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“Your mom is great,” Leeza told Shaun, her heart aching as she remembered she would never again see her own mother. As mothers went, Dasha and Fatima were as far apart as two women could be, but Dasha had belonged to Leeza and she’d loved her flawed mother.
“She really is,” Shaun said seriously, stepping off the elevator. “I wanted to reintroduce you so you have a friendly face in the building if you or Kris need anything, or even just a place to go if things with Havel get too…” she let the words trail off, but Leeza understood. “Anyway, her door is always open for you.”
“Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.” Her eyes were stinging again. Why was everyone being nice to her? Jozef, Ayaan, Shaun, Saskia, even Havel. She didn’t deserve it and she was uncomfortable with the feelings springing up in her. She’d learned long ago how to bury all the emotions and just survive.
Shaun gripped her hand. “Call me if you need anything at all, or just a woman to hang with.”
Ayaan cleared her throat. “I also identify as a woman and am good at listening.”
Shaun gave her a skeptical look. “Yeah, sure, with your fists.”
“No, I talk with my fists,” she said with a grin. “The listening comes in once the other guy is knocked out cold.”
They laughed and Shaun left, her protection detail falling in around her. Shaun chatted with them as though she’d grown accustomed to their presence during Leeza’s absence. A few months ago, she would have argued with Jozef about the men he had following her everywhere. Now she seemed to be embracing the idea.
“Ready to head up to Guard Dog?”
“Yes!” Leeza replied, surprised at how excited she was. “I haven’t seen the offices yet. Sounds like Jozef’s new security company has really taken off.”
“Not Jozef’s anymore,” Ayaan corrected. “It’s Havel’s. He still acts as chief of security at the estate, but his main focus is here now. He’s branching out from his work with the Kobas and taking on new contracts.”
“Mercenary work,” Leeza commented as they travelled in the elevator.
“Security work.”
“Same thing. And you?” Leeza wondered where the bodyguard’s loyalty lay. “Where do you belong? With the Koba family or with Guard Dog?”
“Both. You can’t separate the two.”
“Sure, you can,” Leeza argued. “It appears Jozef and Havel have separated their business interests. There are no Kobas here at Guard Dog anymore and it sounds like the Koba estate is hiring their security from Guard Dog. Am I right?”
“Mostly.” The elevator dinged and the doors slid open revealing the Guard Dog Security offices. “You got one thing wrong.”
“What’s that?”
“There’s one Koba in the building and she’s about to be married to the owner of Guard Dog Securities, uniting the two businesses for the foreseeable future.” Ayaan urged a stunned Leeza off the elevator. “Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials, by the way.”
“Son of a bitch!” Leeza spotted Havel and beelined for him, ignoring greetings from men who used to be on her security detail. Interrupting Havel’s conversation with one of his employees, she planted herself directly in front of him. “Are you marrying me so you can tie yourself to the Koba name? So you have Jozef’s business for life?”
Havel’s thick brows lowered in an ominous frown. “We’re going to pretend you didn’t ask me that.”
“Let’s not.” Leeza crossed her arms stubbornly over her chest.
Havel growled under his breath and, gripping her arm, dragged her past his gaping staff and into a glass-walled board room. He slammed the door shut and rounded on her.
“What the fuck is your problem now?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing!” Leeza snapped, rubbing her bruised arm. “Stop dragging me around by the arm. It hurts.”
“Stop acting like a child.”
“Stop saying that!” she shouted at him, then realized she was acting like a child. She was better than this. Years under Dasha’s tutelage should’ve stamped out any fits of temper, yet when it came to Havel she couldn’t seem to keep her shit together. Taking a breath, she said, “I’m sorry. Let’s start over.”
He raised an eyebrow but gave her a short nod and dragged a chair out from the table, pointing at it. She hesitated, but when he took a chair out for himself and sat, she followed suit.
“Now tell me what this is about.”
She nodded and gathered her thoughts. Fuck, she hated feeling so vulnerable, emotions hanging out on her sleeve, but she couldn’t seem to sort herself out. When she was on the run with Kris, she’d been in survival mode. Before that, living in the cottage with Adam, she’d turned everything off. Her emotions, her sexuality, even her ability to think. It had been the only way to survive under the same roof with the Bratva accountant.
