What I don’t want to tell her is that my old partner has heard from our inside man that there is a rumor going around in the family about the big boss—Dima Sokolov—settling down with a much younger woman. There’s word of his upcoming marriage, though no one has heard who his bride-to-be is, nor have they seen her. I have a terrible feeling in my gut that he’s got his sights set on Charity.
I won’t stand for it though. She might not be mine in the standard sense of the word, but she is mine to protect. She hired me to do a job, and I’m going to do it no matter the circumstances or repercussions. My old partner warned me off this job. He told me crossing Dima wasn’t worth it, but looking in Charity’s wide, fearful eyes tells me it’s worth every bit of danger it could put me in.
“Sokolov doesn’t like to take no for an answer. I’m sure he’s taken your rejection of him as a challenge,” I say, giving her a half-truth.
She shakes her head, showing her obvious confusion. “I haven’t told him no. I’ve only met the man one time. I’m not playing hard to get or any other game. I’m just not interested. Period.”
“I’m guessing he picked up on that and is now doubling down on pursuing you. You don’t have to worry about that. I’m going to take care of him and any ideas that he’s gotten into his head where you’re concerned.”
She smiles gratefully and hugs me. She gasps and quickly backs away. I wish that she would’ve sunk into my embrace, but instead it was all too brief, and she looks terribly uncomfortable from the familiar touch. “Sorry,” she says, blushing.
I internally groan at the memory of her soft body pressed to mine. It might’ve only been for a scant second, but it was perfection.
“It’s fine,” I say, brushing off the moment even though it’s the last thing I want to do. My attraction for my new client is inappropriate in more ways than one. First of all, I don’t mix business with pleasure, ever. Secondly, she’s Darlene’s best friend… and Darlene’s man is my closest friend. It’s a man code kind of thing.
It boils down to one thing. Charity Winthrop is off-limits.
I clear my throat and get down to business. “Is it okay if I look around?”
She doesn’t say anything but nods.
I slowly look through the house, looking for any indication of someone entering the house who shouldn’t be here. All the windows are locked up tight, and none of the locks on the doors seem to have been messed with. Even so, I do a more thorough look, and when I find the camera hidden in a vent in her bathroom and another in her bedroom, I’m glad I did. I’m pulling out the last camera when Charity walks into the room.
“What’s that?”
I turn to her and grimace, hating that I have to tell her that someone has been watching her in her most private moments.
“It’s a wireless camera.”
“A c-camera?” she stutters. “Someone has been watching me?”
“Yeah, it appears so. You were right to be concerned.”
“Maybe it’s Cooper’s? Him and Mel could have some voyeurism kink…”
She’s grasping at straws, and she knows it. Charity’s arms wrap around her body, and she looks small, scared. Every protective instinct in my body has me wrapping her up in my arms and pulling her close. It’s highly inappropriate, but I can’t help myself.
“It’s going to be okay, sweetheart,” I promise. “No one is going to hurt you.”
“How do you know? Someone has been watching me in my bedroom. What if there are more cameras? Who would do such a thing?”
I don’t want to state the obvious, but this has Dima Sokolov written all over it. He’s an obsessive man when he wants something. He’s probably been watching her since she moved here, waiting for his chance to strike. Her father doesn’t understand what he started when he dangled his daughter in front of the man. He’s a predator, and he just gave him the prey he’s been searching for.
Too damn bad for him that I’m in the picture now and nothing, not even the head of the mob in our city is going to touch one hair on her head.
Charity lets out a shuddering sigh and pulls away from me. She squares her shoulders and the strong, independent woman I met at The Playground is back. She might be a little and submissive, but she’s strong-willed and won’t cower in the dark. Pride grows inside me at her strength.
“What do we do?” she asks.
“Well, first of all, I’m going to do a sweep of the whole house. Make sure there aren’t any more cameras or listening devices, then we are going to up the security in your house.”
She nods. “Okay. And what about me? What should I do?”
“You’re going to live your life like nothing is going on. I’ll be your shadow, keeping you safe from a distance.”
She chews on her bottom lip, worrying at it like a dog with a bone. If she’s not careful, she’ll make herself bleed. Without thinking it through, I reach out and gently extract the lip from her teeth with my thumb. I cup her cheek and draw her attention fully to me.
“You’re going to be safe. I promise you that. I don’t want you living in fear. No one is going to touch you as long as I’m here. And if there is a time I can’t be here, Ransom will be.”