Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
K ara
“You can’t keep me here like some prisoner. I demand to be released.”
Bruno the Bouncer just glared at me like he’d been doing for the last ten minutes. He’d dragged me into a barren conference room, shoving me down into a seat then taking guard at the door.
I jumped up, getting in his face. “Talk to me. Why are you holding me here?” I had a bad feeling I was going to be arrested or worse, he was waiting for instructions as to how to handle my untimely demise. Would Havros have me killed?
How had I put myself in this position?
“Talk to me.” I made an ugly face at him and the huge man never blinked. “Was this about taking photographs?” Or about gaining entrance because of a lie?
He was like a stump in the woods. I hadn’t noticed the bulge in his jacket until now. Of course he was carrying a weapon and I didn’t doubt the fact he’d been well trained to use it.
Maybe I needed to try a different tactic. “Look. I’m sorry I entered the club under false pretenses. I simply need to gather all the information I can for an article I’m writing on the family. They know about it.”
As if that helped.
I certainly wasn’t doing myself any good at this point. Huffing, I spun around and started pacing the floor. My nerves were on edge, my mind thinking of the most horrible scenarios. Less than three minutes later, I heard a click. I didn’t need to turn around to know who’d walked into the room. The current was stronger than before, the sharp jolt of electricity creating an instant and very warm ache throughout my body.
“Hello, Kara. I’m surprised to find you here.” There was no emotion in Havros’ voice, none whatsoever. Just a matter-of-fact ‘you fucked up by coming to my club’ tone.
With no chance of escaping, I was forced to turn and face the man I’d done everything I could to drive from my crazed mind. He was standing in another suit, this time dark blue, the light gray shirt open to the middle of his chest. He had his hands in his trouser pockets, the open jacket allowing me to see the well-tailored material hugging his broad chest.
I involuntarily licked my parched lips, driving myself insane with trying to find the right words to explain my behavior. “Havros. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Obviously not.” He walked closer, taking slow and easy strides before nodding toward the brute of a bouncer to leave us alone. The hard click of the door shutting exacerbated my increasing nerves.
I tried not to react or to seem bothered by the powerful man’s presence, but the twinkle in his eye was a clear indication he’d caught me red-handed. And he would use that to his advantage.
Taking the bull by the horns I swaggered closer, the light perspiration I’d felt since being tapped on the shoulder causing a sleek sheen under the thin material. The dress was sticking to every curve. “I wanted to see where you played.”
“Only I don’t play here. This is a place of business. My family’s business.”
“Where do you play?”
He laughed. “I thought that was already determined. Together.”
His insinuations would normally piss me off, but right now, I was more flustered than ever. “Yes, well, I’m talking about going out to nightclubs.”
“I don’t have time. I am curious what made you think you could come here without my knowledge?”
“It’s a public club.”
“Which you lied to obtain entrance to.” He held up the credentials the brute had taken from me, shifting it through his fingers like a playing card.
When I reached out to snap it from his hand, he jerked back his arm. “Not so fast, kitten. We need to get something straight between us. You disobeyed me and even worse, you ignored the terms of our contract.”
“So I’m not allowed to enter any business you own without an escort?” Yes, he’d mentioned needing his permission, but I hadn’t read that as part of the contract. Was he going to try to use my indiscretion to get out of talking to me?
You did act as if you were finished with the interview. Remember?
Oh, that. Yes, I had. Only it had been in the heat of the moment.
A moment of fear.
Now I didn’t know what to think or how to feel. I’d given him an alibi, an action for which he should be eternally grateful. But it didn’t seem that way. I could tell by his demeanor he truly believed he now owned me. He had another think coming.
“Only when provided with permission.”
“Because you have things to hide. Are there dead bodies located inside of freezers? Do you have some torture room in one of your locations where you take all those who defy you?” Pushing my luck with him had become a signature card. The reason why was something I didn’t want to face.
I couldn’t get enough of him.
He sighed and looked away briefly, even scratching his forehead by using my credentials card. “Perhaps we should start over, my little kitten. What do you think?”
“How so?”
“I’ll be happy to show you around the club, even take you to the other one located a few miles away. However, you will obey my directions from now on.”
“And if I don’t?”
He took another step and my entire system was filled with the scent of his exotic aftershave. “Then I will have no other recourse than to punish you. My way.”
I shuddered from the thought, but maintained a direct and heated look on my face. “Alright. I will… obey you, but on one condition. Tell me the truth about something.”
“I’ve always told you the truth.”
“Did you kill Theo Artino?”
“No, I did not. Have I spoken with the man, expressing my anger with how he manipulated information? Absolutely. Killing him would have been bad for business.”
“I don’t know whether to believe you.”
Every move he made was so smooth, so natural for him that when he fingered a tendril of hair that was stuck to my lip, easing it gently aside, I didn’t stop him.
Because I didn’t want to.
“It’s your choice whether to believe me or not, but now ask yourself this question. As you already know, Theo was a fairly well-known television reporter with a solid, albeit false reputation as being fair and honest. Why would I kill a man knowing that his death would be labeled as an assassination and I was the man giving the orders? Does that make sense to you?”
He had a point there. “Not necessarily, but you could be trying to play with people’s minds, doing exactly what you believe they think you would do and being able to tell them just what you told me.”
His laugh was somehow forced. “You Americans are all alike. You see something on television and you believe it.”
