Time to face the music. At least she didn’t have to deal with their dad. And she’d have to call her mom, too, although there was little chance her mom had any idea she’d been in that hotel last night.
She could’ve taken the easy way out and texted but figured it was better to rip the bandage off.
She dialed her sister’s number, who picked up before the first ring had ended.
“Seriously? It’s taken you this long to call? You know I love you but I am so angry with you right now. Did you think I wouldn’t find out what happened? Please tell me you’re fine.”
“I’m fine. And I love you too. I’m headed back to my office now. I’m going to check on Blank.”
Risa’s indrawn breath hissed through the line. “What do you mean, check on Blank?”
Shit, she hadn’t heard. “Don’t panic, okay? He’s fine. But…he got shot last night.”
“What?”
Risa’s voice barely registered through the phone. Dorrie had never heard her sister sound so shocked.
“He’s going to be fine. The bullet didn’t hit anything major—”
“But it did hit something. It hit him.”
“Yeah, it did. So you’re lucky I’m a damn good doctor and now maybe you’ll make a move on the guy.”
Risa didn’t reply with her normal snark. In fact, she went silent for several long seconds. “You know that’s not possible.”
“No. You just think it’s not.”
Another pause. “It doesn’t work that way for me. You know that.”
“No, I don’t know that, Ris. You just believe it and so you haven’t tried to do anything about it.”
Another silence, shorter this time. “Will you tell Blank I asked about him? And…take good care of him. So where have you been? Why didn’t you answer my texts?”
It was Dorrie’s turn to pause. “I might have spent the night at a man’s house?”
“You what?”
“I said, I spent the night at a man’s house.”
“What man? Who was he? When did you meet him? Wait, where did you meet him?”
“He was there last night. He…works with Ian.”
“What?”
“Ian vouched for him to Blank and when Blank… Well, when Blank nearly passed out because he was an idiot and didn’t tell me he’d been shot right away, Ben helped me get him back to my office.”
Risa sighed heavily and Dorrie knew her sister was shaking her head. “I don’t… What the fuck happened after I left last night? Jesus. Just tell me you’re okay.”
Too much had happened for Dorrie to go through it all, especially with someone she didn’t know possibly listening to her conversation. “I’m fine. And so is Blank. I’m going to see him right now. You could meet me there if you want.”
“I can’t. I…just can’t. Shit.”
Dorrie grimaced. Like their father, Risa was intractable about some things. Blank was one. Dorrie shouldn’t have pushed. She knew her sister lived under a different type of microscope than Dorrie, and though she handled it well, there were things she just couldn’t fight.
“I’m sorry, Ris. So what am I supposed to wear tonight?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, Ben asked me out on a date tonight and I don’t know what to wear.”
It took a second but Risa started to laugh. “Well, you’re just full of surprises. Did you sleep with him?”
“No.” She almost told Risa about her dream but figured she didn’t want to complicate things. “He’s nice.”
“Does that mean you can’t sleep with him?”
The dry tone of Risa’s question made Dorrie sigh. “No, it means he was a gentleman.”
“Doesn’t mean he can’t screw your brains out?”
“Ris.”
“Hey, I’m just saying. If you like him, let him take you to bed. Work out some of that stress.”
“Sure, okay. But before that, what the hell am I supposed to wear tonight?”
The more she thought about it, the more she began to stress about it.
“Stop worrying. I can practically hear you grinding your teeth through the phone. Just video call me when you’re getting ready and I’ll talk you through it. Do you know where he’s taking you?”
She had no idea where they were going, which was a huge stress trigger for her to begin with. Throw in the fact that she liked this guy and she wanted to hyperventilate.
“No. Shit, I should’ve asked. What if I’m supposed to wear jeans and I show up in a dress? Or the other way around? Do you think—”
“Whoa, slow down. Jesus, you would think you’ve never been on a date and I know that’s not true.”
Technically it wasn’t true. She’d been on a few true dates with men but, if she were honest, not in years. Every man she’d been out with in the past few years had been either a colleague accompanying her to a function or… Well, damn. Maybe she hadn’t been on any real dates since college.
And she didn’t count the two men she’d slept with in the past three years. Those had been short-term affairs with only one goal in mind. Sex.
“Dorrie? Hey, where’d you go?”
“I’m here. Just freaking out about the fact that I can’t remember the last time I was on a real date.”
“What do you mean, a real date?”
“I mean a date where a guy asks me out, picks me up, and takes me somewhere.”
“What about that doctor from Maryland?”
“I asked him to go with me to that dinner.”
“And that other guy? The one from Chester?”
“Hookup.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. And he wasn’t all that good.”
“You never told me that.”
“Am I supposed to tell you everything?”
“Well, yeah. Of course.”
Dorrie laughed. “And when was the last time you got laid?”
“Way too long ago.” Risa’s dry tone held a note of sadness. “But you know that.”
“We’re pitiful.”
“No.” Risa’s sigh rang loud and clear through the phone. “Okay, maybe a little. But there’s hope. You have an actual date tonight.”
