Chapter 21
Twenty-One
AMARA
I flopped on my bed, kicking the high heels that matched my dress to the floor. I was supposed to feel triumphant. We had won. But all I felt was shaky and uncertain. That look on Luka’s face on the steps outside the bank. It almost made me crumble. Almost.
There was something in the way he looked at me that had nothing to do with business and everything to do with regret. I could see it. The darkness. The endless spiral of guilt. The plea to make it right. I pulled a pillow under my face to block out the thoughts clouding my judgment.
He looked genuinely worried. He said I was in danger.
He had gotten under my skin. He was in my head. I thought about his lips and his fingertips. I didn’t forget the hurt. The humiliation. I hadn’t forgotten how he cast me out of his apartment like a whore. I’d never forget that moment. Only, I couldn’t figure out which draw was stronger—the need to feel his breath. To look in his eyes again. Or the feeling that I was nothing but useless baggage, weighing him down. An obstacle to kick out of the way. I struggled to weigh the emotions. I was drowning in them. Tumbling through the darkness Luka had laid at my feet.
I lifted my head when I heard the knock on my door. “Miss Amato?”
“Yes,” I squeaked.
“Your father says dinner is at six.”
“Okay.” I couldn’t stop the hard lump in the back of my throat from forming.
“He wants you to dress up. He’s taking you out,” Tammy reported.
My ears perked, and the pit in my stomach finally bottomed out. “What?”
“Dinner at six. In the city.”
“Thank you,” I called through the closed door.
I couldn’t remember the last time my father and I had gone anywhere together in public. I knew he was pleased with the auction result. But this? It was a display of family pride I didn’t expect. I scrambled off the bed and walked straight to my closet to pick out a dress. I had to put Luka Novikov behind me. The Amatos had made their mark on the city today. It wasn’t a day that would be forgotten anytime soon. By anyone.
“ P apa, how did you find this place?” I asked over my menu.
He smiled. He rarely looked happy. “Did you think your father didn’t know the good place in New Orleans?”
“Of course not.” I grinned, but it faded when a tray of oysters was presented.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No. No. I like them. I just…” I didn’t want to admit that I’d had oysters once and it was a memorable night with Luka.
“Supposed to be the best in the city.” He was delighted with himself. I didn’t correct him. I knew where the best oysters were. And they weren’t in a fancy restaurant. They were in a dive outside of town I’d never be able to find again.
“I’m sure they’re wonderful.” I held one of the shells in my hand.
“You know this dinner is a celebration.” His eyebrows were high on his forehead.
“Oh?”
“You know this is about the hotel. I’m very proud of you, Amara.”
My chest warmed. “It wasn’t easy, but I’m glad you got the Vieux Carre, Papa.”
He tucked the linen napkin at his collar. He had to wiggle his tie to make space. “There’s something I think you should know about the arrangements. About how everything fell into place. Now that it’s official. You should see the total picture. You have earned the right to know what Gio and I have been planning.”
We took a second to wait while the glasses of champagne were poured by our server.
“What do you mean? You and Uncle Gio have more plans?” I pressed. This was the first time I felt my father’s attempt to draw me into this world was genuine, not merely a test to see if I could forecast budget numbers.
He smirked. “We always have plans. Long game is how we arrived in New Orleans. And the long game is how we will strip the Russians of their power and take it as ours.”
“But you won the Vieux Carre at auction, fairly.”
He chuckled. “There’s a lot for me to teach you. I had to play a little game of chess ahead of time. It paid off.” I knew how chess was played.
The bubbly happiness started to turn sour. “What did you do?”
He winked. “Amara, you know this move meant everything to me. Everything to the company. This is the home that you are going to create for the next generation of Amatos. Eventually, Gio and I hope to add a third branch in Atlanta.”
“Well, that’s not happening anytime soon.” I hated when he talked about me like I was a piece of livestock to breed.
“This is where your dynasty begins. Your legacy.” He spoke as if we were in a hobbit book. Had the medication altered his personality? This was intense, even for him.
“Papa,” I tried to quieten him .
He ignored me. “I couldn’t risk losing the key piece. Not on the very first deal. Not when this one matters more than all the others.”
My stomach flipped. I couldn’t eat the oyster. I placed it on the bread plate. What in the hell was going on with him?
“Can you just tell me?” I asked. I’d never be able to guess.
My stomach plunged to another level when I heard a saxophone begin to play. I searched the restaurant. The artist was outside on the street. The shutters had been thrown open. I wasn’t the only one who noticed his playing. Small smiles lingered on the guests.
“Amara? You seem distracted. I’m trying to tell you something important. Something about your future.”
“No, go ahead. You have my attention,” I lied, tearing my head from the window and zeroing in on my father. “I’d like to know about your game of chess.”
“Good. Good. These are the life lessons that are the most important. Because I’ve made a decision. A big decision about your future.”
“Which is?” I said a quick prayer that he hadn’t met a premiere New Orleans bachelor.
He took his time making his way around the tray of oysters. “See, I’ve realized something about you, Amara. If your mother were here, she would have said I told you so. She loved to tell me when she was right.”
