Mine to Keep

by Rhenna Morgan

  “Leave for where?”

  “My pakhan’s home. We have guests coming for dinner, and you will be with us.”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” She backed up another few steps and held up her hands. “I’m still not good on what the heck’s happened since I feel asleep last night. You’re not gonna bully me into being social on top of it.”

  “There is no bullying. There is only fact. You will be protected. By me. And I will be at my pakhan’s home. Therefore, you will be there as well.”

  She couldn’t help it. Everything since she’d woken up this morning was too much, too fast and too trippy. “Why? Why you? And more importantly, why me?”

  He gobbled up what little space she’d created with one step forward and palmed the back of her neck. His accent colored his words with both deadly intent and wicked promise. “Because, malen’kaya koroleva, two men tried to take you last night. Two men who held a knife to your throat and planted fear in your fearless heart. Whether you are ready to accept it or not, the life you once knew has drastically changed, and I will be the one who ensures that change is for the better.”

  Chapter Ten

  The life you once knew has drastically changed.

  One and a half hours later and that simple statement was still the only thought knocking around in Bonnie’s head. Yeah, he’d also tagged onto the end that it would be a change for the better, but on whose scale? Did better come with strings? Expectations?

  Um, hello! Did you see the hungry way he looked at you? Who cares about expectations?

  She fought back a scoff and kept her sights rooted to the pretty houses streaming by outside the truck’s passenger window. Her freaking libido had zero caution when it came to men like Roman. She’d get all freaking turned on with the alpha thing, write ’em down as her dark knight in tarnished armor and then end up letting them walk all over her.

  Well, this time she wasn’t going there. She did care about expectations. A lot. And the first chance she got at this stupid barbecue, she was going to corner Cassie and Evette and find out exactly what the heck was going on.

  Roman slowed in front of Sergei’s house and turned into the drive. Not a single car was parked out front and the only other vehicles in the driveway were a killer looking BMW sedan she could have sworn had bulletproof glass and a sleek Audi.

  “I thought they were having a barbecue?” Bonnie said.

  Putting the gearshift in park, Roman nodded then turned off the engine. “They will be here soon. Kir says they landed twenty minutes ago.”

  Well, that was good. No company meant she’d be able to draw a faster bead on Cassie. “Right, well, let’s get on with it.” She popped the door, hopped out of the truck and shut the door behind her.

  Roman rounded the front fender before she’d made it two steps toward the estate’s backyard. “You will wait and let me help you down.”

  Oh, yeah. Totally a dark knight. Practically oozing those wicked pheromones that made her girly bits overlook common sense.

  But not this time.

  “I don’t need you to help me down—catatonic states caused by scary dudes with knives withstanding.” She nodded toward the backyard. “That where we’re headed?”

  Roman cocked his head, obviously nonplussed at her short and direct behavior. “Yes.”

  “Good.” She jammed her hands in her jacket and marched around him.

  It took him all of two strides to catch up and pull her to a stop with a steady tug on her elbow. “You are angry.” He made it more of a statement than a question. A very perplexed statement but a statement, nonetheless.

  Maybe it was the genuine confusion in his eyes, or the open scrutiny as he studied her face, but the impact made her feel like she’d kicked a puppy. She let out a sharp sigh and the tension that had knotted up her shoulders the whole ride over dropped away with it. “Not angry, no. Unsettled, confused and nervous as hell, yes.”

  “Why? I told you. You are safe. Your life will be better.”

  Men.

  Seriously.

  They were so freaking black and white sometimes.

  She reached for what little calm she’d mustered in the hour or so she’d had alone to shower and get ready and used what she hoped was a reasonable tone. “I heard what you said. But you saying it and me really grasping what it means for me are two entirely different things. You’ve got all the cards right now. I’ve got zero.