“And what if I shouldn’t?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what if Dad doesn’t—”
“Stop. Right there.” The command in Risa’s voice made Dorrie’s teeth snap together. “We agreed. He’s not allowed to dictate decisions like this. It’s the only way we’ll have a normal life.”
“I don’t seem to be having much of a normal life anyway. And neither do you.”
“Then consider this your first step.” Unsurprisingly, Risa didn’t include herself in that statement. “Go out tonight. Have a good time. Get laid if that’s what you want to do. Don’t stress for a night.”
“You know that won’t happen. The stressing part.” And probably not the getting laid part either, although Ben had seemed interested.
And what about Ian?
He didn’t want her and the sooner she learned to live with that, the better.
“I know. At least try not to stress, okay?”
“I’ll try. Hey, I’m at the office, I gotta go. I’ll let you know about Blank.”
“Please do. Love you, Dorrie.”
“Love you too.”
*
“Hey, Ian. Didn’t expect to see you here. Everything okay?”
Ian turned to find Adam Oleksy leaning against the door frame of Ian’s office.
Dammit, he couldn’t believe he hadn’t heard Adam. Then again, the guy was almost as good at Ian at not being seen when he didn’t want to be.
How Adam managed that when he looked like a Russian mob enforcer straight out of Central Casting was pretty fucking amazing.
“Yeah, everything’s fine.”
Adam nodded but showed no sign of moving, pale blue gaze sharp. “Good to hear. Got a complaint from the client last night and…” He held u
p a hand to stop Ian’s immediate response. “Before you respond, let me say I would’ve done the exact same thing. My only question is, how do you know Dorrie?”
Not for the first time since he’d started working with Adam and Tristan did Ian wonder how the hell Adam had managed not to fall into the same life as his father. The life that had sent his father back to Russia after his father and his uncle had given up control of the Philly Russian mob to Karel Antonoff.
“We met months ago at a hospital fund-raiser.”
Adam raised an eyebrow. “Nothing more to the story?”
He liked his new business partner, trusted him with his life. But he didn’t feel he owed Adam his entire life story. Adam probably knew more than Ian wanted him to, anyway.
“We’re acquainted. That’s all.”
Adam’s lips curved in a faint, shit-eating grin, but he didn’t pursue that line of questioning. “Heard Blank got shot. He okay?”
Now that was interesting. Ian was pretty sure no one in the hotel had known Blank had been hit.
“He’ll be fine. And probably pissed off that his injury is common knowledge.”
Adam shook his head. “Not common knowledge. So how do you know Blank’s okay? You hear that from Dorrie?”
Yeah, he had. Very early this morning with his body wrapped around hers. Fuck.
“Got it from a good authority.”
Adam’s grin widened. “I bet you did. So what are you doing here so early on Saturday morning?”
Giving a silent sigh of relief, he motioned at the monitor. “Filling out Mary Alice’s incident report before I go pick up the asshole client.”
The firm’s young office manager ruled this place with an iron grip, and Tristan and Adam let her. It helped that she was damn good at her job. What Ian didn’t understand was her relationship with two former mob guys.
Then again, Jesse Kanatawa and Max Burdanov had dragged themselves out of that life and built a new one. Ian could appreciate that.
What he would never understand was why Dorrie chose to work for Antonoff.
“Yeah, you don’t wanna get on Mally’s bad side.” Adam chuckled. “She’ll drag you over the coals. Don’t let her smile fool you into thinking she’s a pushover.”
“So, no repercussions from the client for last night?”
Adam shrugged, not looking overly worried. “He bitched but, like I said, I would’ve done the same. You made the right call.”
Nodding, Ian felt his tight muscles loosen a little. He hadn’t realized he’d been worried about Adam and Tristan’s response until he’d realized he wasn’t working alone anymore. He had partners now.
When he and Ben had joined Adam and Tristan’s firm, they’d come in as full partners. Ian wouldn’t have accepted anything less. The cash infusion Ben and Ian had brought with them had allowed Adam and Tristan to expand, and it’d been a win/win for everyone. But it would be Adam and Tristan’s reputation that Ben and Ian would damage if they fucked up.
“So what are you doing here this morning?” Ian felt compelled to ask since Adam didn’t seem to be moving.
“Paperwork.” Adam shook his head, running a hand through his short, dark hair. “Seems never-ending. I almost hate to say this but there are times I wish I could go back to being a grunt so I wouldn’t have to worry about it.”
A smile surprised Ian. He hadn’t thought he’d be capable of one this morning. “Pretty sure you hated taking orders as much as I did. Better working for yourself.”
Now Adam pushed away from the frame, rapping his knuckles on the wood as he grinned. “But not by yourself. I probably haven’t said this yet but I’m glad you took the offer to join us. It’s tough being out on your own. Better get to work. Promised Kat I wouldn’t be here all day.”
Ian nodded as Adam disappeared, headed for his office down the hall.
But Adam’s last words about Kat had triggered thoughts Ian had been trying to ignore.
Namely, Adam and Tristan’s relationship with Kat. He wondered what Adam would say if Ian asked about their relationship. How they made it work.
And why the fuck do you care?
