“She kept her earbuds in and ignored the guy the entire flight.”
His scowl deepened as he looked sidelong at the right brain of his security team, Quan Mao. He’d hired the skilled Asian American when Quan had first landed in Seattle a little more than four years ago. He’d come from an Asian unit in New York that had turned sour, and he’d proven himself more loyal and trustworthy than even some of the boys Gabriel had known for twenty years back home.
They’d met up tonight at SeaTac. Quan had been with Eva from the minute she’d arrived at JFK, joined her on the plane—without her knowledge, of course—and had just finished telling Gabriel about some frat boy who’d sat next to her and tried to strike up a conversation a few times. He’d swear the information was only being shared to poke the bear.
But then, his boys weren’t aware he was lusting after his charge, so maybe not.
“He wasn’t a threat?”
“No.”
“Then why am I hearing about it?” he snapped while noting Eva’s gaze was focused on the large weeping willow a few hundred yards from her driveway. His Escalade was parked in its shadows. He tensed, even though there was no way she could see them under the cover of the dewy branches and lightless night.
“Just keeping you informed.”
There was an odd note in Quan’s dry statement that Gabriel didn’t want to examine. Fuckin’ guy was too observant for his own good, he thought as he absently measured the length of Eva’s legs. Looong. And, man, her waist was tiny. That goddamn hair. He wanted to wrap the shiny mass around his wrist and use it as leverage to pull her back onto his aching—
Shutting that shit down, he silently cursed and forced his gaze away to scan the area, even though Quan would be on it. Gripping the steering wheel as Eva finally turned and disappeared into the house—thank fuck—he confirmed, “Nick gave the all clear?”
Nick Delvecio, Eva’s neighbor, had been planted in the house on the right by Vasily himself. The retired enforcer had been with the Moretti family for more than twenty years before being relocated here.
Quan nodded. “He slipped out the back door when she was dropped off.”
Satisfied with that, Gabriel settled in. He’d stay for just a little while, even though there were already eyes on the house.
He had to move forward with the job thing, he thought after a few minutes of silence. Get her installed in his office as soon as he could. Because with Stefano now onto her, she needed to be as close as Gabriel could get her. To protect her as only he knew how.
A rush of heat rippled over his skin as his mind fast-forwarded to tomorrow evening.
Ready or not, the time had come for him and his charge to meet.
FOUR
Praying she wasn’t about to be bombarded with belated condolences, Eva walked beneath the enormous canopy sheltering the entrance of the Crown Jewel from the steady drizzle and passed through a set of self-propelled revolving doors. The lobby she entered displayed the kind of luxury that for some reason always made her think of her father. Forty-foot ceilings, crystal chandeliers, exotic plants three times her size, Zen music piped in to encourage peaceful feelings.
Was this the type of place he frequented? Was he into real estate? Financing? Hedge funds? It was pretty pathetic that she didn’t even know how he’d made his wealth. Even worse, he could walk by her right now and she wouldn’t have a clue he was the man who’d broken her mother’s heart by leaving her on her own to raise a baby at nineteen.
Maybe she was lucky she didn’t have someone like that in her life, she thought, not for the first time. Could be he’d done them a favor by leaving.
Lifting her chin, she moved across the beautifully patterned marble floor, bypassing posh, cozy groupings of chairs and love seats and sparkling glass-topped tables graced with heavy crystal vases overflowing with an exotic array of flowers.
The soft gurgle of a massive aquarium beckoned her to the far side of the lobby. She paused there a moment to watch the graceful movements of two bright-blue fish playing tag through the seaweed.
It’s Caleb, honey. Read up.
Frowning at the faint sound of Caleb’s voice, Eva chuckled as she brought her clutch purse up and opened it to take out her phone. Okay. Apparently, the last time they’d been together, the dork had recorded a personalized ringtone.
Still nothing on SM. Gotta tread carefully on this one
Like she wasn’t aware of that. K. Just arrived at the gala. Funny tone btw
Thought you’d like it. Nik with you?
No
That fucker
Because she knew he was referring to Kevin, she agreed. I know :(
Later
She put her phone away, glad she’d at least been able to spend the better part of the day with Nika, dusting and airing out the house. With Eva having shared an apartment with three other girls in New York, there hadn’t been much to unpack, so once they were through, they’d sat on the back deck, an open jar of olives between them, catching up.
That was when Eva had noticed the sparkle that used to light her friend’s eyes was now only a dim ember. Between the two of them, Nika had always been the instigator, the daring, playful one, the let’s-just-try-it one who’d dragged the more conservative Eva along for the ride. Not in an irresponsible way, but just…fun.
Now her friend was different. Checked. Guarded, even with Eva, who planned on getting to the bottom of it because the transformation had come about only after Kevin had entered the picture.
Leaving the aquarium behind, Eva made her way to the rear of the hotel. When she spied a restroom, she quickly ducked in to check that the humidity and drizzle hadn’t done any lasting damage. Her reflection in the too-bright fluorescents showed the navy silk she’d chosen to wear was still wrinkle-free even after the car-ride. Floor-length, the elegant creation hung straight down from crystal-crusted straps and had a midthigh split up the left side that showed off her silver heels. Those beauties boosted her height to just above six feet, and tonight, already knowing she’d be a head above many of the guests, she didn’t mind that at all. It made her feel good for a change. Less like the weaker sex.
“Are you here for the benefit?” the waiting attendant asked as Eva turned to leave.
“Yes, I am.”
She pointed to a secondary exit being used by two ladies who were dressed as formally as Eva. “That door’s closer to the ballroom.”
“Thank you.”
Seconds later, Eva was staring out over a room filled with scores of beautifully decorated tables, the chairs so closely packed together they nearly touched. Thank God it was just cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and not one of those long, drawn-out, sit-down dinners. Small talk was stressful enough under the best of circumstances, much less at her first social outing since her mother’s death, with people who’d known them both for years.
“Champagne?”
A cute, ginger-haired waiter stood next to her, smiling as he held out the full tray he carried.
“Thank you.” She accepted one and sipped from the crystal flute, instantly wrinkling her nose at the bubbles that popped into her eyes.
As a string quartet played on a raised dais in front of the large windows, Eva used her height to her advantage, surreptitiously scanning the affluent crowd in search of—