  “Now granted, most of the time I’m the idiot giving my cards away to people who don’t deserve them, but this time they got plucked right out of my fingers. I’ve got no place of my own, two jobs that I can’t go to and a missing family. For a girl who’s been on her own since she was seventeen, that’s mighty uncomfortable. To say I’m feeling a bit powerless right now would be the understatement of the century—even if I do have you keeping me safe in the middle of it all.”

  She was nearly panting by the time she finished her mini rant, but Roman hadn’t moved a muscle. Had just stood there and listened, his expression starting with open concern and shifting to somewhere between amusement and delight. “You think you have no cards.”

  Hmm. Maybe a metaphor hadn’t been the best approach. After all, English was his second language even if he did seem to have an excellent grasp of it. “Yeah, you know—I don’t feel like I have any options. Any choice in what’s going on. Like things are happening to me without me having any say.”

  His face sobered in an instant and the rich timbre of his voice grew infinitely grave. “Do not judge your present based upon your past, malen’kaya koroleva. I understand your fear. That you’ve stood alone until now.” He inched closer and palmed the side of her face. A firm, yet gentle touch that stilled every emotion and thought inside her. “But you are not alone anymore, and you have far more cards than you know.”

  Cassie’s cheerful voice rang out behind Bonnie. “Oh, hey! You’re—” Footsteps scuffled against the concrete. “Never mind. We’ll just head back—”

  “No,” Roman answered loud enough for Cassie to hear, but his gaze stayed locked on Bonnie. Slowly, he lowered his hand and shifted his attention in Cassie’s direction. “Please, come and spend some time with your friend. I believe she has had enough of my dictatorial nature for one day.”

  Dictatorial.

  Bonnie bit back a harrumph, but barely. So much for her English as a second language theory. She turned and found not just Cassie waiting for her, but Evette as well. Cassie couldn’t have had a bigger shit-eating smile on her face, and Evette’s curious look said she’d already built up a list of twenty questions about what they’d walked up on. Both of them were dressed far more casually than she’d ever seen them—Evette in red Keds, skinny jeans rolled up to her shins and a white fitted T-shirt with a Captain Marvel logo on the front, and Cassie in a white tee, long tan cardigan and jeggings.

  Bonnie finally shook off her stupor and spoke. “Hey.”

  Great intro, girlfriend. Way to highlight the awkward moment.

  She cleared her throat and tried again, moseying their way. “Mr. Bossy Pants put the kibosh on me going to work today, so I guess I’m doing the barbecue after all.”

  Evette’s eyebrows rose high and looked at Roman as though thoroughly impressed. “Mr. Bossy Pants, is it?”

  Roman didn’t deign to respond, but Evette didn’t seem to wait for one either. She held out her arm when Bonnie got close enough, wrapped it around her shoulder and guided her toward the backyard. “Sergei told us what happened last night. I take it Roman’s gone large-and-in-charge making sure there’s no repeat?”

  “Something like that,” Bonnie murmured.

  Cassie fell in on Bonnie’s other side. “You doing okay? Kir said one of them had a knife and that they ransacked your house.”

  Roman might have been out of sight, but his footsteps were steady behind her, and his presence was unshakable.<
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  The life you once knew has drastically changed.

  You are not alone anymore.

  Paired with the solidness of the women flanking her, a light and pleasant, yet utterly foreign sensation moved behind her sternum. Part of her wanted to rant a little more. To combat the powerlessness she wrestled with since waking up with some good old-fashioned bluster the way she normally would.

  But that weird feeling took over and steered her words a different direction. “Well, I’m not dead. Or worse.” She kept walking even though she wanted to slow her steps and catch a glimpse at Roman’s face. “Not sure I could say that if Roman hadn’t been there.”

  The comment had no sooner left her mouth than the facts and timing of the night before clicked together. She stopped dead in her tracks and faced Roman. “You know—you never said why you were there.”

  “You are correct,” he said. “I did not. But you also did not ask.” He inclined his head toward Evette, a small but gentlemanly gesture that hinted at a bow. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll see if Sergei needs anything before our friends arrive.”

  And then he was gone.

