "As did I."
What was the mistake? Her leaving or her coming back? "You will not leave me again, Brat."
He kissed her, crushing her to him, reassuring himself that she was there, that she was okay. When his lips left hers, her eyes were soft, her body supported by his. "Never again."
"For as long as you want me, I'll stay...or until you die." A sad smile. "That could be first, Nikky. Death has found me."
"Not you." A snort originated from the corner. He'd forgotten about Grandfather. "Chan's men. What did he have to say about that?"
"Chan's men?" Her eyelashes fluttered.
Nik groaned. Those weren't the deaths she referred to. "Who else is dead, Brat?"
"Men," she repeated. "More than one. How many, Nikky? And who?"
"Three very bad men," he clarified, staring straight at Grandfather, willing him to remain quiet. "They were trouble makers, all of them, it was bound to happen."
"I didn't meet them?" She chewed on her bottom lip.
"You didn't meet them. It has nothing to do with you, Brat," he lied.
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure." Another lie, to reassure her. "Now, who do you think you killed?"
"Think?" She stiffened.
Wrong choice of words. "I need to know who's dead." They could have their much needed fight later. In private. Where clothes could be freely discarded along with emotions.
"The nurse who admitted the pregnant lady, Joey Chan's wife. He didn't even ask about her, did you know that? Only about the baby. And then only about whether it was a boy.
He's another male chauvinistic ass." Nik assumed he was also in that unflattering category.
He steered her back to the topic. "The nurse. How did she die?"
"Brutally murdered," she muttered into his chest.
That told him nothing. "Gun? Knife?"
She hesitated. "Gun."
Chan's men had been shot. "What type of gun? How many shots? Where?"
"I don't know." She frowned at him. "What does it matter? She's dead."
"It matters." It would help him find the bastard, keep Tatyana safe.
That got him an eye roll from the brat. Not that she appreciated it. "It's all in today's paper.
You can read about it yourself."
"You'll have to deal with Chan," Grandfather reminded him.
"You can deal with him tonight, over dinner, politely, like civilized men." She tapped his chin. "No killing, no threats, Nikky."
She invited the rival mob boss into his casino? "We are not having Joey Chan over for dinner."
"Of course not, ass." She gave him another eye roll. "We're having dinner at his place."
Grandfather chuckled.
A large stranger followed them to their room. "Where's Boris?" Had he been hurt? Was he still alive?
"He's been replaced." Nikky's words were curt.
In other words, fired. It was her fault. "No, he hasn't. He's my bodyguard. I'm keeping him."
"His job was to keep you safe. He failed. He's been replaced." Nikky slammed the door behind them. "Don't question my decisions, Brat."
"My bodyguard. My decision." She might eventually kill the young man, but she wouldn't be responsible for him losing his job.
"No."
"NikkyȄ"
"Listen to me, damn it. To me. They call me boss, haven't you heard that? Because that's what I am. The boss. Of everyone," he exploded.
"Not of me," she yelled back. Then she got an idea, a risky idea, but she wouldn't let Boris pay for her actions. It wouldn't be fair.
"Brat." Nikky approached her.
"But you could be." She tilted her head. He stopped, his forehead wrinkled. "If you let me have my bodyguard back, you can be my boss for
