Page 15 of Captivated By Him

My father’s wary gaze moves over to my sister. I can feel the tension building.

A son by her wouldn’t be a Staszek. It would be half Ivanov.

My phone goes off in my back pocket again.

“You worry too much.” I yank my phone out.

“You don’t worry enough,” my father mumbles to himself, but I catch every word.

“Are you not hungry, Dad?” Lena leans across me and points to his untouched dish of breaded pork and noodles.

“I ate too many crab cakes, I think.” He gives a soft smile and picks up his drink.

I swipe open my phone to read the texts coming from Katfish. Two of Kaczmarek’s men are in my club.

The Kaczmarek family runs part of the city’s liquor distribution, prostitution rings, and for some fun, they’ve dabbled in human trafficking. There has been peace between our families for the last decade, but we’ve also made it a point to stay out of each other’s way. If they are in my club, it’s not to have a drink and enjoy the music.

“I have to go.” I push away from the table. “The club.” I kiss Lena’s cheek and give a nod to Micah and Dominik.

“Something’s the matter.” My father grabs my hand when I offer it. “What is it?”

“Nothing I can’t handle. Don’t worry so much.” I grin down at him. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I assure him.

He shakes my hand and gives me a solid nod.

“You call if you need something before then,” Dominik says from across the table.

“It’s nothing. I’ll let you know.” I give one final wave and head out the door.

The Kaczmareks being in my club could mean nothing, but at the very least it helped me escape the family dinner. My father would have gone on for another hour about family loyalty and the necessity of marriage and children.

I suppose when I get to the club, I should thank them.

* * *

When I enter the club through the back, the heavy beat greets me. The hallway has some sound-dampening elements, but more is needed. As I make my way toward the main area of the club, I pass Nicole’s office.

The door’s wide open so I take a quick look. Her desk is empty, but her coffee cup still sits next to her computer, so I know she’s still around. The woman lives on coffee. I haven’t seen her drink anything other than it in the past two days.

The business offices open up to the main room near the bar, so when I leave the hallway, I’m close enough to see the bartender sliding a dirty martini across the bar to a pretty redhead. I’m also near enough I see two feminine feet sticking out from a cabinet beneath the bar.

Toby, the bartender, knows better than to bring his girlfriend to work, and hiding her under the bar isn’t going to work. I’ll get back to him on that. Right now I have to find the Kaczmareks.

“Hey!” Stanley, head of my security team at the club, comes up behind me. “You didn’t need to come down here, I just didn’t know if you wanted me to toss them out.”

I shake my head. “No. That would just cause a scene. Where are they?” I ask, eyeing the club. The Saturday night crowd has the dance floor packed and the lounge areas surrounding it are just as crammed with people. Looks like we’re at full capacity tonight.

“At the bar,” Stanley informs me, and I follow him behind the bar.

He nods his head toward the two then keeps walking. We can’t appear to be ganging up on them. I’m trying to avoid a scene, not cause one.

As I step up to the bar, my foot bumps into something. The music is thumping too loudly for me to be certain, but I would almost swear I heard a woman curse. A quick glance down, and I see those same feet I noted earlier slip further back, only this time I’m close enough to see it’s not some random woman hiding behind the bar to flirt with the bartenders.

It’s Nicole.

Her brow wrinkles when she meets my gaze. What the fuck is she doing down there? Before I can ask, she shakes her head and puts a finger to her lips.

What the hell has she gotten herself into?

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