Captivated by the deadly mafia boss

Nicole may have been raised on the outskirts of the mafia, but she never learned how to school her expressions. She has little flickers of her lips when she’s nervous, and she chews the inside of her cheek when she’s trying to control her temper.

Right now she’s chewing.

“Henry just needs time to cool off. The charges will get dropped on him in New York, and he’ll finally see I had nothing to do with it.”

“So, you’ll just run until that happens?”

“It’s not running,” she snaps at me.

“Then what is it?” I demand. We don’t really have time for this argument, but I need to understand her thinking. Because from the outside it seems as though she’s not thinking at all.

Her nostrils flare and her cheeks burst into a blush.

“Fuck. I don’t know.” Her words pop out of her mouth with frustration.

Somewhat satisfied, I ease back from the island.

“You’re not going anywhere. And you’re not stepping foot in the club until I can be there with you.”

She brings angry eyes up to mine.

“You can’t just bark out orders, Jakub. I’m not some puppy.”

The image of her wearing one of those fluffy puppy tail butt plugs makes my cock hurt. If I keep this up, I’m gonna mess myself.

“I sure as fuck can. When it comes to your safety, you’re damn right I’m giving you orders.”

“Well, I don’t have to follow them.” She shoves away from the island, forgetting all about her coffee and rounds the island heading full steam for the stairs to the loft.

I grab her arm just as she reaches the stairwell and spin her back to face me.

“I killed that asshole in your apartment, Nicole. The Kaczmareks aren’t happy about it.”

She yanks her arm free of me, stepping backward up onto the first step. This brings her closer to my eye level, but not quite.

“I see. You want some form of payment?”

“Killing him put me and my family into this mess. So, until it’s resolved, you aren’t going anywhere. You’ll stay with me, here, where I can keep an eye on you until it’s all done.”

She stares at me in silent anger. The wheels are spinning, but she’s maintaining an even calm.

“Last night was a mistake. I shouldn’t have let you touch me.” She shakes her head. “You think because you had your dick in me, you own me, and that’s not how this works.”

“That’s not how what works?” I narrow my gaze; she’s gearing up for a blowup.

“You and me. Just because I let you fuck me doesn’t mean you get to give me marching orders. I’m not one of your little fuck toys who will kneel and bend for you whenever you snap your fingers.”

I’m quick to grab her face, pinching her cheeks until she winces. It’s easy to drag her forward from the steps and put her in front of me.

“Watch your mouth, Nicole. Just because I didn’t whip your ass last night like you deserved doesn’t mean I’m gonna let you get away with anything else.”

I push her head back until she has to look up the length of her nose to see me. Her cheeks have reddened and the anger in her eyes has melted into soft chocolate.

“Now. My father and brother are on their way over here, so go upstairs and change. The only words I want to hear from you right now are ‘Yes, Jakub. I’ll be good.'”

The word choice has her nostrils flaring again, but her eyes go even softer. Her jaw goes slack beneath my grip.

The woman is too easy to read.

After several more seconds pass, I gently let go of her and take a purposeful step back. I half expect her to run up the stairs while cursing me out as she goes.

I’m close to being right.

She does turn and jog upstairs, but she does it quietly. Just before she disappears into the bedroom, she casts a quick glance over her shoulder at me. Her cheeks are red, but even from down here I can read the arousal in her.

* * *

“This is the girl?” My father points at Nicole who is walking down the stairs. She’s changed from the leggings into a pair of black capris and a soft pink blouse. A pair of ballet flats emphasizes the gentle nature she desperately tries to hide from the outside world.

“Yes.” I move from my spot to greet Nicole as she makes her way toward us. Her shoulders are back, and her chin is high. Good girl. She gives them no reason to believe her weak. There’s a little flicker at the edge of her smile, but she gets control of it quickly.

I take her hand and bring her to the kitchen where my father and brother stand ready to interrogate her. I’ve already told them not to scare her, but by the determined glares on their faces I can tell I’m going to be ignored.

“Nicole, this is my father Joseph Staszek and my brother Dominik.”

She slips her hand free from mine and reaches out to my father.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Staszek.”

Joseph stares at her hand for a brief moment before he moves into action and shakes it. She moves on to Dominik and repeats the greeting.

“It’s nice to meet you, but I really wish it were under other circumstances.”

Dominik moves his gaze from her to me with approval. He’s always appreciated diplomatic approaches to problems. And this situation may require more than she’s willing or able to give.

“Yes. We have a situation on our hands, don’t we?” Joseph waves his hand toward the kitchen table set to his left. “Should we sit?”

“It’s that bad?” I ask. Serious conversations require sit-downs.

He frowns. “I don’t know yet. Piotr Kaczmarek called for a meeting. We are going to meet with him this afternoon.”

“We as in all of us?” Nicole asks. She hides it well, but I can still hear the slight tremor in her tone.

“No,” I answer. “We as in us three. You will be here.”

“Under lock and key.” She flashes me her annoyance. “I remember.”

“Yes.” I nod sincerely. If she thinks she’s going to enlist any help from my father or brother on her behalf, she’s going to be sorely mistaken.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

“Before we meet with them, I need to know what happened.” Joseph turns his attention to Nicole. “And why.”

