Cold & Deadly (Cold Justice: Crossfire #1)(47)

She threw her pen down and stretched her arms above her head. A blue, beaded bracelet caught the light. Dominic looked away. Did not need to be reminded she had breasts.

“Van converted to Catholicism to marry Jessica. He pretty much left the tight-knit Greek community behind at the same time,” she said.

“You seem to know a lot about him.” How close had they been?

“We talked about it a lot.” She laughed. “Ask any Greek kid about Greek school, and you’ll understand why growing up ‘Greek’ is such a big thing.”

“You think the fact you both come from a Greek background is why you two got on so well?” If he hadn’t been watching her so closely, he wouldn’t have noticed.

Her hand went to the bottom of her neck in a move that screamed self-protection. “Probably.”

He frowned. He didn’t believe her. Why would she lie about something as simple as that? “You come from a big family?”

She climbed to her feet and started to pace. “Not really.”

He raised one brow. She seemed even more reluctant to talk about her family than he did. She yawned. The dark circles under her eyes told him all he needed to know about how exhausted she was. He also knew that until he turned in, she wasn’t going to budge.

His cell phone started to vibrate. It was his father. Damn. “I’m gonna take this in my room and then get some sleep.”

“I’ll sleep on the couch upstairs.”

“There are five other double beds in the house,” he said in exasperation.

“They’re all on other floors to where you’re sleeping. I’ll be fine on the couch,” she insisted.

He ground his teeth, picked up his service weapon from the table, and headed upstairs. Ranger was already in his dog bed by the back door and half-heartedly wagged his tail when Dominic walked by.

He went through to his bedroom on the ground floor, placed the Glock on the bedside table. If Ava wanted to sleep on the couch that was her problem.

She’d be fine.

He’d slept there plenty of times, but it still felt weird to have anyone, let alone a woman he found attractive, sleeping so close by. On the couch. “Protecting” him.

He pressed redial on his cell.

“Dominic, how are you, son?” It probably wasn’t his father’s fault that he perpetually sounded like he was on the campaign trail.

“Pretty good, considering.” Dominic forced himself to smile because people could hear smiles even on the phone. “Been a hell of a week.”

“I called you after the shooting on Tuesday.”

“Sorry, Pop, I meant to call back but I got tied up at work.”

“Joshua was asking after you…”

Dominic had been ecstatic when his godfather had won the election, it was only afterward it had become awkward. “Please give him my regards.”

“You could pick up the phone yourself you know. Better yet, pay the man a visit.”

Tension pulled at the muscles across Dominic’s chest. “I’ll try to do that the next time I’m in DC.” And he probably did owe the man a visit. It just felt so incredibly freaking awkward visiting his godfather at the White House.

“I was calling for another reason.” His dad cleared his throat. “I asked Tracy to marry me, and she said yes.”

Dominic blew out an audible breath and dragged off his sling, tossing it on the bed. “That’s great, Dad.” Maybe fifth time was the charm.

“We’re having an engagement party next week. Would love for you to come up and meet her and her family. Your brother and sister will both be there. Bring a date.”

A date? Was he serious? Last time Dominic had taken a date home his brother had seduced her. Dominic unbuttoned his shirt and eased out of the sleeves. The bruises on his ribs were darkening beneath the surface of his skin. Dominic shucked his pants and tossed them on a chair. He had pajamas around here somewhere. He went to the walk-in closet and fished out some loose plaid pants. Ava Kanas probably wouldn’t appreciate what he usually slept in.

“Tracy wants a big, white wedding as this is her first time…”

Dear Jesus.

“I was hoping you’d be my best man.”

“You told Franklin about that?” His older brother would be pissed.

His dad laughed. “Not yet but he did the last three. Figured I might have better luck if I asked you this time.”

His brother wouldn’t like being usurped. For some unknown reason, Franklin had been in competition with Dominic for as long as he could remember. Sports. Grades. Women. His father’s attention. Franklin hadn’t liked it when Dominic had rejected the idea of joining the family law firm where he’d already made partner. He didn’t like the fact Dominic had signed up for the FBI. He didn’t even like the fact it was Dominic’s godfather and not his who occupied the Oval Office.

Their father was always trying to force them to get along, but Dominic was the only one making concessions, and he was done with the pretense and the bullshit.

“I’m hoping this is the last time. I think you’ll like Tracy.”

His father might have better luck if he didn’t marry women half his age who wanted his money and position more than they wanted the man himself. Not that Dominic was an expert in relationships. His dad definitely had him beat there.