Tempted & Taken

by Rhenna Morgan

  “Oh, yeah we will. Count on it.” With that, Seth winked at her and sauntered off to wherever he’d been headed before he’d kamikazied into her path.

  “Seth is a friend of yours?” she asked as they wove through the people.

  “More of an acquaintance. He works for a guy who’s got business with my brother Jace.”

  Before she could ask what kind of work a tough-looking man like Seth specialized in, they reached the restricted entry to the private area. Two men guarded the gate, both in tight-fitting black T-shirts with Security emblazoned in big letters on the back. Rather than ask them for names or identification as she’d expected, the mocha-skinned man with dreadlocks down to his shoulder blades flashed Knox a familiar smile and lifted his hand for a high-five greeting. “Hey, man. Wondered when you were gonna show.”

  Knox greeted him in kind, an entirely different level of familiarity registering than what he’d shown Seth. “Hey, Ivan. Didn’t expect to see you on shit detail tonight.”

  Ivan shrugged and rubbed the back of his hand against his chin. “You know how it goes. Axel needed help, so I ponied up.”

  A look passed between them, one she couldn’t quite categorize, but seemed loaded with meaning.

  “It all counts,” Knox said. “Doin’ time is worth it in the end.”

  “I get it.” He jerked his head toward a table just beyond the private bar and food vendors set aside for VIPs. “Your crew’s dead ahead. Have a good time.”

  Capturing her hand in his, Knox led the way, nodding and lifting his hand in greeting at different people along the way.

  “You know a lot of people,” she said from behind him.

  He glanced back and grinned. “My brothers know a lot of people. If left to my own devices, I’d probably never get out from behind my computer.”

  Just as they approached the table Ivan had indicated, Knox released his hold. The band ended their song and announced they’d be back after a short break, and the crowd let loose with resounding applause.

  A deep rumbling voice sounded from somewhere on the other side of Knox. “Thought we were gonna have to send Beckett out for search and rescue.”

  She inched forward to see who’d spoken just as Knox stepped back and brought the whole table into full view. The impact was staggering. Even having shamelessly studied each of them in the picture she’d saved from the rally earlier in the year, the men Knox called brothers were twice as impressive in person. Next to three of them were equally beautiful women, each comfortably situated close to their men with happy, contented expressions.

  Knox waved to the man and woman closest to him. “JJ, this is Jace and Vivienne. The two goobers next to him are Beckett and Danny. You’ll get more than your fair share of dealing with them if you end up on payroll.”

  Darya nodded, all the nervousness she’d managed to ignore in the last hour surging back to the forefront along with a healthy fear she’d bungle this meeting altogether.

  Not pausing to let anyone get a word in edgewise, Knox kept going. “The happy couples over there are Zeke and Gabe, and Trevor and Natalie. Both newlyweds and utterly disgusting to watch.”

  The dark-haired woman he’d introduced as Vivienne frowned up at Knox. “What are we? Chopped liver?”

  “It’s been a year and half,” Knox grumbled back. “You’re just a garden variety couple now. And I’m still convinced you two are piping suspicious shit into the water at Haven. All the lovey dovey’s contagious.”

  The grate of metal on concrete sounded on her left, drawing her attention to the one brother she’d yet to meet. He was tall, at least six foot one, and would have been intimidating with his long russet hair and full beard if it weren’t for his tailored slacks and fine button-down with rolled up shirtsleeves. Despite the heat, he looked utterly comfortable among the rest of the casual crowd and not the least bit wrinkled.

  Not waiting for Knox’s introduction, he stepped in close and offered his hand. “I’m Axel McKee.”

  Darya placed her hand in his, expecting a polite shake, only to have him lift it to his lips. “It’s nice to meet you,” she managed, the sheer devilment in his wicked gaze hitting her harder than the kicks she’d earned in her last sparring session.

  Axel grinned, his smile and the soft tickle of his whiskers against her skin sending goose bumps up her arm. “Christ, that accent’s gonna do me in.” Straightening, he kept hold of her hand, tugged her closer to his side and pulled a chair from behind them next to his. “What’s say you settle in next to me and ply me with it for a day or two?”

