Page 26 of Deadly Protector
A flash of fear flared in Ryba’s eyes, but he quickly masked it and simply nodded before he stalked off.
Dimitri found it very interesting that Ryba hadn’t mentioned his aunt. He could be avoiding talking about her because he was worried Dimitri was recording him. Or because he was afraid to use her name. Or hell, maybe they really had no relationship. Most criminals would love to throw around Irene Gorcyca’s name.
It boded well for Zamira at least that Ryba hadn’t brought up Gorcyca. If he wasn’t working with her, and was working his own angle, it likely meant he had very little funds or backup. Which was probably what this was all about anyway. Money.
Had to be.
Ryba wanted something he thought Zamira had, something that would be worth a lot.
Unfortunately now Dimitri had to wait for Ryba to do his homework, to decide that he would meet up with Dimitri again.
While he was waiting on that to happen, there was something he could do. Glancing around, glad to see the room had cleared out, he called Zamira.
“Hey, are you okay? How did it go?” She was breathless, her tone worried.
“Everything’s good. It went about as well as expected. At this point we’re going to have to wait. But in the meantime, would you be willing to gather up all of Lucas’s things? Juan and I will go with you to your house. I can’t say for sure but I almost guarantee that Ryba is going to want to search Lucas’s things and no way is that happening at your house. So I’d like to transport all his boxed-up stuff to a storage container in a neutral location. I know a guy who owes me a favor—I did the locks for his entire storage facility. He’ll let us use one of his on a temporary basis.” Dimitri hadn’t called to ask yet, but he had no doubt.
“Wow, ah, yeah, thank you. I can gather everything and we can deliver it whenever you think.”
“How about right now?” Dimitri wanted to be ready when Ryba called him back.
“Yeah, hold on.” There was a slight rustling, then she said, “Juan said we can meet you at my place.”
“Sounds good.” Once they disconnected, he let Lyosha know that he was fine and to head out. He also thanked him for the last-minute backup.
He still hated what was going on, but at least they were headed in the right direction. Hopefully soon this would be a distant memory—and then he could convince Zamira to take a chance on him for more than a temporary fling.
“This is it.”Zamira looked at the stack of boxes on her living room floor. She’d pointed out everything to Juan and Dimitri and they’d gathered everything and piled it into one place. Looking at all of Lucas’s things, a weird pang hit her chest. Maybe not weird, but whatever it was, it hit her hard. She knew things wouldn’t have worked out between them in the long run if he’d survived.
She’d been blind to all his faults until the end. But seeing all his worldly belongings laid out like this just made her sad inside. Sad for the man he could have been, sad that he hadn’t gotten to see his kids grow up. Hell, sad that he didn’t have a chance to grow out of who’d he’d been, because maybe he could have. “I don’t want Ryba to just paw through all of it,” she rasped out then swallowed hard.
Dimitri set his large hand on the small of her back, his touch comforting, grounding. “He won’t, I promise. And if he doesn’t find what he’s looking for, we’ll cross that bridge then.”
Juan patted her shoulder awkwardly. “We’ll load this up in the SUV. Why don’t you just go rest for a minute?”
She really did adore her brother-in-law. Shaking away the melancholy, she grabbed the nearest box. “Let’s just do this.” She wanted it over and done with.
Dimitri plucked it from her hands, frowning, as if he didn’t want her to do any of the lifting.
It should annoy her, but she liked that he was taking over. Just a teeny bit. It was nice to have a man looking out for her, wanting to take care of her. After Juan grabbed another big box, she lifted a smaller one and followed them to the back of Dimitri’s SUV.
Suddenly Juan let out a short whistle and Dimitri turned, blocking her body with his as a luxury sedan pulled up next to her curb.
Oh God.She winced as her friend Mick Carmichael pulled up. He was a real estate agent she’d met a few years ago when looking at a property and they got together a few times a year, usually to go kayaking or boating. “He’s a friend,” she said to Juan and Dimitri, who both looked a little like they were ready to do battle with the newcomer.
She stepped around them, her sandals slapping against her driveway as she hurried toward Mick.
“I’m so sorry, I forgot to call you back,” she said as he was stepping out of his car. And she’d forgotten to respond to his text as well. “I’m dealing with some family stuff, but that’s no excuse.”
Mick laughed slightly as he leaned against the trunk of his car, casual in light slacks and a polo shirt. He had a little gray coming in at the temples, peppering through his dark hair, and she knew he was one of those men who would age well, all distinguished and handsome. “I’m just glad you’re okay. I didn’t want to veer into stalker territory so I didn’t call again. But…it’s not like you to bail on plans and I was worried so I thought I’d run by and just check on you. Hopefully that’s not too stalkery?”
“No, no, it’s fine. I hope you at least got to take out your boat today?” He’d invited her to go out weeks ago and they’d planned on going today. He’d called this morning but she’d ignored it because Dimitri had gotten back from Ryba’s. She’d been so consumed with fear and worry for Dimitri. Everything else had taken a back seat and she’d forgotten to cancel.
“Ah…” He glanced over at Dimitri and Juan, who were still loading up boxes, his expression curious as he shoved his aviators back on his head. “I didn’t go, but it’s not a big deal.”
Okay, now she felt even worse. He’d taken her and the kids out a few times over the years and thankfully he was one of those men who was truly just looking for friendship, not more from her. “I’ll make it up to you.” She felt like a crap friend right now. She’d known Mick for years, and he was such a stand-up guy. He was also gay, so early on she’d known he actually wanted to be just friends with her.
“You don’t need to do that. I’m just glad you’re okay.” He glanced at the men again. “You need help with anything?”
