Page 64 of Diamond Don

I bat my eyelashes at him, leaning forward and giving him a great view of my cleavage. “Can you spot it?”

Nik clenches his jaw and shakes his head.

“Are you sure? Maybe you should take a closer look.”

“Kat,” he mutters in warning through gritted teeth.

“What?” I ask, feigning innocence. “Just want to make sure I do my job well. Speaking of which, I assume you have a plan for how I’m supposed to help you catch McGuire.”

Nik nods. “I need you to seduce him. Or better yet, I need you to let him think he’s seducing you.”

It’s my turn to raise my eyebrows at him. “Excuse me?”

With a sigh, he says, “The great thing about McGuire is that I can always count on him to be boringly predictable. The man is a womanizer and a bon vivant. He’s hated me for years now. You’re simply more temptation than he can handle. He’ll be tripping over his own feet to try to steal you from me. So, I’m counting on you to charm him into confessing to putting the hit out that got Maxim killed. Maybe you’ll need to hint at secretly despising me and only being interested in me for my money.” He shrugs. “I don’t know. All that matters is that we get hard proof that he’s behind the whole thing. With it, I can rightfully take him out without causing a major war and bloodshed.”

I study him as I absorb his words. I can’t say I’m pleased about tangling with yet another mobster, but I’m also not surprised this is Nik’s plan.

“Will you have my back if things go south?” I ask, thinking back to his earlier promises about protecting me.

“Without a doubt,” he says, with no room for questioning in his tone.

I nod once and take a deep breath. “If I’m going to get up close and personal with McGuire, you need to tell me more about his history with you and Maxim.”

It’s Nik’s turn to take a deep breath. After a brief second of hesitation, he says, “It’s a long story. A few years back, Maxim was a bodyguard for McGuire’s daughter, Erin. One thing led to another, and they got romantically involved. The problem is that Erin had been engaged to someone else. Someone who, just like her dad, wasn’t too happy to learn that a mere bratva soldier had taken the Irish princess’s virginity.”

I stare at him for a second, a little shocked at his words to formulate an answer while a million questions rush through my brain.

Before I can ask any of them, he interrupts my racing mind to say, “We’re here.”

24

KAT

The final traces of the sunset fade away as Nik and I emerge from the car at the front steps of an opulent mansion. I guess being an accountant to two mafia bosses must pay very well.

We walk into the house, and a dark-haired man in his early thirties joyfully greets us. “Nikolai! You’ve made it.”

Nik offers his right hand for the host to shake while his left one rests on the small of my back.

“John,” my date says in a somewhat warm tone. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

John, the accountant, lets out a howl of laughter. “Oh, yes, you would. I know you better than that, pal.”

Nik shrugs his broad shoulders, giving the other man a sincere smile. “John, this is Kat Devereaux. Kat, this is John Gates.”

John offers me his right hand, and I shake it. “Welcome to my home, Kat.” He smiles at me.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, John. You have a beautiful home,” I say, glancing around the extravagantly adorned foyer. The place is gorgeous—beautifully built in the Mediterranean style.

“I can’t take any credit for it. My beautiful bride, Sheila, has great taste, if I do say so myself.” John winks at Nik and me, self-deprecatingly. “But please, make yourself at home. I’ll bring Sheila around to meet you once I manage to find her.”

I smile at him as Nik leads me away. My heels click on the pale gray marble floors as we make our way to the adjoining room where John and Sheila’s guests are gathered. The large room sports glass walls that span its entire perimeter. We stand close to the entrance, people-watching for a moment. Nik glances around the room impatiently. A beautifully tended garden and pool are visible from here under the full moon’s glow.

A server walks by, and Nik grabs two champagne flutes. After handing one of them to me, he says, “Stay right here. I’ll be back.”

Without another word, Nik leaves me, taking long strides toward a gorgeous woman standing by herself near the bar. She straightens up once she spots him making his way to her.

They talk for a moment. The woman fidgets with her wine-colored velvet dress and brown curls as Nik leans forward to speak to her. She doesn’t say much until he pulls a small pouch from his jacket pocket and places it in her hands.

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