Page 93 of The Enforcer

I pocketed her phone while inhaling the sweet scent of our passion. Even the desire for blood couldn’t erase the desire to remain by her side. “Luca will be just outside if you need anything.”

“And dozens of soldiers guarding the grounds?”

The defiance in her voice allowed me to chuckle. “You won’t notice them, Valencia. They are very skilled at surveillance and recon.”

“You sound like you’re in the military.”

Shrugging, I touched her face and felt thankful when she rubbed her cheek against my hand. “When facing an enemy, you can never be too careful. Having skilled men and in certain cases women highly skilled in weaponry and martial arts does generally allow for a positive outcome.”

“How very well thought out. You’re prepared for anything. Including war.”

She was trying to rile me. I had a feeling she found doing so amusing. “Yes. Think about what you’d like for dinner.”

“Why not?” She folded her arms, her eyes still filled with amusement. Even after experiencing a taste of what my father’sworld had been filled with, she didn’t seem to understand the potential danger.

Or perhaps she didn’t care.

I headed downstairs, rolling down my sleeves and buttoning them before I headed into my office, grabbing my jacket. All the while I thought about the calls from her dad. He was obviously troubled about our relationship. I would use that to my advantage at some point.

After selecting additional ammunition, I noticed the katana placed in the center of the safe. Perhaps I could ease my agitation by using it. I yanked the special holster, sliding the sharp blade inside.

I’d already scheduled a meeting with Davit Ajernian for the next day. He’d been cordial on the phone, expressing his sorrow for what had occurred. I hadn’t mentioned the explosive and neither had he. But I’d discover whether or not he’d had any involvement. If he had, he would soon learn crossing my family had been a fatal mistake.

My, my, my. I had several people lined up to punish if necessary. While I hadn’t mentioned it to my brothers, I also had intentions of speaking with Don Coppola given his condition had been downgraded from being in the ICU. The man either knew or suspected more than he’d shared.

When I reached the front door, both Elias and Luca were waiting outside.

“Take care of her, Luca. Beware; the lovely doctor is a handful.”

He grinned. “I can handle her.” His smile faded when he noticed the look on my face. “In a completely professional way, of course.”

“Of course. You’re too smart to handle yourself in any other way,” I told him. He knew exactly what I was getting at. Touch her and die. I didn’t care how long our business relationship had been. She was not to be touched under any circumstances. “Elias, you’re coming with me.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” He moved toward the awaiting SUV. Ordinarily I would drive, but would use the time while he was heading to the lockdown facility to discover some valuable information.

After I started to walk toward the vehicle, I stopped and returned to where Luca was standing. “I will need you to coordinate something in a little while. I’ll send you the needed information. Just get it done as quickly as possible.”

“Absolutely, boss. Whatever you need.”

What I needed was something he couldn’t provide.

A way of creating a world that Valencia could tolerate. I laughed as I climbed into the SUV. We were from two entirely different worlds. Maybe I was fooling myself we could ever make it work. Whether I returned to New York or not, I’d made the final decision with her father’s call.

She would remain in Greece.

At this point, no circumstance and no one would be able to pry her from my life.

“He was carrying a weapon, boss. The serial numbers were filed off.”

One of two soldiers who’d remained at the bunker handed me the piece. It was a Glock, which meant little since so many criminals carried that particular weapon. I pocketed it, giving the man a nod. “Did he give you any trouble?”

“Just the usual.”

“Okay.” I glanced at Elias with a grin on my face as we approached the door. I opened it slowly, hating the fact my father had kept the place. “Kane Jones,” I said by way of introduction when I opened the door to the locked storage room inside the building affectionately called the bunker. While the outer chambers still held a stench of blood and other bodily fluids that had soaked into the walls, the room where Kane had been stored was ripe with the odor of cleaning supplies.

He’d chosen not to sit in the single chair located in the room. But it wasn’t just any chair. The creative design I’d had built reminded me of the old timey school chairs with desks attached I’d been forced to use as a small child. The design worked well when handling incentives for a captured enemy.

My recent captive snapped his head toward me as soon as I walked in. “What the fuck is going on here? I was taken from my hotel room, tossed in the trunk of some huge car, and stuffed inside this fucking room. It’s freezing in here. And who the hell are you? No one told me a damn thing,” Kane barked. Did hereally think he was going to get the upper hand by insulting the man who’d had him brought here?

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