Neal looked up at the knock on the door and shot a glance at Michael who’d been lounging on the couch across the room. She’d taken up residence in the manager’s office at Valentino’s, a large but unassuming liquor store that served as the base of operations for the Mancusos’ operations. Michael had assumed the role of her bodyguard—a fact she hadn’t quite adjusted to yet, but his presence gave her peace and she needed all the peace she could get as she tried to formulate a plan to combat the forces hard at work against the Mancuso family businesses.
She rose from her chair, but Michael was already at the door, gun drawn. “Who is it?” he barked.
“I have a message for Neal.”
Neal recognized the voice immediately. She sounded like Ana, but her tone was more clipped and formal. She searched her mind for the name…Katherine, no, Katia. She signaled to Michael. “Let her in.”
His furrowed brow signaled he disagreed with the decision, but he did as he was instructed and eased the door open, gun still drawn. A moment later, Katia strode into the room, breezy and confident, stopping directly in front of her desk. It had been almost a week since she’d met Ana and Katia at Club Sanctuary, and Katia looked as displeased here in her office as she had when they’d last met. She was beautiful—anyone would agree, but her beauty paled next to Ana’s who was regal in comparison.
Focus. Beautiful women were distractions. Katia was here for something, and her connection to the Petrovs made her dangerous which meant her ability to distract could be deadly. Neal studied her for a moment before pointing at the chair in front of her desk. “Have a seat.”
Katia looked at the aging leather chair with disgust. She pulled a handkerchief from her bag and wiped it down before settling into the seat. When she was settled, she leaned back and surveyed the room. “Not the most impressive of headquarters. You are in charge now?”
Neal refused to take the bait and merely responded, “You are not a very good spy. Perhaps you should be more subtle.”
“I’m not here to spy, but if I was, I could report back that the Mancusos must be desperate to put you in charge. Weren’t you nothing more than a bodyguard for the family lawyer?”
Diminishing her role reinforced Neal’s own doubts, but she wasn’t about to let Katia know that. “If you have business with the family, you can talk to me. Consider me a gatekeeper if you will. You’ll have to be a lot more than a family friend of the Petrovs to get past the gate.”
“Oh, I’m not trying to crash any gates. I’m only here to see you.” She paused as if trying to decide what to say next. “Ana would like to meet with you. It must be in private. I’m sure you can understand and will respect the need for privacy.”
Doubt crept up Neal’s spine with icy fingers. “Tell her she can find what she needs back at the club. I’m not interested.”
Katia laughed. “You needn’t worry. Ana’s inquiry is strictly professional.” She paused and leaned in. “Though I have no idea why she believes you would be the one to trust. Perhaps you will be a good messenger to whoever is in charge of what is left of this…” She looked around with a disgusted expression. “Enterprise.”
The bait was too much this time. Neal rose. “Tell your friend I’m not interested in talking to the wife of a madman. Where I come from, we judge people by the company they keep, and Mrs. Petrov has failed supremely in that department.”
Katia stood. “Perfectly acceptable to me. I told her this overture was a waste of time.” She placed a card on the desk. “If you change your mind, call that number.” She paused. “I hope you don’t.”
She sailed out the door without waiting for an answer. Michael shut the door behind her and paced the room. Neal recognized his method of thinking things out and she was certain he had something to say about how she’d handled the meeting with Katia. “Please sit down. You’re making me crazy. And you may as well go ahead and tell me what’s on your mind.”
“Not my place,” he grumbled under his breath.
“I’m telling you it’s your place. I’m not in charge here, no matter what we want the rest of the crew to think. If you have something to say, speak.”
“We’re in trouble here. The only real alliance we have to speak of is the Casey family and they’re a state away dealing with their own shit. The wife of the Don’s sworn enemy sends a messenger to set up a meeting and you toss her out. Did it occur to you that she’s going behind her husband’s back? That she may have her own reasons to forge an alliance with us?”
It hadn’t. All she could think of when she heard Katia’s message was that she was being lured into a trap. That Petrov was using the attraction he’d witnessed at Sanctuary between her and Ana to compromise her, to gain an edge. She was seeing only trees when there was an entire forest to navigate. “I suck at this.”
“You don’t, but you have to think differently than you’re used to. You’re used to protecting the physical well-being of this family, but Don Carlo is dead, Siobhan is with Royal, Dominique has betrayed us, and Celia has her husband to watch out for her. Your job now is to hold things together until Siobhan comes home, and that means exploring every angle.”
He was right, of course. “You sound like a consigliere.”
“You should know. You were in the room almost every time Siobhan advised the Don. Why do you think she left you in charge?”
That was the big question. The one that had had her on edge for days. All she’d ever been was a bodyguard and security was her only angle. A private meeting with Anastasia Petrov was the least secure thing she could do right now. But what if meeting with Ana helped her garner more information about what Mikhail was up to? That kind of intel would help her formulate strategy, prove her worth. She could use a little worth since right now she was a bodyguard with no one to protect. If Siobhan thought she could handle being in charge, then it was time to put her theory to the test.
“I don’t know why I’m in charge, but as long as I am, let’s go ahead and set up the meeting.”
Michael grinned. “That’s great, boss. I’ll make sure it’s a safe place. We won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”
She heard his words, but instead of being reassuring, they transported her back in time.
She heard the crack of the bat, but it took a moment for the pain to register, for her to connect the sickening sound with the sharp, piercing pain across her back. When it did she pressed her fist into her mouth and fought against the urge to howl. Her cries would only egg him on.
“All you had to do was foul out, but no…you decide you want to be the goddamned player of the week.”
A steel toe punctuated each word, and despite her best efforts, she groaned in agony. “Don’t you have anything to say, bitch?”
She had plenty to say, but the blinding pain made it hard to speak. She’d started tonight’s game with every intention of keeping her agreement to throw it to the other team, but two minutes after the tip-off, she changed her mind. She’d spent her entire youth being made fun of for her height, and basketball was her only revenge. This team, this school, this scholarship were accomplishments she’d worked hard to achieve, and if she could stick it out, she could figure out a way to help her family without throwing it all away.
“Not a quitter.” She choked out the words between ragged breaths, bracing for his response.
“Great. Because you won’t be able to quit this.”
She watched the bat rush through the air toward her leg, but with his foot on her torso, she was powerless to get out of the way. When the weapon connected, the pain before felt like a caress compared to the white-hot burn of agony roaring up from her shattered leg. She wailed in agony.
She ripped her thoughts from the memory but rubbed her leg as if it was still in pain. She hadn’t been able to protect herself then, what made her think she could protect an entire empire now?