  Just ambled away into the heart of the poolside paradise beyond where Sergei, Kir and Emerson were already gathered amidst the outdoor furniture and three massive grills. Every time she’d seen Kir before he’d been decked out in one fine suit or another, but today, he was just as casual as Roman in jeans and a black T-shirt. That meant the last remaining man had to be the head honcho, Sergei. While he was fitted out in jeans, too, he wore a blue button-down with the sleeves rolled up to show his forearms and some serious tattoos. Kind of a businessman meets killer style that matched the intensity of his every move.

  “He just totally stiffed me on an answer, didn’t he?” Bonnie said to the women without taking her eyes off the men.

  Cassie sighed and crossed her arms, watching the lot of them the same way Bonnie and Evette did. “Pretty much. They’re sneaky that way.”

  “But in a good way,” Evie added with a wistful affection in her voice.

  The odd disclaimer yanked Bonnie’s attention away from the beefcake bonanza near the pool. “Not sure I can think of a scenario where sneaky’s paid off in my favor.”

  Evie faced her and her gaze softened. “Me either until I met Sergei. Don’t get me wrong—Sergei doesn’t keep much from me, and I doubt Kir does with Cassie either—but if he thinks for a minute something he knows or has done might blow back on me, hell will freeze over before he shares it. At the end of the day, protecting me and Emerson comes first.”

  “Seriously, though,” Cassie added. “You haven’t figured out why he was there?” Her smile when she said it looked genuine, and her eyes sparkled to match the cloudless day around them.

  Bonnie checked Evie and found the same mirth-filled look on the other woman’s face. The same expression parents harbored on Christmas movies before their kids stumbled downstairs to find all the loot Santa had left behind.

  “Oh, no,” Bonnie said, their meaning finally sinking in. “He wasn’t there for that. He’s a nice guy and was super decent considering I totally melted down on him after the fact, but he wasn’t there to go all Romeo on me.”

  “Mmm hmm,” Cassie said, shifting her focus to Evie. “You should have seen him at the Dusty Dog when we stopped to visit. Bonnie was busy filling drink orders and totally missed it, but the way he was watching her, I halfway expected him to just pick her up and take her home with us.”

  He kind of had done that—albeit several hours later and spawned by violence and blood. He really had been a hell of a hero. Ruthless. Powerful. And, in the end, heartbreakingly tender.

  But even thinking in that direction would only lead to trouble. Not to mention mooning and probably making an ass out of herself. “You’re reading too much into it. This isn’t some happily-ever-after thing. I’m sure he had a reason for being there. I just got lucky because of it.”

  “Maybe,” Evie said matter-of-factly. “Roman is nothing if not logical.”

  Funny. She should have appreciated Evie’s support. Instead, the agreement dug like a burr into a part of her that secretly wished Cassie was right. “You see?” she said to cover the tiny hurt. “Definitely not a fairy tale waiting to happen.”

  A low and heavily accented voice sounded behind her. “A new guest graces my home, and I am the only one yet to meet her.”

  Sergei.

  Bonnie didn’t need to look to know it was him. She felt it to the very soles of her feet.

  Evie’s smile blazed to life, the sparkling adoration in her hazel eyes aimed over Bonnie’s shoulder. “Well, the idea was to keep her here for a while. Roman’s already done his part to stomp and grunt this morning. I wasn’t sure she was up for the King Alpha just yet.”

  Bonnie inched out from in between them and dared a look at the man Roman so reverently referred to as pakhan.

  Yep, definitely a powerhouse. The very epitome of danger and cunning all wrapped up in a darkly sinful demeanor. Energy practically crackled around him, so much so the hairs along her forearms prickled as though she’d just walked through an electrical storm. Whatever pakhan meant, this guy owned it.

  “Sorry. I should have introduced myself.” Bonnie focused on steadying her voice and offered her hand. “I’m Bonnie Drummond.”

