Page 4 of Gangster's Empire: Leeza & Havel

She swept the yard with a practiced gaze. She did it several times until her vision had adjusted enough that she was positive she would see movement if there was any. Then again, it was most likely Guard Dog’s alpha team coming after her, which meant they were the best of the best. They wouldn’t dare be seen surrounding her yard and home until they were ready.

As soon as the thought left her brain, a voice came from behind her. “It’s over, Leeza.”

She froze, her hand still holding the blind. She held the gun against her leg, her fingers clutching the metal so hard it hurt. One shot and she could take out the threat to herself and her son. She could do it. For Kris.

“Don’t, lásko.” His rough voice razed through her.

She flinched at the endearment. “Don’t call me that.”

“Why? You used to like it,” he said, his voice mocking.

She dropped the blind and turned to face him. “I don’t like it because I’m not your love.”

“You think not?”

He was playing with her.

She raised the gun, training it on his heart. "Take your team and leave.”

He chuckled, the sound sending a cold chill through her. “It’s cute you think you have the upper hand. You don’t get to make demands here, lásko.”

“Stop calling me that!”

When the Koba organization fractured and she’d found herself on the opposite side of her cousin, she’d wondered if she’d have it in her to shoot her first love if they ever came to this moment. Well, if he called her his fucking love one more time, she’d have an answer to the hypothetical.

The amusement left Havel’s face as he watched her and he said in a low, deadly voice, “Put the gun down.”

He moved so fast she had no time to react until she was standing in the circle of his arms, her back to his chest, her arms crossed in front of her, the gun pointing harmlessly at the ceiling.

Leeza struggled for a few seconds before giving up. He was so big, his grip so strong, that it was like being held by a bear. She’d put herself through years of weapons and Crav Maga training, and for what? Havel was better than her. He’d always been better. “Just get it over with,” she growled, jerking against him. She could feel his body heat through his T-shirt and bullet proof vest, seeping into her, warming her.

He leaned down from his greater height and spoke in her ear, his breath brushing her skin and sending gooseflesh across her arms and chest. “I have no intention of ‘getting it over with’,” he said in his smooth voice.

“You’re not here to kill me?”

He chuckled, but the sound didn’t hold any warmth. “I’ve been waiting years for this. Why would I kill you when I finally got my hands on you?”

“You wouldn’t know what to do with me anymore,” she snapped, using bravado to cover her fear.

“We’ll see about that.” His voice dropped to a husky drawl and she responded with a shiver of anticipation.

“What are you going to do with me?” she whispered, staring at the blinds that were still askew. She could see movement now. His team was waiting out in the yard.

“I’m going to take you home where you belong.” He reached into his pocket for something.

She twisted her head to see what it was.

A needle.

“Kris is in a bolt hole under the rug in the living room. Please don’t leave him,” she said in a rush, trying to get the words out before he could drug her. “He’ll stay calm if you give him a chocolate bar from the third drawer in the kitchen.”

Havel hesitated, perhaps struck by her easy capitulation. What he didn’t know was that she wasn’t giving up. Through years of watching him and his team work with her cousin, she knew exactly what he was capable of. This wasn’t her time to fight, but it would happen. Eventually. When his guard was down and she had the upper hand.

In the meantime, she trusted him to take care of her son. Kris might not be his blood, but he belonged to the Koba family. Havel would protect her child with his life, if only to present him to her cousin, Jozef Koba, the head of the Koba crime organization.

“I’ll take care of him,” Havel promised, lifting the needle to her neck.

“You better.” She twisted her head so she could look him in the eyes. They were the same as she remembered, beautiful, confident, bold… and bitter. Because of her.

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