Page 31 of Fiercely Protective

I was surprised at how relieved I was to hear Rogue’s voice through the buzzing in my ears and even more glad to feel his arm around my waist.

“She is with me, and nobody touches her. Do I make myself clear?”

For a minute I thought a fight would break out before we were even allowed admittance into the restaurant, but a deep laugh came from one of the tables inside.

“Let them pass, Yuri, and for God’s sake, don’t touch the girl. I do believe Rogue is serious with his threat.” He stood up from behind the table and held a glass in his hand. “I can’tsay that I would fault him, should I ever possess something so lovely, I would be protective of her too.”

My feet seemed rooted to the floor, but Rogue was pulling me alongside him as we moved to the large round table at the back of the restaurant to take a seat with the Russian mob boss.

Rogue sat to my left and Blaze to my right while Nickoli and one of his men sat across from us.

“It is good to see that you have decided to stick around, Miss Rogers. After Rogue’s rather barbaric display, I had my doubts.”

I wanted to ask how he knew my name, but Rogue’s hand instantly went to my knee and squeezed softly. I took that as my cue to keep my mouth shut.

Blaze leaned forward. “For someone that has an army of assassins trying to kill you, I have to say that you seem rather calm, Nickolai.”

The Russian’s lips lifted into a slight smile that seemed more deadly than it did humorous.

“When you are the leader of the Volkoff Bratva, you get accustomed to attempts on your life. To me, it is just another day.” His eyes lifted and held mine. “Besides, there are times that a man needs something that challenges him both in business…and in the bedroom.”

The Russian had the most penetrating ice-blue eyes I had ever seen. There was a glass of water in front of me and I picked it up and drank half of it.

Was every bad guy in this city sexy as hell or was it just me?

“What do you know of the Armenian threat?”

Thankfully, Nickolai broke his gaze with me to focus on what Rogue had just asked. “Little more than you I imagine. Although I am not sure that I believe the confession you extracted from the Armenian that Blaze captured outside the club the night of the assassination attempt. He was much too far down the food chain to have any real details. But I do believe they want to weaken the hold you have on the city. Perhaps they are seeking to draw your focus onto something else, thinking it will be easier to seize control if you are otherwise…preoccupied.” His gaze turned back to me. “They want Chicago and everything within your empire. Once they have taken out your organization, there is no doubt that their greed and stupidity will cause them to move on to Vegas and Los Angeles and try to take from the Bratva. The attempt on my life was just a bonus. They never expected me to be in Chicago. Someone was just trying to take advantage of the situation and became ballsy. I imagine the original target was you.”

“The man Blaze tortured in the warehouse said that they wanted to start a war between us. I had already determined that he was too far down the line to be the one making the decisions. He wouldn’t give up a name and we were quite insistent on it. I don’t think he knew who was pulling his strings. Do you have any ideas?”

I watched as Nickoli shrugged as if none of this was a big deal.

Did I just hear Mr. Delaney talk about torturing a man?! What the hell had I become mixed up in?

I twisted my hands on my lap as Rogue moved the material of my dress up so he could touch my skin just abovemy knee. The slow circles he drew with his fingers caused me to shiver but were not as comforting as I imagined he thought they would be.

The Russian’s lips curled into a smile. “Creating a division between us would be a waste of time, but like I said before, I do not think that is their intention. I feel they are trying to create a distraction that will put you off guard. It will require more digging to discover who is behind it. I will, however, offer my support and help if the need arises. If you and Blaze find the situation more than you can handle, that is.”

I turned my head to see Rogue’s face darken.

“While I appreciate your help, I assure you that I am more than capable of protecting and securing everything that is mine.”

Nickolai nodded. “I never doubted you. I will be returning to Vegas tomorrow, but you know where to find me if you need anything. I will also send out feelers and speak to my contacts to see if I can discover anything else that would be helpful. But since I am here in Chicago and rented out the entire restaurant, we should at least eat.”

His eyes met mine again. “They have the best pizza in town. You should try it.”

I was startled when Rogue’s phone buzzed with a notification and bumped my knee against the table, causing the glasses to rattle. I saw Nickolai’s smile widen and I could tell that it amused him to see me frightened. It was all I could do not to kick him under the table.

Rogue leaned over, pressed a kiss to my cheek, and whispered in my ear. “Don’t be afraid, Angel.” He then glancedat Blaze before turning to address Nickolai again. “If you will excuse me, I need to step out and handle this.”

I wanted to reach out to him and had to clasp my hands together to keep from doing so. Rogue may have done some despicable things, namely handcuffing me to his bed, and keeping me against my will, but he was the one man in this room who did not make me shy away in fear. Even my so-called protector Blaze made me anxious.

“Would you like some wine, Miss Rogers?”

I nodded and he poured some in a glass for me.

“It’s odd being the only ones in a restaurant.” It was something that popped into my head and suddenly my mouth decided to speak it aloud.

---