  “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.” Knox slid the chair away, scooted it into an open slot on the far side of Jace and steered her that direction. “A word to the wise. Axel thinks it’s his God-given mission to seduce all the women in the tristate area. Sit next to Jace. He’s too busy getting into Viv’s panties to try and score yours.”

  “You wound me, brother.” Axel settled into his chair, his eyes still on Darya as he raised his glass in salute. “And for the record, it’d be unsporting to limit myself to only our wee neck of the woods.”

  Knox shook his head and focused on Darya. “Gonna make a drink run. You want something?”

  A wide variety of wine, mixed drinks and beer rounded the table. If it were an interview, any kind of drinking would have been a horrid idea, but Knox had gone out of his way to emphasis this was a casual meeting. Plus, a little something to steady her nerves wouldn’t be unwelcome. “Vodka, please.”

  “And now I’m in love,” Axel muttered as he leaned forward to catch her attention. “Ye sure ye don’t want ta set w’ me, lass? I’ll match ma scotch with yer Russian brew and we’ll break all kinds o’ international barriers.”

  “Can it with the brogue, you dirty Scot,” Knox said. He splayed a hand on Darya’s shoulder, scanned the rest of his crew with a warning look and headed for the bar.

  He’d barely made it three steps before Vivienne twisted in her seat. “So, you’re from Russia, right? What part?”

  And so it began. She’d thought long and hard since learning Knox wanted her to meet his brothers about how to handle her past, and the only thing that had felt right was to be as honest as possible without sharing much in the way of details. “Yekaterinburg, but I moved to St. Petersburg once I completed my schooling.”

  Dressed in simple navy blue tank top and cutoff jeans, the pretty honey-blonde woman Knox had introduced as Gabe piped up. “How long have you lived here?”

  “Almost three years. Though most of it was spent in San Diego. I’ve only been in Texas for the last nine months.”

  Vivienne chuckled. “Your first Texas summer. How are you holding up?”

  “It’s different. Much warmer than Russia in summer, which is nice unless you’re on a horse. I went on a trail ride a few weeks ago and realized maybe I should have waited until fall.”

  The blond brother with the ponytail perked up. Of all the men, he and Beckett had been the two she’d recognized on sight—Beckett because he’d been listed in some of the articles with Knox, and Trevor because he’d been the focus of a client request several months ago. That had been the job that had given her the courage and impetus to reach out to Knox to start with. “You like to ride?”

  His wife, Natalie, snickered and rolled her eyes. “Oh, now she’s done it.”

  For a second, she thought perhaps she’d stepped into a topic she shouldn’t have. Then she remembered the ranch that had been included in the pre-packaged information she’d passed on to Natalie’s ex-husband at Knox’s request. “I’d never been before but always wanted to, so I treated myself.”

  Trevor cocked one eyebrow. “Yeah? What’d you think?”

  “It was amazing. Though I would have liked it better with fewer people and a little less structure.”

  “Well, we can swing that.” He
hugged Natalie closer to him. “We’ve got horses out at our place and lots of room to roam.”

  Danny leaned forward and crossed both arms on the table. “Man, I’ll take a Harley to a quarter horse any day.”

  “Yeah, you said pigs would fly before you did, too,” Trevor said. “Now I can’t get you out of my Cessna.”

  Shrugging, Danny lifted his beer for a drink, but smirked right before he tilted it. “That was before I knew how good planes were for impressing chicks.”

  Gabe twisted enough to aim a frown up at Zeke. “Are you telling me the whole flying-on-a-first-date thing is a ploy you all use?”

  Unlike the rest of the men, Zeke had a certain GQ appeal. Mostly short dark hair except a little longer and tousled on top with just enough scruff on his chin to give him a sexy edge. He smiled down at his woman, not the least bit ruffled by her sass. “You’ve got my rock on your finger, so I’m thinking it worked.”