Pushing the thought out of his mind, he forced himself to finish the paperwork associated with last night’s client.
After a painful half hour, he finally closed the file and sent it off to Mary Alice. And found himself turning his chair to stare out the window. He couldn’t see much of the city, but he wasn’t really looking.
All he could think about was last night. The fear when he’d realized Dorrie could’ve been hurt had nearly paralyzed him. Luckily, that hadn’t happened because he would’ve left the idiot client to look after his own ass.
And that was unacceptable. He’d never not finished a job. And the reputation he was trying to build rested on his shoulders.
The reputation he’d already built was known only in certain circles. In those circles, he was known as a hard-ass who always hit his target.
But those circles were in the black ops community, where he’d found a place for the rage that lived inside him. That black pit had only gotten darker after his father’s murder, and the sanctioned wetwork he’d performed had given him an outlet for it.
And then Florida had happened…
He shook his head, blocking the thought before it could grab hold.
No sense wasting time on things he couldn’t change. Especially not when he needed to pick up his pissed-off client from last night and escort the dick back to the airport.
At least the guy was leaving.
*
Dorrie received the message at 2:03 p.m.
Incoming. KW. Shoulder. 25. Male.
She was in the middle of examining a thirty-year-old single mother of two who had barely been able to drag herself and her children out of their apartment. Her fear of losing her job if she didn’t have a valid doctor’s excuse was greater than her inability to breathe.
Dorrie grit her teeth against the urge to text back and tell whoever had messaged her to take the asshole with the knife wound to the emergency room because she was with someone who needed her more.
Only…that’s not how her arrangement with her dad worked.
Double-edged sword.
That’s what her mom had said when Dorrie had told her what her dad had offered. And her mom knew about those firsthand.
Dorrie had decided the pros outweighed the cons. And, for the most, they had.
Then there were days like this.
She texted back.
Life-threatening? ETA?
Probably not. Ten minutes.
It would take her that long to walk back to her office. At least the incoming patient probably wouldn’t die before she got there. Probably.
Damn it.
“Gloria, I need to leave for an emergency but I want to continue our discussion. I’m going to give you a script for antibiotics and a note for your employer. And I want to see you again Monday but I want to see you at my office.”
Working out the details took a few minutes but Dorrie didn’t rush.
So her next patient was already waiting for her when she got back to her office.
“Jesus, Doc. What the fuck took you so long? This fucking hurts.”
The unfamiliar young man sitting on the exam table in the private room accessible from a separate entrance couldn’t have been more than twenty and dressed like a gangbanger. Low-slung baggy jeans. Black wife-beater. Flat-brim baseball cap.
The snarl on his lips made his handsome face much less attractive, and his expression when he looked up at the man standing by his side made Dorrie want to stick her fingers into his wound before she shot him up with painkillers.
He was one of “those.” Men who thought women were only good for one thing and she didn’t mean cooking.
Before she could respond, however, the man who stood beside the table smacked the gangbanger on the back of the head.
“You better keep your mouth shut or I will tell the doc to let your stupid
ass bleed out on her table. Sorry, Dr. Haverstick. He’s young and stupid.”
“Hey! What—”
One look from Gennady Marcov and the guy shut his mouth with an almost audible snap.
Barely containing her smile, she grabbed gloves and pulled them on.
“How are you, Gens? I haven’t seen you for a while.”
An anomaly among the hulking tribe of men her father employed as muscle, Gens stood a solid six-two but was built like a runner rather than a brick outhouse. His light brown hair and warm blue eyes gave him an air of approachability. But she had no doubt he was just as deadly. Maybe more so because he looked so…normal.
“I’m good.” A faint smile graced his handsome face. “Everything okay here?”
Dorrie knew exactly what he was asking and why he couldn’t elaborate. Not many people knew he and Blank were friends. A security measure put in place by her dad.
“Yes. No problems.”
Gens nodded. “Good to know.”
“So now that you two are all caught up, can you get back to my fu—uh, shoulder now?”
Ah, yes, her surly patient.
With a sigh, she tilted her head toward the door. “I can take it from here, Gens. Why don’t you wait in the back?”
Where he could spend a few minutes with Blank, who was going stir-crazy and threatening to leave the second her back was turned. Since she’d left him here alone for several hours with only a nurse, she figured he knew he needed more rest.
Gens’s narrowed eyes sliced to her patient. “You sure you’ll be okay?”
“I’ll just shoot him up with tranqs if he doesn’t behave.”
The scowl on the young guy’s face deepened while Gens’s smile widened.
“You have my permission. I’ll be back in a few.” Then he turned to the gangbanger again. “You get out of line and it won’t just be me you’re dealing with. Best advice? Keep your mouth shut. It does you no favors.”
With that parting shot, Gens left the exam room and she turned her full attention to her new patient, who now watched her every move with narrowed eyes.
“You don’t look old enough to be a doctor.”
Not exactly what she’d expected as she began to poke and prod at the wound. And since it wasn’t a question, she ignored him. She provided care for her dad’s men because that was the agreement, but she didn’t have to talk to them.
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