Ramsey Security (Ramsey Security #1-3)(132)

“Do you like her?”

“Sure. I mean, I wouldn’t have anything in common with her if we weren’t related.”

“What about your brother?”

“Taz smells like cigarettes and claims women disappoint him.”

“He sounds like a joy.”

“Oh, he is. His last wife always answered the phone and gave me the third-degree thinking I was one of his whores. I eventually visited Vegas, where they lived, and threatened to cut off her face if she kept me from talking to my brother. She cried.”

Minka smiles at the memory. “The funny thing is I don’t like talking to Taz, and he doesn’t like talking to me. We just didn’t like having anyone telling us what to do. We get that shit from our mom, who once threatened a cop for asking her to stop flicking her ashes at people at the bus stop.”

“Your family sounds a real pleasure.”

“Don’t talk shit about my family, Dino,” she growls, giving me a look that many men died seeing. “They suck and will die without anyone caring, but they’re still my blood. I defend what’s mine even if I can’t f*cking stand them. Get it?”

“Oh, I get it,” I say super smooth and soft.

Minka’s angry expression relaxes immediately, and she smiles at me.

“You’re pretty irresistible when you want to be,” she says, swimming away from me.

“Funny.”

“You only have the one brother?” she asks, swimming towards me before changing her mind.

“If I want to catch you, you’ll be caught.”

“What’s your brother’s name?” she says, returning to me.

“I like when you submit.”

Minka smirks and pokes my chest. “No, you don’t. You like the chase. If you ever truly caught me, you’d get bored.”

“You think?” I ask, cupping her face.

“Are you afraid to talk about your brother? Will you get emotional? If it makes you feel better, I’m very good at patting people on the back when they cry.”

I take her hands and press them against my chest. Her nails dig into my flesh enough to make my cock hard but not enough to draw blood.

“You’re too perfect when you play.”

“Why won’t you tell me about your brother?”

“No reason. I just don’t know where he is or if he’s even alive.”

“How come?”

The concerned look on her face makes my heart tighten. As much as I love the chase, I want the real shit too. I need her to care because I won’t play the f*cking fool.

“He went into law enforcement. Undercover shit.”

“He’s a cop, and you worked for the mob? Cain and Abel stuff, huh?”

“Frankie is a f*cking idiot. That’s all I got to say about that.”

Minka fights laughter. “Tell me your parents didn't really name you Frank and Dino.”

I give her a dark frown, and she laughs. Right in my damn face too. With anyone else, I’d want blood. With Minka, I f*cking laugh along with her. The woman has too much power, and I just keep handing her more.

“What would they have named girls?”

“Francesca and Dina.”

“Of course.”

Playing with her wet hair, I sigh. “You know, if I’d had a little sister to protect, I might have never gotten my start in the mob.”

Minka studies me with her dark eyes, and I know she’s considering pushing the topic of my brother. Now I’ve given her another possible line of interrogation. Will she take it or make me squirm?

“Why a sister?” she asks, giving me a break.

“I always wanted a little sister to protect. It was just Frankie and me, though. So I was protective of the younger girls in the neighborhood. One day when I was fifteen, I saw some local guys I knew. They weren’t friends, but it’s the type of neighborhood where you know everyone. While I was riding my bike, I noticed them teasing a girl named Shannon. They were crowding her and corralling her towards the backyard belonging to one of the guys.”

“Sounds like a nice place to grow up,” she says, tapping my chest with her long fingers.

“It was picturesque. You’d like it.”

“Of course I would,” she whispers against my lips. “Now, why can’t you lie like that for me?”

Kissing her softly, I wrap my hands possessively around her waist. “I promise I’ll lie my ass off next time you ask about your shitty music.” Minka smiles and relaxes back into the water. After dipping her hair into the pool, she glances at the hot tub.

“Let’s relax while you tell me the rest of your story.”

I watch her slide through the water towards the steps. She’s temptation personified. When she smiles at me over her shoulder, I feel weak and desperate. Is she the devil?

I join her in the bubbling hot tub. She leans back and lets her sexy body slide under the water until only her head remains afloat.

“Those boys were trying to get Shannon into a backyard. What happened next?”

Under the water, my fingers find hers. Minka’s dark eyes warm, but she only waits for me to tell the rest of my story.

“I wasn’t the powerhouse I am now. Some might even say I was scrawny, but Mom told me I was scrappy. When Frankie and I fought, he always won but only after I hurt him.”