Page 35 of Captivated By Him

“C’mon, Nicole,” Dominik urges me softly again.

“Yeah. I’ll go, maybe Jakub will calm the hell down by the time he gets there. Then maybe he’ll remember he has no say in my life.”

Dominik grimaces slightly as he approaches me.

“Not now, Nicole,” he whispers.

“Listen to him,” Jakub says quietly. The steadiness in his voice gets me moving. He’s not shaken in the least. He’s resolved.

“I’ll see you at the apartment then.”

Dominik lets me grab my bag from my office and turn the computer off before he hurries me to the exit. The same black sedan that took me home the other night is idling outside the front of the club.

Once I climb in, Dominik grabs the door before I can snag it.

“You being here was dangerous,” he says.

I lift my eyes up to meet his. They’re blue, just like Jakub’s. More silver, but just as serious.

“I wasn’t in any danger,” I say. “I can take care of myself.”

Dominik sighs and shakes his head.

“Being able to and having to are different. Jakub can’t protect you if you do stuff like this.”

I turn away from him and stare out the front window. “I didn’t ask for his protection.”

“That’s not going to stop him.” Dominik leans into the car to talk to the driver. “Straight to Jakub’s and walk her into the apartment. A man at the exit and another at the fire escape outside. She’s to stay inside until Jakub gets there.”

I open my mouth to argue, but Dominik turns a serious stare on me.

“If I were you, I’d start coming up with a defense.”

He shuts the door, and the driver pulls us away before I can come up with a coherent response.

In the end I decide to turn my thoughts to my next step. If Piotr has agreed to call off Henry, I can move forward. After Jakub calms down he’ll tell me what Piotr said, and I’ll have more confidence in my next move.

If I move.

* * *

Jakub

My pulse still beats in my eardrums. Nicole’s already reached the apartment. I received confirmation, she’s inside and there are men at all the exits.

I should have realized she wouldn’t just stay at the apartment. She had that tone, that little look about her that suggested she would do whatever the hell she wanted, and damn my instructions. I should have known.

It’s not like she’s new to this world. I’ve done some digging on her father. Tomas Sawicki was a low man on the totem pole, both here in Chicago and then again in New York. He was loyal to the family, but he had no aspirations about him. He kept under the radar, running his collections and busting skulls when needed. If he didn’t try to take on a crew of his own, I wonder if he was trying to protect Nicole from the world he lived in. But I see her, I see how much she understands about the inner workings. If he was trying to protect her, he didn’t do a very good job.

“Jakub, sit.” My father’s back in my office and pointing at my chair. “We need to talk.”

I look from him to Dominik.

“Did Piotr ask for more on the way out?”

My father shakes his head. “No, nothing like that. He’s happy enough with the liquor deal on the west side.” Joseph sinks into a chair with a soft groan. He’s hurting, but he’ll never admit it. Stubborn man. “And actually, the deal works well for us anyway.” We’re actually going to save a few bucks on the deal, but the drawback is we’re stuck dealing with the Kaczmareks directly.

“What then?” I pull back the sharpness just in time. Joseph may be getting older, but he’ll just have Dominik kick my ass if he feels it’s needed. And my big brother wouldn’t mind in the least, having a chance to remind me once again I’m second. That I’m on the outside.

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