Page 71 of Captured By the Bratva

He wasn’t the sort of man to repeat himself. I should’ve felt pissed that he was trying to call the shots where Emily was concerned. He’d admitted that he wanted to see himself as a father figure for her, but it wasn’t cool for him to overridemychoices about her as her only current and actual parent.

“Why?”

“Because you and I are going out.”

I gawked at him, sure that I was hearing things. He wanted to take me out? Tonight? I didn’t know why. “Like… on a date?” I was excited, but also iffy about it. I’d been feeling more tired than usual lately. A quiet night in with just him would be sweet, but I doubted that would interest him.

He nodded. “We’re going out.”

“What’s the occasion?” I licked my lips, letting the idea of spending quality alone time with him fill my hopelessly romantic heart. “Is there an occasion?”

He shook his head. “No. I want you with me.”

Okay…

“And I don’t like how Steven seems to be aware of the best times to reach you.”

I furrowed my brow. “Huh?” I didn’t pay too much attention to the timing of his calls. Any and every time he called, it was a bad one.

“You haven’t noticed that he always calls when I’m not here?”

Well, that shut me up. I hadn’t noticed that. Maybe because I’d fallen into the habit of recording the calls, I knew Ivan wouldn’t miss out on the messages.

“He calls when I’m not here with you. It’s making me wonder if he knows when we’re apart. And how.”

I pointed at myself. “Are you accusing me of sharing the information of your whereabouts with him?”

He growled and rolled his eyes. “No. Stop takingeverythingI say as an attack.”

I do that. Dammit. I hadn’t realized I was doing that.

I couldn’t help but be on guard and suspicious. I always was. How could I not be with the life I’ve had? But I didn’t need to use it against Ivan all the time. He was trusting me, and I could show him the same.

“He calls when I’m not here, and that makes me uncomfortable.” He stepped closer, cupping my face and gazing down at me calmly. “I know you’re not telling him anything. I got the impression you wouldn’t from the first time he called and you were open with me to want to hurry and record it as evidence for me to share with my brothers.”

I nodded, sighing and letting some of the stress leak from me. Any time he touched me at all, his contact soothed the anxiety deep in my soul.

“I don’t want to know why he contacts you like that. I’d prefer it if he didn’t at all.” He stroked his thumb over my cheek. “I wish he’d man up and just fucking come out of hiding once and for all so I could remove one pain in the ass from the face of the earth.”

“I know.”

“But it makes me uneasy to know he’s trying to butt in between us, calling you when I’m not here.”

“And that’s why you want to take me out tonight?”

“Not the only reason.” He almost smiled.

“What are the other reasons?”

He lifted one shoulder and let it fall as he stepped back, releasing me from his touch. “You’ll see.”

Excitement and nervousness melded into one chaotic sensation.

I’d never really gone on a proper date before. The two boyfriends I’d had in the past were workaholics like me, never having money or time to take me out and show me a night of fun and affection.

Dom wined and dined me, but that had all been a long-lasting manipulation.

Leave it to the Mafia man to know how to treat a woman. To plan to treat me.

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