Captivated by the deadly mafia boss

“Jakub!” Lena shoves my arm.

“I’m not joking, Jakub.” My father turns to me, his eyes full of seriousness and his jaw tense. “I won’t be alive forever. Before I go, I want to see all my children married. And grandchildren would be nice. More than just Dominika. I want a houseful of grandchildren. And your brother, he may never have a son, then what? Dominika is a smart baby, but she cannot run the Staszek family.”

I look at his untouched plate. Only moments ago, he complained of being hungry, but since the food has arrived his appetite has fled.

“Since you’re going to live at least two more decades, I’d say I have time. And Dominik will get his perfect wife knocked up with an entire baseball team until he gets that boy you want so badly. And if not, there’s always Lena.”

My father’s wary gaze moves over to my sister. I can feel the tension building.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

A son by her wouldn’t be a Staszek. It would be half Ivanov.

My phone goes off in my back pocket again.

“You worry too much.” I yank my phone out.

“You don’t worry enough,” my father mumbles to himself, but I catch every word.

“Are you not hungry, Dad?” Lena leans across me and points to his untouched dish of breaded pork and noodles.

“I ate too many crab cakes, I think.” He gives a soft smile and picks up his drink.

I swipe open my phone to read the texts coming from Katfish. Two of Kaczmarek’s men are in my club.

The Kaczmarek family runs part of the city’s liquor distribution, prostitution rings, and for some fun, they’ve dabbled in human trafficking. There has been peace between our families for the last decade, but we’ve also made it a point to stay out of each other’s way. If they are in my club, it’s not to have a drink and enjoy the music.

“I have to go.” I push away from the table. “The club.” I kiss Lena’s cheek and give a nod to Micah and Dominik.

“Something’s the matter.” My father grabs my hand when I offer it. “What is it?”

“Nothing I can’t handle. Don’t worry so much.” I grin down at him. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I assure him.

He shakes my hand and gives me a solid nod.

“You call if you need something before then,” Dominik says from across the table.

“It’s nothing. I’ll let you know.” I give one final wave and head out the door.

The Kaczmareks being in my club could mean nothing, but at the very least it helped me escape the family dinner. My father would have gone on for another hour about family loyalty and the necessity of marriage and children.

I suppose when I get to the club, I should thank them.

* * *

When I enter the club through the back, the heavy beat greets me. The hallway has some sound-dampening elements, but more is needed. As I make my way toward the main area of the club, I pass Nicole’s office.

The door’s wide open so I take a quick look. Her desk is empty, but her coffee cup still sits next to her computer, so I know she’s still around. The woman lives on coffee. I haven’t seen her drink anything other than it in the past two days.

The business offices open up to the main room near the bar, so when I leave the hallway, I’m close enough to see the bartender sliding a dirty martini across the bar to a pretty redhead. I’m also near enough I see two feminine feet sticking out from a cabinet beneath the bar.

Toby, the bartender, knows better than to bring his girlfriend to work, and hiding her under the bar isn’t going to work. I’ll get back to him on that. Right now I have to find the Kaczmareks.

“Hey!” Stanley, head of my security team at the club, comes up behind me. “You didn’t need to come down here, I just didn’t know if you wanted me to toss them out.”

I shake my head. “No. That would just cause a scene. Where are they?” I ask, eyeing the club. The Saturday night crowd has the dance floor packed and the lounge areas surrounding it are just as crammed with people. Looks like we’re at full capacity tonight.

“At the bar,” Stanley informs me, and I follow him behind the bar.

He nods his head toward the two then keeps walking. We can’t appear to be ganging up on them. I’m trying to avoid a scene, not cause one.

As I step up to the bar, my foot bumps into something. The music is thumping too loudly for me to be certain, but I would almost swear I heard a woman curse. A quick glance down, and I see those same feet I noted earlier slip further back, only this time I’m close enough to see it’s not some random woman hiding behind the bar to flirt with the bartenders.

It’s Nicole.

Her brow wrinkles when she meets my gaze. What the fuck is she doing down there? Before I can ask, she shakes her head and puts a finger to her lips.

What the hell has she gotten herself into?

“Hey, Jakub. Long time, man.” One of the Kaczmarek men leans over the bar toward me. I step closer, completely blocking his view past the edge of the serving section.

“It has,” I say, taking his hand in a firm handshake. I don’t recall his name, but I’ve seen him before. He’s not high on the family tree, whoever he is.

“This isn’t your usual spot,” I say, keeping my demeanor neutral. The Kaczmareks control a territory further west. They have a small part of the city, nothing like what they control in New York. The New York family has a large chunk of pretty much any underground business, and last I heard, they were starting to reach into the political ring as well.

“Yeah.” He nods. His hair is light and drags along his shoulders. From the greasy appearance I’m not sure he knows how to wash it properly. His buddy isn’t looking too much better, and there’s a scabbed cut under his left eye.

These assholes aren’t part of the Kaczmarek family, but they work for them. Muscle.

Why is Kaczmarek muscle in my fucking club?

“What can I do for you? Need a drink?” I lean back a bit and slip my hands in my pockets.

He has to lean further toward me to hear me well enough.

“We’re just looking for someone,” he says with a nod, like I’m fully on board with whatever bullshit they’re about to pull.

“A girlfriend? I would have thought you have plenty of those on your side of town.”

He pulls back, frowning. “No, man. Nothing like that. I got some information the girl I’m looking for hangs around here. Maybe works for you?”

“Oh?” I move my foot beneath the bar to push against Nicole’s. I’m about to hear her name, and it’s going to piss me right the hell off. “Who’s that?”

“Nicole something.” He turns to his buddy. “What’s her name again?”

All muscle, no brains. Great.

“Sawitchy, Sawicki. Something like that. She’s got black hair, brown eyes.”

I push on a grin. “You just described half the club.” I nudge my chin in the direction of the dance floor. “And the name doesn’t sound familiar.” I pin her foot down beneath mine.

“No? Cause our intel is usually pretty good,” he continues to push.

“Maybe your information was wrong because your guy was playing in the wrong sandbox.” I shrug. “Now. Can I get you anything else?”

A part of me wants to grab this prick and pull him over the bar. Slam my fist into his face a few times before demanding he tell me why he’s looking for Nicole. But doing that would expose her hiding place. I’ll have to get my answers from her instead.

And I will get answers.

He stares me down for a full second before he finally backs off. This asshole is in my club and he’s trying to eyeball me. I huff a laugh. This isn’t fucking kindergarten, and this isn’t the way I play ball.

“You got your answer,” I say firmly and move my gaze toward the exit.

“We paid the cover,” the second guy argues.

“Happy to return it.” I pull out a few bills from my pocket and toss it at them. “Have a nice night, gentlemen.”

Like the scum of the barrel they are, they swipe up my cash and maneuver themselves to the exit.

I wave Stanley over to me.

“Stanley, make sure they leave and talk to whoever’s at the door tonight. I don’t want them back inside.”

“You got it.”

After he disappears into the crowd, I take a step back from the bar and crouch down, putting me eye to eye with my little stowaway. “Friends of yours?” I ask.

She frowns. “No.” She starts to move like she’s going to get up, but I push her back.

“Wait till I get the all clear they’re gone,” I tell her.

With a nod, she obeys, but I’m sure it will be the last bit of obedience I see in her tonight. Because as soon as I get her ass in my office, she’s got a lot of explaining to do, and I’m not going to let her step one toe out of my office until she does it.