“I take offense to that.” Perhaps he didn’t know about the questions I’d asked. I wasn’t certain it mattered any longer even if he did. He had the upper hand at this point. He could do anything he wanted, requiring me to follow any rule because in his mind I’d broken the terms of the contract. That would make it easy for him to dismiss me.
I’d truly thought about leaving. I’d planned that in my mind. But now, I was more determined than ever to find out what the man was hiding. How many skeletons did he have in his walk-in closet?
“No offense intended, Kara. However, I am a businessman as I’ve told you time and time again. You can make your decision at the end of our interview process as to whether I’m the monster you seem to prefer writing about. I’ll temper my controls on your piece, allowing you to say whatever you believe is the truth.”
“Is that a promise?”
“Yes, it’s a promise. And I never break them.”
I had to believe this man, or my time and a significant amount of money had been tossed down the drain. Without a finished piece, I wouldn’t get paid. Without getting paid, my landlord would toss my things into the street, renting out my tiny apartment. The thought of being homeless wasn’t appealing in the least.
I held out my hand for a shake on the deal and he was more amused than ever. But he accepted, squeezing my hand in an entirely inappropriate way. As always, he believed he was in full control of the situation.
And of me.
He’d learn this kitten was a tiger in disguise. Then again, wasn’t that the reason he was drawn to me in the first place? Tingles washed through me from our strong connection, but at least I was able to maintain eye contact. I couldn’t allow myself to like him.
But craving him was almost all I could think about.
As if I was addicted to the passion, emotions and sensations only he could provide. Because he’d opened up Pandora’s Box. Shutting it would be tough, but that would eventually happen. After I got what I wanted. If that took using him the way he was using me, then fine. I could make that happen.
“My question for you,” he stated before pulling his hand away. “Why take photographs of the people inside my club?”
“I was taking pictures of the club itself.”
“Not what I heard.”
So the little rat had told on me. I’d caught the bartender’s eye at one point and it wasn’t three minutes later before the brutal bouncer had me in his grip. The evidence was on my phone.
I’d be damned if the man didn’t take my purse from the table where I’d slung it after walking in, reaching inside and extracting my phone. As the screen flashed alive, he smiled from seeing the screenshot of a pink flamingo as a screen saver.
“What? You’ve going to make fun of that too?” I asked in a demanding tone.
“You’re a very layered person, Kara. I adore that about you and plan on exposing every layer. Now, what is your passcode?”
Refusing to tell him wasn’t going to win me any points. “Six. Nine. Four. Three. Six. Six. Six.”
He lifted a single eyebrow as if the last 6-6-6 was as comical as me trying to go behind his back. He pressed it in, navigating to my photographs.
“Very interesting, Kara. You’ve managed to snap some nice shots of one Italian ambassador, and a famous artist from Paris in town for a gallery showing. See this man? That’s Domingo Rodriguez, only the hottest Spanish guitar player in the world.”
“What about that man?” I asked when he scrolled to the photograph of the very rough-looking man who’d tried to hide his scars and ink by wearing a suit.
He seemed perplexed and I watched as he moved to another screen. What the hell was he doing? Wow. He was emailing it to himself. Maybe I’d stumbled onto something.
“He wasn’t supposed to be in the club. Right? My instinct told me he was searching for someone or gathering information.” I could tell that’s exactly what Havros was thinking.
“I must admit that I do not know his identity. However, there are plenty of individuals who come through that door I don’t know.” After erasing my pictures, he handed me back my phone without pushing it any further. “You are not to do that again. If you’d like official photographs for your finished piece, they will be provided for you by my marketing department.”
“Standing in front of a charity you funded, or perhaps a ribbon-cutting ceremony? How about a glitzy party where all the famous people who are of any importance attend?” I snatched the phone and my purse, pushing the phone inside and clutching the small bag as if I could use it as a weapon.
His eyebrow rose again just before he gripped my jaw with enough pressure that a flash of discomfort rolled in. “Please don’t take this as a sign of disrespect, Kara. I believe you and I are getting to know each other very well. I would hate for anything to jeopardize our good relationship. However, you need to stop challenging me. I’m not a man of patience or someone who can tolerate disrespect. I’ve told you that and this will be the last time I mention it. My world is not your world. I think that’s very clear. However, our family does care about our community and the people who live here. That’s something for you to keep in mind.”
He loomed over me like a raging bull, his nostrils flared. I could get under his skin just like he’d done mine with ease. “Yes, sir. I will keep that in mind.”
I wasn’t certain if he was going to punish or kiss me. I also couldn’t figure out which one I’d prefer. He rubbed his thumb across my lips harshly several times. The action was possessive, hungry. And dominating.
My nervous system was ready to explode. I almost reached out to touch him, but stopped myself just in time. This wasn’t going to happen. Professionalism. I had to maintain a wall between us.
He pulled his hand away, immediately slipping his thumb into his mouth. As he sucked, he allowed his gaze to fall. He was definitely undressing me with his eyes. A warm flush swept up both cheeks and the embarrassment was shameful enough I turned away. But I heard a slight popping sound when he removed it.
“Now, we will begin the tour. I hope you find what you’re looking for, my sweet kitten.”
“I do too. The truth.”
“The truth.” The tone of his voice could be considered intimidating, but I’d also seen beneath his layers. “I will take you home after our tour and we are going to talk. And one last time, Kara. You will obey me.”