“Help me tie the noose around Mladenov’s neck, and I promise you’ll be free of him.” There was a spark of malice glittering in the commissioner’s eyes.
I stopped and lowered my voice. “Why in the heck would I do that?”
“Because Ivan brought you here against your will.” The commissioner dropped his gaze quickly to my naked fingers. “Unless you like beingMrs.Mladenov.”
I wasn’t.And I don’t want to be.
The thought felt funny. Just like every other time I tried to sort my feelings out when it came to the Bulgarian mobster. Right now was not the time to examine that feeling.
“What you’re saying is suicide,” I hissed. “Now go away.”
“Mama?” Brady watched me.
Crap.The boy adored his father. He’d just heard me consider treason.
“Let’s bake some ginger snaps,” I said, redirecting his train of thought. I tugged him along, going to the express lane. We had nine items, and the sooner we were outside, the sooner this raincloud would back off.
“Just think about what you want in life,” the commissioner murmured, grabbing my cart. “Give me a call. We’re friends, right, Poppy?”
“Yes, fine, whatever,” I snapped. I would say anything to make him leave.
His grin was lewd. “Always a pleasure to see you. Take care, squirt!”
Brady shot him a perplexed look.
Mercifully, the commissioner left.
“I don’t like him,” Brady confided.
I gazed after the sliding doors. “Me neither, buddy.”
It wasn’t until we were safe in the kitchen that the full weight of the encounter hit me. I gripped the counter tight, taking deep breaths with the sudden realization that in my rush to leave the slimy businessman, I inadvertently gave him the thing he was after.
“But it’s not like I have a phone to call him,” I muttered.
Brady helped Boris bring in the bags behind me. I stood straight, gathering myself.
“It’s going to take this a couple of hours to simmer,” I explained, going to fill the stock pot with the filtered water system. “Why don’t you go ride bike until it’s ready?”
“Okay, mama.” Brady tore off, taking the guard with him.
He sees these men as his friends.
I salted the water and dropped the piece of beef stomach into the pot.
The Made Men would cut me out of the picture and carry on happily with their lives. I was only here for Brady.
This isn’t the happily ever after I wanted.
But it was fast becoming my son’s.
I scrubbed my hands into my hair. The braid loosened, and whisps fluttered around my face.
“If you want your hair pulled,” murmured temptation incarnate.
Saints above! He hadn’t spoken to me like this since the bookstore. In fact, it had been days of a word or two here and there. The fresh scent whispered around me, warm and spicy. I inhaled the mixture of mint and man before turning…and smacking into him.
“Something’s troubling you.” It wasn’t a question.
