He chuckles into my neck and then kisses me sweetly. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I say, running my hands over his rear before slapping it. “But you better not even entertain the notion of another woman.”
He gets a devilish smirk on his face. “Baby,” he grabs my hand and brings it to his lips. “You’re all the woman I can handle.”
“Good!”
I watch him walk back inside the VIP room. Smiling, I shake my head and start walking back to the kitchen. Before I can get there though, I am called to the front of the restaurant again. Oh, for crying out loud. Now what?
“Ms. Walker, Mr. Komarovski would like a word with you,” a tall man in a dark suit says.
I glance outside and see a limousine with windows that are completely black. I look towards the back where Valentino is and briefly wonder if I should say anything or not, but then proceed to enter the vehicle. Dimitri is sitting inside in a nice suit, next to his beautiful wife, Katya.
“Ms. Walker.”
“I’m glad you came. I wasn’t sure you would.”
“I must say I was surprised to get a special invitation. Does Agent Masterson know you sent it?”
I frown. “Yes, of course he does.”
Dimitri laughs. “But he does not approve.”
“Not really, but he understands why I invited you,” I say with a shrug. “Hello, Katya,” I say to his wife.
“Hello, Dominique,” she returns with a smile.
“Aleksei couldn’t come?” I ask the two of them but Dimitri answers.
He shakes his head. “He has business to take care of.”
I nod, not wanting to know what kind of business Aleksei is up to. After the day from hell, Aleksei was out of commission for about a month. I went over there a few times, bringing him food. After my third visit, Valentino put his foot down, so I stopped. I knew he was right. I shouldn’t get attached to Dimitri and his family. I just feel indebted to him. Valentino explained that he liked Dimitri as well, but he was a federal agent and if he or I were seen in the company of the head of the Russian mob, he would look dirty. The funny thing is, for the past several months, Dimitri kept telling me the same thing.
“I have a VIP area that is separate from the main dining room so no one will know you are here. If you pull around the back, I can let you two in the back entrance and it’s a straight shot to the VIP section. Sorry, I don’t have any secret passageways,” I add, only half joking.
Dimitri laughs. “Pity.”
I smile and exit the vehicle. Valentino is waiting for me when I come back in. How does he do that?
“Don’t worry,” I say immediately. “No one will see him, not even the wait staff. I will serve him.”
“I’m not worried, Dominique. You know what’s at stake.” He takes my hand and pulls me towards him “One of the things I love about you is the fact that you simply don’t care what someone does, as long as their heart is in the right place.”
“I love you so much,” I say smiling.
He smiles and runs his tongue along his lips. “I know the doors are going to be opening soon, but I want to ask you to do me a favor,” he says nervously.
“Anything, baby.”
He smiles and gets down on one knee. “Will you be my wife? I know with certainty that you are all I will ever need and want. I love you, I respect you, and I need you by my side always. With you, I have the kind of love my parents had, with you, I have everything I could possibly want in life.”
He holds out a small box and opens it, slipping a single solitaire ring on my finger. I look up and see that all our friends are out of the VIP room and watching. I look down at the man who stole my heart like a thief not even a year ago and see nothing but love and adoration on his face. A look I am sure is reflected in mine as well. I nod, vigorously, I might add, and see the biggest smile come across his gorgeous face as he stands and kisses me while our friends clap in the background. Yep, this has turned out to be the best day of my life… so far.
Author Note
I want to thank you for reading Retaliatory Justice and hope you enjoyed getting to know these characters. I do have a lot in store for everyone over the coming books. In my head I have at least three more books in the series. All will be stand-alone books with interconnecting characters. I know that a few of my readers will undoubtedly like to see more of Dimitri, especially my daughter who has a serious book crush on him I won’t rule that out but for now if you would like to read more about Dimitri, then I would encourage you to read my novel, ‘Brothers Forever’. It tells the tale of Dimitri’s younger life and the friendship he had with his ‘brother’ Charles. It’s available on paperback and all eBook retailers.
The second book in the Talionic Files is yet untitled but I do know what it will be about. There are a couple of things that I will address in it. At the end of Retaliatory Justice, I left Michelle hanging. We don’t know what happens to her other than she is living in Montana. It’s something that bothers Valentino a great deal. Well, we shall find out what becomes of her in the second book of the series, which will find her stuck in the middle of a militia feud, as she tries to save the life of an orphaned child. And what about the repercussions of Dimitri’s involvement in this case? The Sicignano family has basically been removed from the equation, but are they really gone? I can’t wait to get into it. It should be a lot of fun! I am expecting the book to be released sometime in 2019.
Once again, thank you for reading and I hope you jump on board for book two.
Goodbye for now,
Tawa
About The Author
Author Tawa Witko lives on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation with her children, Adam and Deanna. They are accompanied by their many animals, which includes two dogs (Bella and Masen), a couple of ornery cats (Edward and Lil Bit) and their horses, Eagle Bear and Wild Spirit. She and her family enjoy attending wacipis, participating in tribal ceremonies, and living a quiet life without the hustle and bustle of the cities.
Ms. Witko is a licensed clinical psychologist, a full time writer/editor and one of the co-founders of Winyan Press, LLC, an independent publishing house geared at helping female writers find their voice. She is a multi-genre author who writes Young Adult Fiction, Crime/Suspense Stories, Adult Romances, and Native American Fiction.
Retaliatory Justice is the first book in her Crime Suspense series, The Talionic Files, which will chronicle the lives and cases of an elite group of ATF agents, led by Valentino Masterson, as they solve crime, fall in love, and well, get mixed up in all sorts of nefarious situations.
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Crime Fiction by T.M. Witko
Charles Livingston spent years putting his old life in Chicago behind him. Trying to forget the merciless man he used to be when he was on the streets with his ‘brother’, Dimitri Komarovski, the future head of the Komarovski family. Their friendship shaped his entire life but everything changes when he falls in love and then finds out that he’ll be a father. He trades in his old life for a new one, a respectable one, leaving behind his ‘brother’ as well, someone he vowed to always protect. Years later, when his own son is put in harm’s way, he is forced to become who he once was, a man with no fear, a man capable of anything, and a man willing to kill. Now he must enlist Dimitri’s help to ensure his son’s safety but will he give it or do some wounds never heal? Can they get past the hurt they caused one another and remain ‘brothers forever’?
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Retaliatory Justice (The Talionic Files #1) Page 36