Page 101 of An Indecent Longing

For Dorrie, the meaning of that didn’t sink in immediately. But Risa was more on the ball.

“Both of us.” She sliced a glance at Dorrie. “You think someone knows.”

Their dad nodded. “I think it’s a distinct possibility, yes.”

Dorrie frowned. “Knows—oh.”

Suddenly there was no air in the room.

“Yes.” Her dad ran his hand down her messy ponytail. “Oh.”

“Shit.” Risa wrapped her arm around Dorrie’s shoulders. “You don’t think they’ll out her, do you?”

“Since I don’t know exactly where the threats are coming from yet, I have no idea.”

Someone knew Karel was her father. They had to or they wouldn’t have threatened her life. There’d be absolutely no reason for anyone to threaten her unless they’d discovered who she was.

“And if it came out, what would change?”

Risa’s eyes widened but her dad… His expression sharpened.

“The way people look at you will change. The way they treat you, how they act around you. Friends will shun you. Your practice will suffer. And if they reveal you, they out your mother, too.”

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.She hadn’t considered that. Her mom ran an art gallery in Old City, a business she’d grown successfully after years of working for her parents’ auction house, one of the oldest and most respected in the city.

Her mom had a fantastic reputation in the art world—a reputation that would probably be annihilated if it came out that the father of her illegitimate daughter was an infamous Russian crime lord. The crime lord she called “Daddy.”

Shit.

She released a heavy sigh. “Someone tried to snatch me off the street last night.”

Risa’s gasp sounded sharp in her ear but it was her dad’s expression that held her attention. He didn’t look surprised.

“You knew. How?”

He just continued to watch her until—

“You had someone following me?”

“Once I heard about Blank, yes.”

He looked completely unrepentant and she knew he’d never apologize.

“So you know I didn’t go home last night.”

“Yes.”

While her dad didn’t look at all uncomfortable discussing the fact that she’d spent the night at a man’s home, she wasn’t all that comfortable knowing he knew.

And yes, she realized that was the least of her concerns right now because Risa’s head had whipped around to stare at her as if Dorrie had started shooting sparks out of her head.

“You what now?”

“Um…”

“And now I’ll leave you two to talk.” Their dad leaned in to kiss each of them on the head before turning to walk away. “Dorrie, I’m sure you’ll be hearing from your security team shortly. Don’t leave until they contact you.”

And then he was gone, leaving her alone with Risa, whose eyes couldn’t get any wider.

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