  He clasped his hand in hers, his grip solid, yet not overly so. While his smile was gracious and his demeanor cordial, there was no mistaking—this man was capable of dark and dangerous actions. “Welcome to our home, Miss Drummond. I’ve heard many lovely things about you.”

  “You have?” Hearing wild stories, she’d buy. Or maybe some colorful descriptions including her penchant for f-bombs, but lovely? “From who?”

  Genuine humor crept into his features, the type she suspected few ever laid witness to. He released her hand and nodded. “Indeed. It appears you’ve earned many champions in the last few days.”

  There was something about the way he said it. An undercurrent that spoke of hidden meanings and ulterior motives. Rather like an anonymous note slipped under a bedroom door.

  And, Bonnie being who she was, very much wanted to pick that note up and learn more about it. Except the door to the kitchen opened at that exact moment.

  Olga hustled out with two trays loaded with meat.

  But she wasn’t the only one coming from the house. A whole string of people followed behind her, kicking a round of We’re here! Hello! and How the hell are ya? into gear.

  And they were absolutely not the type of people she’d expected. First out the door was a guy she’d expect to find at one of the biker bars her dad favored, his arm around a long-haired brunette who rocked some serious curves. Another couple followed that looked more like they belonged on the cover of a modern Western romance. But it was the last two out the door that were the real shockers—a man in his early thirties with ruler straight black hair down to his shoulder blades and an older woman with equally long hair in an enviable silver color she’d bet a good number of females would pay damned good money to duplicate. While they moved beside each other with obvious familiarity and affection, Bonnie’s gut told her they weren’t a couple like the first two pairs were.

  Evette and Sergei meandered toward their guests, Evie easily doling out warm hugs. Kir and Roman moseyed toward the new arrivals as well and traded their share of handshakes and backslaps, but Emerson beelined it toward the classically elegant older woman and nearly knocked her over with a fierce hug.

  So tied up in her sideline observations, Bonnie didn’t realize Cassie was still beside her until she spoke in a hushed, yet highly amused voice. “I probably shouldn’t point this out, but you’re gaping like a tie-dyed elephant just paraded onto the lawn.”

  She was?

  Shit.

  She snapped her mouth shut and schooled her expression, but the disbelief was still evident i
n her voice. “I thought you said these people had private jets and shit.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Cassie said. “And shit for sure.” She dipped her head toward the biker couple. “Jace is essentially the entertainment kingpin of Texas—or for our part of the country, for that matter. That’s his wife, Vivienne. Who, by the way, has a background pretty similar to yours. She’s now running her own marketing, PR and event planning company in Dallas.

  “The blond-haired cowboy with the killer swagger and the gorgeous woman with him are Trevor and Natalie Raines. Trevor grew up on a farm and has a serious love for horses, but his biggest passion is airplanes. He’s the one with the charter service. Natalie was a single mom to a boy just four years older than Emerson when the two of them met. Had a mega-asshole for an ex who liked to throw his fists when things didn’t go his way.”

  The silver-haired woman looked up as if she sensed someone talking about her and locked gazes with Bonnie.

  “That’s Ninette,” Cassie said softly. “She’s Jace’s momma. Coolest lady I know—next to my aunt Freida, anyway. She’s got a bestie named Sylvie who couldn’t make it today. She stayed home to take care of Trevor and Natalie’s boy so they could have a night out alone in New Orleans tonight.”

  “And the yummilicious guy next to her?”

  Ninette grinned and nudged the man beside her. He glanced up, spied Cassie and Bonnie and waved.

  “That’s Danny Parker. He’s a Haven brother, too, and his sister is married to another guy who didn’t make the trip today—Zeke Dugan.” Cassie clamped her hand around Bonnie’s triceps and tugged her forward. “Come on. I’ll introduce you.”

  Shit.

  She hated meeting new people. Was always worried she’d say something stupid or go all-in and offend the ever-lovin’ hell out of someone. Though, she had to admit, this particular crew did seem to be her kind of people. “What do you mean brother? These guys don’t look related.”