“Two of his men were inside her apartment. They tried to kidnap her, and I stopped them,” I explain for the second time. I already relayed all of this to my father when I spoke to him on the phone.

“Why are they looking for you?” Dominik points his question at Nicole.

Steady and sure, she explains. “Henry got picked up on a drug charge. I had nothing to do with it, but he’s probably told them I did. I broke up with Henry, but he doesn’t exactly take no for an answer. They wouldn’t be looking for me just because I left him; if they’re helping him find me it’s because he’s told them I have something to do with his arrest.” She raises her chin another fraction. “And I don’t.”

They take in her story and remain quiet for a long moment.

Finally, my father walks over to the table and pulls out a kitchen chair. Once he sinks into it, he rests his elbow on the table and takes a few slow breaths.

“Okay. So, this Henry is just a hired hand? He has no real position?”

“Not that I know of.” Nicole glances at me. “He worked like my dad, loyal but not blood.”

Joseph nods then rubs his forehead.

“You okay?” I ask, taking a step toward him. His color seems to be fading again.

He waves a hand at me. “I’m fine. I’m just tired of all this bullshit.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Staszek. I never meant for Jakub to be involved in anything.” Nicole goes to my father and places a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looks up at her then pats her hand.

“I know. My sons have a habit of getting into shit without realizing it until it’s too late.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I ask Dominik.

He shakes his head with a frown.

“It appears Micah fucked up a trade deal his father was making with the Kaczmareks.”

“What? How?”

Dominik glances toward Nicole, like he’s not sure we should be having this conversation with her there. I fold my arms over my chest. She might as well know considering whatever it is seems to be affecting how we deal with the Kaczmareks now.

“After he saved Lena, the deal was broken,” Dominik answers.

“You never told me they planned to give Lena to the Kaczmareks.” I step toward him. My little sister should have been better protected. I should have been around her more when she was handed off to the damn Ivanovs.

Dominik shakes his head. “She wasn’t. But after all that mess, the deal was cut off. The Kaczmareks were cut out of the deal. They’re not happy about it.”

“Then they can take it out on Micah, not us.”

“Micah is us.” My father raises his voice. His face reddens. “He is your sister’s husband, he’s part of this family. We protect our own. If they go after him, they go after us. And right now, with what you did yesterday, they now have two reasons to go after us.”

Nicole’s shoulders slump. She pulls the chair out from the table beside my father and sinks into it.

“Maybe it would be easier if you handed me over to Piotr. I’ve never met him, but I have met his cousin, Christian, in New York.”

“I’ve heard Christian isn’t exactly reasonable,” Dominik says.

She looks up at him. “He’s not. But maybe Piotr is better?”

“You’re not going to talk to Piotr Kaczmarek. You aren’t even going to be seen by him.” I won’t even tolerate the thought of having her in the same room as that bastard. The Kaczmarek family isn’t known for their respectability. What they can’t buy or barter, they steal. And when they can’t do that, they kill.

There’s always danger and violence in our world, but the Kaczmarek family is on a different level. They have no souls.

“Jakub, it’s my fault you had to shoot that jerk yesterday. I don’t want any more blood on my hands.”

I step over to her. “Listen to me.” I cup her chin and pull her attention up to me. “There is no blood on your hands.”

“Jakub’s right. If that asshole was in your apartment, it’s his own fault,” Dominik backs me up.

“Let her breathe, for God’s sake.” My father pushes his foot into my leg. I drop my hand from Nicole’s chin, satisfied she isn’t going to argue about turning herself over to the Kaczmareks again.

“We’ll meet with them. See what they want. Maybe we can make a deal that makes us all happy and puts this bullshit behind us,” my father says and pushes up from the chair. Just from the movement, he seems momentarily winded, but it passes.

“Let’s go,” he says and points to the door.

“You stay here. Do you understand, Nicole? Right here in this apartment,” I say, keeping my voice down as my father and brother head for the door. It’s not like they haven’t given the same orders before, but Nicole doesn’t need them overhearing us.

“I understand,” she says, moving up to her feet. “Don’t go anywhere until the big bad Staszek family says so.”

“I don’t like the tone.”

“I don’t like your arrogance,” she shoots back at me, looking entirely too confident for a woman two words away from getting her ass smacked.

“There are men downstairs; if you try to leave, they’ll stop you and call me. And if they call me-”

“You’ll make me wish they hadn’t. I know.” She pats my chest and throws on a sarcastic grin.

I stare at her a long moment. She’s saying the right words, but her sudden acceptance throws off red flags.

“Jakub, chodzmy!” my father calls me as the elevator opens up for him.

“Be here when I get back.” I point a finger at her and step backward until I have her agreement.

I get in the elevator and watch her still as the doors slide closed, taking her from my sight.

“She’ll be fine,” Dominik says.

I tense.

“If you had told Kasia to stay put, would she?” I ask, not bothering got look over my shoulder.

I sense his muscles knotting up.

“Exactly,” I say, checking my watch for the time. The faster we get this meeting over with the sooner I can get back here.