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PROLOGUE
This was the moment Leeza had been waiting for. She was going to tell her father she wanted to marry Havel Tsotsarov. She was nervous, but excited. There was no reason for Krystoff to deny her request. She was twenty years old, no longer a child, and Havel was a rising star within the Koba organization.
Leeza was the first-born child of the powerful Koba crime family. She’d spent her life doing her duty. Learning the family business, keeping house with her mother, and going to boarding school for two years to add some polish to her presence.
Now, she wanted what was due her after so many years of obedience and allegiance. She wanted her bodyguard.
Havel had started off on the bottom of the largest organized crime organization in the Czech Republic, the Koba crime family, running with street crews until he was old enough and big enough to run his own crew. As part of his duties, he’d moved onto the estate when Leeza was ten.
Havel was ten years older than Leeza, but the age difference didn’t matter to her. She’d always been more mature than her years. It was an unfortunate side effect of living in the mafia world her parents inhabited. She’d hob-knobbed with important members of the Bratva, with warlords, mercenaries, assassins, and any number of dangerous people.
For the most part, Havel had ignored her existence, but once Leeza realized she wanted the big bodyguard with the shaved head and plethora of gang tattoos, nothing was going to stop her. Being told no simply wasn’t acceptable. A strong and independent mother had taught Leeza and her sister to use whatever methods necessary to get what they wanted.
As she grew into herself, Leeza made her intentions clear to Havel. It took a few years, but eventually his focus landed on her and his roving eyes had vision for only one; Leeza Koba. They belonged together. She felt it in her soul, which was why her father couldn’t possibly deny her. Krystoff loved her and loved to indulge her requests. This one shouldn’t be any different than the Bentley she’d wanted for Christmas, or the vacation to Bali she’d gone on with a group of friends for her birthday.
Though nerves had her pacing outside her father’s office, a mischievous smile curved her lips as she remembered Bali, or more specifically, Havel in Bali. The man was eastern European through and through. Watching him watch her as she went wild with her friends in the iconic Balinese nightclubs had been both hilarious and heart-warming.
He’d watched her like a predator hawk watching its baby chick. His gaze hadn’t wavered and if she even thought of dancing near a male, her bodyguard would move with a swiftness surprising for such a large man, inserting himself between her and whoever dared come near her.
Of course, Leeza only wanted Havel, so she would never in a million years entertain the idea of going home with another guy. Still, it was kind of fun to watch her bodyguard sweat it out while she wore the skimpiest dresses she could get away with, paired with six-inch heels that put her well over six feet, dancing with her friends until the sun came up.
“Leeza, what are you doing?”
Leeza turned to find her beautiful, elegant mother approaching. Dasha Koba turned her cheek to her daughter and waited until Leeza leaned forward and kissed her. In some ways, her family was brutally old-fashioned. Who cheek-kissed their parents anymore?
“I’m waiting to talk to dad.” Leeza twisted her fingers together so her mother wouldn’t see them tremble. She might be confident that her father would allow her to marry Havel, but she wasn’t one hundred percent sure.
A flash of worry crossed Dasha’s expression, and she took Leeza’s hand. “Let’s sit down. Your father is speaking with a contact from Russia and will be a few minutes yet. In fact, I believe he sent Havel to find you. Krystoff has something he wants to discuss.”
Excitement rushed through her. Her father must know about her plans to marry Havel and he wanted to talk to her about them. She wasn’t sure how Krystoff knew, but he had eyes and ears everywhere. As careful as she and Havel were, it was entirely possible they might have been caught kissing in some shadowy nook.
Havel had wanted to talk to her father before going further, but Leeza had pushed him into one glorious hot and heavy make-out session. He hadn’t been able to resist, but after, he’d insisted they had to speak with Krystoff, and hadn’t touched her since. She knew he wanted to be with her when they approached the Koba patriarch, but Leeza thought it would be better if she warmed her father up to the idea of her marrying her bodyguard without the big, gruff man being present. Havel didn’t know she planned to speak to Krystoff alone, but he would forgive her when he found out. He was incapable of staying mad at her.
Leeza sat next to her mother on the chaise lounge in the hallway outside her father’s office, but her gaze was on the closed door and her mind was on what she planned to say to him.
I know you discourage us from getting close to our bodyguards, but it’s Havel… no, too negative.
Havel and I are in love and would like to ask your permission to marry… no, she didn’t want to ask permission. She would tell Krystoff exactly what she wanted and she wouldn’t leave without his blessing.
Havel and I intend to marry and we would like your blessing for our union. I would be very grateful if you could find it in your heart to welcome Havel into our family. Yes! That was the one. She would sound confident, determined, mature, and… in love.
Because she was.
This moment was pivotal to the rest of her life and there was no way she was going to screw it up.
“Your father wants you to meet the man he’s speaking with; a member of the Bratva,” Dasha said, her voice low and urgent. She reached out and straightened the collar of Leeza’s dress. “Make sure you stand straight with your shoulders back and only speak when you’re spoken to. Don’t argue and don’t frown at your father for any reason.”
Leeza frowned. “I never frown!”
Dasha made a fuss of first fluffing Leeza’s length of dark chestnut hair around her shoulders, then smoothing it down. Dasha was nervous.
Leeza caught her hand. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
Leeza loved her mother, but Dasha had one priority – make the Koba organization look good. Krystoff and Dasha were considered one of the most powerful couples in the Czech Republic. Dasha was the face of the organization while Krystoff was the brains, and Jozef, their nephew, was the brawn. Leeza and Saskia, Leeza’s younger sister by nine years, were the protected princesses, waiting in their towers until it was their time to shine.
Dasha gave her a cool smile and glanced away. “Nothing is wrong. I’m preparing you for a meeting with your father. It’s important that we make a good impression.”
Leeza always made a good impression, so why was her mother suddenly worried? She crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s going on? Who is father meeting with?”
