Chapter 13
“Who the hell is it?”
I spoke to myself out loud since I was the only person in the house. It was foreign to hear the doorbell ring. The only people who knew where we lived were Guard, my father, and the staff who worked here. At least that was what I thought before Dima dropped me off at my front gate the other night.
Whoever rang the doorbell couldn’t have been a delivery person. I hadn’t ordered food, and packages were usually dropped off at the gate. I was irritated that I had to get out of bed, but I forced myself up.
I marched out of my room, down the stairs, and the long hallway to open the door. I swung it open with attitude already etched across my face.
“Can I help you?”
“Yeah. I have a delivery for a Maeve Moore.”
“I am Maeve, but you can leave deliveries at the front gate. Who let you in?”
“The guard at the gate let me in. Look, I was paid extra to make sure I handed this directly to you. Can you sign here for me?”
He handed me the clipboard to get my signature before handing over a large bouquet of roses. They were so beautiful. I sniffed them on instinct.
“Who sent these?”
“Don’t know. Don’t care. I’m just the delivery guy.”
He grabbed his clipboard out of my hand and turned to leave. He did a light jog back to his car. I was still watching in shock as he pulled off. I would be sure to report the guard to my daddy because he should have never made it past the gate.
I tore into the card first because I didn’t know who would send me flowers. I hadn’t dated in a long time. It took way more effort than I had time to give.
Hey, just wanted to let you know I was thinking of you this morning. D.
Of course it was Dima. A small smile tugged at the corner of my mouth, despite what I’d found in his truck last night.
I could hide the fact that I liked Dima from everybody else, but hiding it from myself was another thing.
Dima had a special effect on me that no one else had ever had, and now he’d sent flowers to my front door.
There was a possibility that Bishop could have opened the door instead of me. Knowing that he wasn’t afraid of my father turned me on more than anything. I’d never met a man who would go up against my father for me, but Dima made it clear that he would.
The flowers came with a vase, but I still had to add water. I walked over to the sink and added water to the vase before taking them upstairs. I wanted to put them on my dresser so I could look at them in the mornings. A small reminder of Dima could never hurt.
I heard the front door open again not long after I made it back to my room. I lay back down since whoever it was had a key to let themselves in. The further they moved into the hall, the more I could hear them talking. It was my daddy, and he sounded upset.
I jumped up out of bed and walked downstairs to see what all the fuss was about.
My father walked in circles, and Dima stood not too far from him.
I couldn’t believe what I saw. Not only had Dima dropped me off in front of my house and sent flowers to my doorstep, but now he stood in my living room with a man who never wanted anyone to know where we lived.
He must have trusted him a lot more than I thought. That was dangerous since Dima probably wasn’t even his real name. I wondered if it was.
Did he have more than one identity? If so, why? The name Marcus Stewart flashed in my head again, and I decided I would confront Dima about it as soon as we were alone.
“Dad, what’s going on?”
“Nothing for you to worry about, sweetheart. Some fools tried to make an attempt on my life.”
He walked over and kissed my forehead like that would put me at ease. That kiss did nothing to calm my nerves that were rattled as soon as he said someone tried to kill him.
“Oh my God, what? What happened? I thought you had a court hearing this morning.”
“Yeah. They made their move when I walked out of the courtroom.”
“See, this is why I told you I should have come with you this morning,” I yelled, like I could have stopped a bullet. Even if I had been there, it wouldn’t have been much I could do. But at the very least, I would have been by his side.
“That’s exactly why I told you to stay at home. We never know when someone’s going to try something. I need to know you’re safe.”
“I still wish I was there.”
“It’s okay, baby. I’m fine.”
I hugged him and searched his face and whole body for even the smallest scratch. I couldn’t afford to lose my father. I’d already grown up without a mother. He was all I had, and I refused to lose him.
“Dima, I’m going to need you to stay here with Maeve. Keep her safe until I get back.”
“Boss, I don’t think that’s the move. I need to be by your side at times like this. If someone is trying to take you out, I want to be the motherfucker that stops it.”
“You already have. You saved my life today. I owe you everything, but now I need you to take care of my daughter.”
“I mean, if that’s what you think is best, Bishop. Where’s Guard? You’re going to need someone solid by your side.”
“He’s going to meet me at the clubhouse. You already know he would die before he let anything happen to me, so I’m good. I need you to stay here with Maeve.”
“Cool. I got you.”
“You have the type of anticipation I need when it comes to my daughter’s safety. If you can anticipate a motherfucker trying to take me out at a courthouse, use that instinct to protect Maeve.”
Dima nodded, and my father retreated out of the room. I heard the front door open and close again. I prayed he made it back here in one piece. I didn’t want him to go, but I knew I couldn’t stop him either.
With my father gone, I had the opportunity to confront Dima. Too much happened after he came around for it to be a coincidence. He might have had my father fooled, but I wasn’t buying that anticipation or being in the right place at the right time bullshit. Something was up.
“How’d you know about the ambush before it even happened? Tell me the truth.”
“Little girl, I don’t have time for this right now. I need you to stay calm until we figure out what is going on.”
“I wasn’t a little girl when you were sending flowers to my house now, was I? And who is Marcus Stewart?”
“Where did you hear that name?”
“I read it on a driver’s license I found in your truck. Is Marcus your real name? What is it that you’re not telling us? Dima, whatever it is won’t change my mind about you. I just need to know I’m not crazy for falling for you while I still feel something is up with you.”
Dima used his body to push mine against the wall of my father’s foyer. The words hadn’t even fully left my mouth when he wrapped my lips in his.
“You falling for me?”
Dima pulled back so he could look me in my eyes. I didn’t want it to be true, but it was. My feelings for him consumed me.
“I think so.”
“Good.”
Dima pushed me back into the wall and wrapped my lips in his again. I kissed him back, angry, desperate. I wanted to know what was going on and if he was behind the attempt on my father’s life. How was I supposed to get to the bottom of any of that now, while I was so wrapped up in him?
The kiss was electric. It wasn’t gentle or safe, but it made me forget about the questions that I’d been sitting with. I knew he was hiding something, but when he touched me like this, it was hard to care about anything else.