Love Thy Enemy (Red Stone Security #13)(3)

“Name’s Dominique. Works for Red Stone, but I’m not sure what she does.” He lifted a shoulder, clearly not interested in the woman.

Which soothed something jagged and unexpected inside Viktor. His half-brother was right—she wasn’t for him. He slept with paid escorts for a reason. It kept things simple, uncomplicated. The women he used went through an agency run only by women, and all the escorts worked there willingly and were paid well. It was illegal, sure, but he’d done a lot of illegal things in his life. As the son of a dead mobster, he’d learned young that the world operated in shades of gray. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d used the escort agency, though. Over a year ago, at least.

A loud shout drew his attention to one of the restaurant displays. There were twelve celebrity chefs on site and anyone who was anyone in Miami was here. For the most part. The event was mostly outdoors in a park-type area. Twinkly lights and a huge gauzy canopy were high above everyone, strung between two buildings: an art center and a convention center.

He turned to see Grant Caldwell race toward the convention center, shoving a waiter out of his way as he ran. His two brothers, father and one of his brothers’ wives were all behind him, moving at a rapid speed.

Maxwell murmured something next to him before hurrying in that direction. Viktor was mildly curious about what was going on, but the majority of his focus was on finding the woman again.

“We need to go,” Abram said quietly, appearing at Viktor’s side out of nowhere. Like a ghost.

Because that was what Abram did. He moved with an impressive stealth. Which was good for getting into places he didn’t belong. “Why?” he asked, scanning the area, still looking for the blonde. Dominique. He wanted to say her name out loud, to feel it on his tongue.

He wanted to feel her against his tongue.

Annoyed with himself, he rolled his shoulders once.

“You have a meeting and I don’t like whatever that just was.” His brother frowned in the direction the Caldwell brothers had gone.

“Let’s go. The display tonight…” He trailed off, feeling a little guilt that he hadn’t paid much attention to their newest investment. The restaurant he’d just taken over had an exhibit here tonight—the whole reason he’d even come. And he’d been by only once to speak to the chef.

Abram nodded. “Good. Everything is good. Lucy has everything under control.”

Viktor held back a snort. Lucia—who insisted they call her Lucy—was the new assistant they’d recently hired and he knew his brother had it bad for her. He looked at his watch. “Stay until the end of the event. One of us needs to be here and I want to make sure Lucy has an escort to her vehicle.” The last part was true.

He could tell his brother wanted to argue, probably because he didn’t want to be around Lucy even though he was attracted to her, but Abram would watch out for her because he cared for her and because they looked out for their employees. In the past more so than now, Viktor and Abram had engaged in…more than one illegal activity. They’d made enemies, so all of their employees could be potential targets. Especially one who worked so closely with them. They never forgot that.

Abram straightened stiffly. “I’ll make sure she gets home safely.”

Viktor nodded once and headed out. Going into business with Abram two years ago had been one of the best decisions he’d ever made. He hadn’t even known he had a half-brother until three years ago.

He texted his driver as he headed toward the art center and away from whatever commotion had just happened. It was fairly late for a meeting, but there was a piece of property he’d had his eye on and the real estate agent couldn’t show it until tonight.

The art center was silent as he stepped inside, his shoes almost completely noiseless as he headed down a long hallway that would exit onto a quiet side street. Instead of parking in the main garage attached to the convention center he’d had his driver drop him off. It made things easier when he wanted to leave. No traffic to deal with.

There were a few staff from the Celebration of Chefs and probably from the art center itself along the hallway, acting as ‘security’ so people wouldn’t wander into closed display areas they weren’t allowed in. But everyone was silent as he passed, simply smiling politely and nodding.

When he pushed open one of the glass double doors at the end of the long hallway, the salt-tinged, slightly humid Miami night air rolled over him. The heat of summer could be sweltering during the day but at night it was more than bearable, especially with the breezes.

Not that he cared about any of that when he spotted the tall, sexy Dominique talking quietly to a man around her height. At least with her heels they were the same height. They were standing near a built-in bench along the sidewalk next to a cluster of palm trees. Even though it was evening there were enough lights around the center, including one nestled in the palm trees, to illuminate her perfectly.

When she shifted her feet he realized there was another woman next to the man. A petite brunette with Mediterranean coloring who was tucked up against him, her arm wrapped around his waist. They were all murmuring quietly.

The goddess had her back to him, showing off the sweet curve of her ass and her toned calves. It was like she’d walked out of his fantasies. Her long, blonde hair cascaded down her back in big waves and he wondered what it would be like to run his fingers through them. To wrap his fingers around a thick section and hold her head back, nibble along her neck and jaw before he claimed her mouth.