Page 102 of An Indecent Longing

“All right, sister. You better spill and I mean everything.”

* * * * *

The caller ID on Ian’s phone wasn’t unusual but it was unexpected for a Sunday morning.

“Hey, Adam, what’s up?”

“Ian. So I got a call this morning. Client asked for you and Ben in particular.”

Now that was unusual. He and Ben hadn’t advertised their association with Adam and Tristan’s firm, hadn’t had the time, and hadn’t needed to. The firm’s client list had been backlogged when they’d joined and still was.

“Who was it?”

Adam’s sigh sounded amused and confused. “Karel Antonoff.”

Ian set his coffee mug on the kitchen counter before he dropped it. “What the fuck?”

Adam huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, that was my first reaction, too. And here’s the kicker. He wants you to protect Dorrie.”

Dumbstruck, Ian’s brain misfired several times before he could speak again. “Are you fucking serious?”

“Yes, I am. So, you wanna tell me what the fuck is going on or do you wanna tell me to shut the fuck up and mind my own business?”

Ian considered his options for a few seconds. “She spent the night at our house.”

The silence from Adam’s end was deafening for a second. Then he started to laugh. “I’ll be damned. I owe Tristan money.”

Before Ian could think of a response to that, Adam continued.

“So I take it you’re okay with the job? I mean, Tris and I could—”

“No. She’s ours.”

Adam’s quiet laughter came through the phone. “Gotcha. No problem. Just wanted to make sure Antonoff wasn’t fucking with us for some reason.”

No, they were fucking Karel’s doctor. Big difference. “Did he give you any specifics?”

“Yeah, but here’s the kicker. He said you’d know why. Then he said you should contact him. I’ll text you his number.”

“Okay.”

“Hey, Ian.”

“Yeah?”

Adam paused for a beat. “Careful with Antonoff. He’s…a different kind of criminal. Much more focused and much more attached to his people than you’d think. You’d almost think he cared about them.”

And Dorrie was one of his people.

That fast rush of rage he always had when anyone mentioned Antonoff didn’t surface immediately, and it baffled Ian.

“Do you have any idea why someone would be targeting his people?”

“No. Haven’t heard anything but I haven’t really been listening.”

What Adam didn’t say was he hadn’t been listening since his dad and his uncle had sold the Philly “business” to Antonoff and headed back to Russia.

“Okay. Guess I better make the call.”

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