“Hmmph.” Evie chewed on the inside of her lip to keep from saying what she really wanted to. Namely, that if the Lord was gonna give her what she needed, it’d sure be nice if he’d tell her how he planned to do that sooner rather than later.
Like a magnet, her gaze shifted back to Sergei. The two men she often saw him with at the diner and around town now sat flanked on either end of the round booth. Kir Vasilek was big and intimidating like Sergei, but had beautiful blue eyes and blond hair. He used both to his advantage and had created a heck of a reputation in Mid-City as a supreme playboy. Roman Kozlov, on the other hand, rarely interacted with anyone. Probably because his big, imposing body, menacing features and hard facial structure made people think he was the devil incarnate.
Sergei could eradicate her problems completely.
The thought was a little subtler this time. A murmur uttered with the silken voice of temptation. “What about him?” she said to Dorothy under her breath.
Dorothy twisted and studied Evie’s face, then followed her gaze to Sergei. After years keeping a diner open in a rough part of town through every kind of hard time imaginable, not much drew her old friend up short, but in that second, Dorothy showed genuine concern. She covered it almost as quickly as it had come up and went back to her silverware. “Don’t think you need protection, doll. I think you need a job.”
“Well, maybe he knows someone. Could give me a lead or a reference. One look at those clothes he wears and that slick BMW outside, you know he’s loaded. That means he’s gotta know other rich people.”
“He might know ’em. Might even give you a leg up with ’em, but in case you missed it—a man like him does you a favor, you’ll end up owing for what you get.”
“You did it.”
It was a childish response. Something more appropriate for when she’d been sixteen and arguing with her mom and Dorothy about what a girl should and shouldn’t wear. Not when she was twenty-eight and figuring out how to pay her bills.
But if Dorothy felt the slight, she didn’t show it. Just kept right on rolling. “Lesser of two evils, child. I had thugs taking over my diner. Sergei took care of that and in exchange I give him a place to do business. A small price to pay to keep my place safe, but don’t let that handsome face fool you. He’s got dark in him. A lot of it. And he’s not afraid to let it out.” She paused a moment, the look on her face that of a woman searching for the right words to share next. She finally paused and faced Evie, lowering her voice. “Right now, you’ve got money troubles. You bring him into your life, you’ll solve one problem, but might end up with an even bigger one.”
“Out of the frying pan into the fryer, huh?”
Her eyes softened, a whole wealth of wisdom Evie couldn’t begin to comprehend staring back at her. “Something like that.”
Evette sighed and chewed the inside of her lip. The only other option she could think of would have made her momma roll over in her grave, but she threw it out there anyway. “I guess I could ask Uncle Carl for some cash. He was wavin’ a big wad of it around here the other day. He’s crazy as the day is long, but he’s always offering to help me and Emerson.”
“No.” Dorothy’s retort was so hard and fast, Evette felt it like a jolt. While she softened her tone almost as quickly, her hands shook when she picked back up with the napkins. “Your momma had reasons why she kept her distance from Carl. It’s best you do the same.”
It wasn’t the first time Dorothy had expressed her dislike for Carl. Why she and her mother didn’t like him had never been something they’d been willing to share, but considering Evette didn’t like being around him either, she’d never pushed it.
Evette braced her hands on the counter behind her and stared at Sergei.
Sergei turned and caught her gaze.
Trapped it.
Owned the connection so completely Evie would have sworn he’d overheard her entire conversation.
Which was absolute bull-hockey. He couldn’t have. He was just an intimidating man with a good sense of intuition.
But he could help her.
Way faster than anyone else in this neighborhood.
She shifted her attention to Emerson, now done with his dinner and staring out the window to the street beyond. “Any chance I can talk you into a hot fudge sundae for Emerson?”
“Any chance I can talk you out of what you’re thinkin’ about doing?”
“Not unless you can tell me how to get a job by Monday and where I can find another $500 in time to hold that spot for Emerson.”
Dorothy kept her silence.
“Come on, Dorothy. You said yourself he’s not a complete bad guy. Heck, I remember you actually mentioned you liked him once. You’ve never even said you liked Father Manny and everyone likes him.”
“Yeah, but I love you. Same as I loved your mama. You mark my words, you tangle with Sergei Petrovyh, there’s no telling what you’ll be in for.”
“Well, if it makes my boy smile for once, I’m thinking it’d be worth it.”
Dorothy shook her head, picked the heavy tub up like it weighed nothing and slid it under the counter. She faced Evie, studied her for long seconds, then nodded and headed for the kitchen. “I’ll make two sundaes. Have a feelin’ that boy’s not the only one who’s gonna need a pick-me-up before this day is through.”
Don’t miss His to Defend, available now from Carina Press
Copyright © 2019 by Rhenna Morgan
Don’t miss the rest of the NOLA Knights series by Rhenna Morgan!
His to Defend (book one)
Hers to Tame (book two)
Mine to Keep (book three)
Also by Rhenna Morgan:
Men of Haven Series
Rough & Tumble (book one)
Wild & Sweet (book two)
Claim & Protect (book three)
Tempted & Taken (book four)
Stand & Deliver (book five)
Down & Dirty (book six)
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