I blinked. He never mentioned my mother. Never.
“You are a valuable asset to the company. In fact, so valuable that Gio and I have talked it over. You’re going to be the face of the company. ”
“I don’t think I understand.” I reached for the glass of champagne. My mouth was suddenly dry.
It always bothered me the way he held his knife in his fist as if he used it to bludgeon someone rather than spread butter or cut a steak.
“You’ve picked up on the details and the reports quickly. You beat out every man in the city today for that hotel. And let’s face it, I’ve had more bad days than good lately. I’ve had to start considering that.”
He wouldn’t say out loud what was going on with his health, but the reference was clear. I knew I couldn’t ask questions about the pills that remained next to his nightstand.
“Papa—”
He raised his hand, still balling the knife in his fist. “Hear me out.”
I nodded. “Okay, I’m listening.”
“You might be able to secure a good merger with a good New Orleans family, but you’re young. There’s no reason to limit what you could do by setting up a marriage too soon.”
I knew my eyes bulged. I couldn’t help it. “Really?” It was the first time I felt a glimmer of joy. A peak at sunlight again in over a week since I was thrown out of Luka’s bed.
“The Novikovs played too many games. You are better than them anyway. They rule by fear. Guns. Military training. That’s not our way.” He finished off his champagne.
“What? What does this have to do with the Novikovs?” Specifically, I wanted to know about Luka. The restaurant seemed to darken. I could no longer hear the sax player. My pulse raced .
“I want the power in this town. I’m going to have it,” he stated. “My choices are to take everything from Dmitry Novikov, or to join forces with the bastard. I started by offering him a family merger. I was willing to give him my only child.”
My hands began to shake. “You made a formal offer? For me?”
“I did. But his son refused it.” He seemed happy. Gleeful. “He said he didn’t want you.”
“What?” How did the world keep opening up and sucking me through the floor? When would it stop? “When did you do this?” I gritted my teeth.
“He had up until the auction to make a decision. I thought it was a gracious amount of time for the Novikovs to consider the benefits of a merger.”
“No. When did you make the offer to Luka?” I pressed for details. I had to force myself to accept what my father was telling me.
His stare was blank. “The day he stopped by the house. Our first meeting. We had drinks in the study, and I wrote the letter to Dmitry.”
Oh, God. That was the day. The day the light faded in Luka’s eyes. The day he made me feel like the most beautiful enthralling woman before he yanked it all away.
I pushed back from the table, reaching for my clutch. “Amara, what are you doing?” my father asked.
“I have something I need to do.”
“Not the Novikovs.” He glared at me. “Don’t go near them. Not now. ”
“Papa, Luka was important to me. Until you did this. I have to talk to him.” I didn’t feel like explaining where I was going or the million things going through my head right now.
“He made his decision. He doesn’t want to marry you.” The words hurt, but not the way he thought. I didn’t want to get married right now, either.
I stopped along the side of the table. “These family rules are archaic.”
“They have always been a part of our history. Our legacy. Your mother and I made a good match. Sit down. This is our celebration dinner. People are staring at you. At me,” he hissed.
“I can’t. I have to talk to Luka. You don’t have any idea what you’ve done.”
He scowled. “Sit down, now.” I saw how his jaw flexed, and his eyes flickered with anger.
“But—”
“Sit.”
I found myself taking small steps backward until I was in my seat once again. A wave of embarrassment heated my cheeks. I hated being scolded. Controlled.
“Stay away from him. Stay away from the Novikovs. It’s time you start your official training. My daughter isn’t going to follow some playboy around town, making puppy eyes at him. He was Bratva for God’s sake.”
I had to bite my tongue at every insult.
I made it through dinner. I wasn’t sure how I stomached the food. Everything tasted bland now that I knew what Luka had wrestled with for weeks. The champagne didn’t help much either.
I had to bide my time until we returned to the house. Until the lights in my father’s room went dark. I crept down the massive staircase and fired off a text to Luka. I didn’t know if he would answer. But it was all I had. I couldn’t risk showing up again, not after what happened last time.
I slipped out the patio door and ran into Joey walking the perimeter of the property.
“What are you doing out so late?” he asked.
“Oh. Hi, Joey.” I was hoping I wouldn’t find him or Ciro.
“Everything okay?”
“Actually, my dad needs some medicine. I’m going to pick it up for him. There’s a pharmacy that’s twenty-four hours.”
“I can do that for him. You don’t need to go out.”
“No,” I snapped. “He’s a very private man. You know that. He asked me to personally handle it. He doesn’t want you snooping, Joey.”
If he hesitated another second, there was a chance I’d have to lie my way through this again. I didn’t want either of my bodyguards with me tonight.
“Can I get the car ready for you?” he offered.
I smiled. “Yes, that would be great.”
I thanked Joey when he wheeled up to the front of the house with the car.
“Call if you need anything,” he added, shutting the door behind me .
“I will. I won’t be gone long.” I put the car in drive and edge my way out of the driveway, making the turn more cautiously than usual.
There was still no response from Luka, but I had to believe he read my text, and he would meet me.