  “Mmm.” Natalie set her wineglass down on the table and cocked her head toward Gabe. “I’ll give you the pilot thing being hot, but it was seeing Trevor on the back of a horse that did me in.”

  “See?” Trevor said to Danny. “Don’t knock horses. Women love ’em.”

  “Screw that,” Jace grumbled. “Take the direct approach and bribe ’em. It’s faster and more effective.”

  Well, that was an interesting crumb of information and surprisingly in line with the approach many of the men she knew in Russia were prone to take. She was just about to open her mouth and ask if he had any Slavic ancestry when Knox ambled up behind her, leaned in and plunked a short tumbler of vodka directly in front of her. “What are you guys talking about?”

  Vivienne smirked at Jace then craned her neck toward Knox. “Somehow we’ve gone from polite weather chitchat to how best to snag a woman. Not surprisingly, Beckett and Axel have stayed tight lipped.”

  Knox moved in on Darya’s right, glared at Beckett until he moved his chair over enough for Knox to sit between them, then plunked himself down. “So, basically you’re rubbing your marital bliss in everyone’s faces?”

  “Something like that,” Jace said. His gaze rested on Darya for all of a second before he refocused on Knox. “If you want, we can rewind and start over so you can pick up a few pointers.”

  Knox scowled back at him. “JJ’s angling for a coder slot. Not a hookup or a husband.”

  Not a husband, no. But if Knox was the hookup in question, she’d absolutely sign up.

  Jace winked at her like he’d overheard her thoughts then smiled at Knox. “Whatever you say, brother.”

  “Knox said your real name’s Jeannie, right?” This from Gabe, who seemed either blissfully unaware of the good-natured razzing bouncing back and forth between Jace and Knox, or simply too accustomed to their banter to worry about it.

  Darya sipped her vodka and nodded.

  Gabe cocked her head. “So, what’s the JJ stand for?”

  As fast and easy as Darya had settled in with the group, an icy wave of discomfort settled over her. It wasn’t the first time she’d been asked the question, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last, but every time she had to answer it drove a jagged spike through her heart. Reminded her of the woman she’d left behind and the risk she navigated every day parading herself as someone else.

  One by one, she met the gazes of those around her. Every one of them stared back at her. Patient. Invested. Kind, but watchful. For fifteen minutes, she’d happily sat at their table and sensed only goodness. An open love for one another, as well as honor and protectiveness. Aside from the time she’d spent with JJ, she’d only felt the same sense of belonging with Yefim. A man who’d taken her in, taught her how to navigate the real world and saved her at high risk to himself.

  Twice before, she’d trusted her instincts, and now they said to leap once more. To believe and take a chance at building something good while she could. JJ might not be beside her physically, but she could feel her steady presence as sure as a comforting hand pressed between her shoulder blades.

  Live enough for both of us.

  Yes, this was right. She felt it clear to her bones. “The truth is, my name isn’t JJ. Or Jeannie.” She met Knox’s steady gaze and swallowed. “My real name is Darya Volkova.”

  Chapter Nine

  Darya Volkova. Knox must have silently rolled the name around in his head at least twenty times since she’d dropped the truth on him and his family an hour ago, and every time it fit a little better. Way better than JJ or Jeannie, neither of which had sat well with him. She’d been white as a sheet for the first thirty seconds after she’d shared. A reasonable response considering the tension that had whipped around the table and the seven laser-focused men staring her down.

  “I haven’t harmed anyone,” she’d said and quickly looked to Knox for support. “My past is behind me, but I wanted you to know the truth. To give you some token that any chance you give me is valued.”

  Silence crackled and snapped, amplified by the white noise of reality around them, but eventually Jace had shifted his focus to Knox and lifted a questioning brow. A non-verbal You got this? that Knox had promptly answered with a nearly undetectable dip of his chin. No matter how much his family had taken it in stride and acted like it was NBFD, it was a big fucking deal. One he’d dig into as soon as he got reconnected to his sources. That was unless she opted to pony up the details when he took her home.

  The lady working the vendor stand delivered two platefuls of barbecue ribs and pulled pork, dragging him back to the present. He slid a twenty across the counter. That was another thing he’d learned about the cute little skip tracer now known as Darya. Where some women picked at their food in an attempt to watch their weight or look delicate, Darya openly savored what she liked—and she liked barbecue and vodka. In abundance.

  Turning from the counter, he stepped forward and nearly ran into Seth.

  Rather than step aside, Seth glanced back at Knox’s table then jerked his head in that direction. “You got a minute before you head back?”

  He did, but he wished he didn’t. The last few hours had been some of the most relaxed he’d been outside of Haven in months, so spending time juggling whatever had put a calculated look in Seth’s eyes didn’t give him a whole lot of warm and fuzzy. Still, Seth worked for Otter, and Otter was a key factor in keeping dangerous drugs out of Jace and Axel’s clubs. Key factor meaning he got exclusivity in peddling all the weed he wanted at Crossroads, so long as he didn’t get caught doing it and kept all the other heavy players out in the process.

  Knox shrugged and motioned to a side table set up with napkins and condiments. “Sure. You talk. I’ll load up.”

  He’d barely set his plates down before Seth kicked in. “Didn’t realize you’d taken an old lady.”

  Pausing with his hand midway to the napkin dispenser, Knox frowned back at the guy. “Come again?”

  “Your friend. JJ, right?”

  Knox blinked. Then did it again. Frankly, he was surprised his body managed that much considering the pleasant surge vibrating through him at the thought of Darya being his. Except she wasn’t. His place was to teach her and look out for her. Nothing more and nothing less.

  He shifted his attention to the napkins and shook his head. “Nah, she’s a friend.”

  “No shit?” With eyebrows hiked high enough they gave his hairline a run for their money, Seth glanced at the brotherhood’s table and locked his sights on Darya. “Man, you’re out of your mind not grabbin’ on to that.”

  A sentiment his thoughts had echoed at least fifty times since he’d woken her up a few days ago, but it didn’t change reality. “She’s long-term material. I’m more the multiple-choice type.”

  Seth grinned huge. “Still not up for an old lady, huh?”

  “Nope. Not in the cards.”

  Set
h nodded, shoved his hands in his jeans pockets and slid his attention back to Darya. “What about the rest of your crew? She tight with any of them?”

  Oh, hell no. Knox straightened to full height and pushed his shoulders back, a whole lot of unexpected fury whipping a firestorm in his gut. He knew that hungry look. Had cast it on a slew of women himself. And while Darya might not be his, he’d be go-to-hell if a player like Seth got his hands on her. “JJ’s a free agent, but if you’re anglin’ to get laid, pick someone else. She’s better than that.”

  Completely undaunted, Seth chuckled. “Man, I got that with one look.” He lifted his beer in salute and turned to leave. “You might have a problem with long-term, but I don’t.”

  Knox stayed rooted in place, the plates all but forgotten as he tracked Seth’s path back to the rear table Axel had set aside for Otter and his crew. Nursing his anger was stupid. Totally out of character. But in the space of two seconds, he’d gone from laid-back and happy to ready for murder, which was hands down not his thing. Fists and head-to-head was Beckett’s gig. Knox was more the cut-your-nuts-off-on-the-sly-and-smile-while-doing-it type. So, why the fuck was he so uptight?

  Convinced Seth was going to keep his ass at a distance, Knox headed back to his crew. If there’d been any lull in conversation while he was gone, it didn’t show by the time he got back. If anything, Darya looked like she’d been friends with his brothers and their women for years instead of hours.

  He settled into his chair and passed the plate he’d gotten for Darya two seats over. Somehow Beckett and Danny had lured her between them all of twenty minutes after her info bomb and hadn’t stopped talking her ear off since. More than once he’d caught her giving one or the other a light touch. Her fingertips on Danny’s shoulder, or leaning her head against Beckett’s shoulder as he pulled her into a side hug. Funny how the simple affection looked right with his brothers, but he’d wanted to rip Seth’s head off for just looking at her.