He shot her a grin. He did love the way she had that fiery little streak in her. “That’s why my most special vases are put away.”
“Because you’re an arrogant ass as well,” she declared, and twisted her hair into some kind of knot that only women knew how to manage. Taking a pair of sticks from her pocket, she shoved them a little viciously into her hair to hold it in place.
“Those things weapons?” He indicated the sticks with a jerk of his chin.
“Naturally. I’d find that really nice bakery with the good coffee if I were you.” Meiling tried to sound menacing, but she only succeeded in sounding like she was purring.
That sounded like purring to him, and his body stirred. Gedeon set his teeth and willed his cock under control. “Fine, although you don’t deserve it.” If she were his, he’d spend hours making her purr for him.
The smile faded from the luscious curve of her lips. “I really am questioning Atwater’s arrogance, Gedeon. Why would he risk his daughter? He already lost his wife. Maybe not to violence, but she is still gone. Every other head of a crime family has bodyguards. Most of them have far too many hanging around. What’s the big deal to hire a few tokeep his daughter safe? It wouldn’t make him look weak, since everyone seems to have them.”
Her voice was steady, but he realized that, like he was, Meiling was shaken by the kidnapping of the little girl. Neither had been expecting it. Both had suffered too many losses. He nearly pulled the car over so he could hold her. Meiling was careful of their relationship. She wouldn’t welcome him getting too familiar with her.
They had a fantastic partnership, their every step in perfect sync. It hadn’t taken long to get there either. Their personal relationship was good—friendly with lots of laughter. But the intimacy that had been between them in the first six weeks was no longer there. That was on him. His fault entirely, and there was no real way to fix it.
“I get it, Meiling. He should have.” He kept his voice gentle.
It was all the visits to the club. That had come between them. He needed the sex. He’d held out for as long as he could. Once he went, it was as if he was more addicted than ever. Hehadto go. Meiling stopped coming to his suite. She used her private entrance in the evenings, and that left him alone with a seething leopard and nights of no sleep no matter how many women he hooked up with.
She didn’t bring up the fact that he had sex with other women. He almost wished she would so they could talk about it. He had no idea what he’d say, but at least he’d know it bothered her. The way things stood between them now, she didn’t seem to care. She just went her own way and treated him like a wayward sibling or best friend.
Gedeon had been to San Antonio numerous times, doing work for several of the Italian and Russian families there. They were tight-knit. Very dangerous. Connected in ways he didn’t yet know or understand, but it was all the same to him. As long as they didn’t violate his code, he did his job and got paid in favors or money.
“This bakery isbratya, Meiling. They’re leopard,” hewarned. “That doesn’t mean I’m not right when I say the coffee is the best and the baked goods even better.”
Her dark eyes flashed and met his as he parked the car. “I have never been around so many leopards in my life. I think you deliberately just drag me around them because you know it makes me uncomfortable.” She gathered up the books on the seat and pushed the door open on her side of the car. She didn’t get out right away. Instead, she put out one leg and fussed with one of the books as her gaze scanned the rooftops and buildings across the street.
“Two shooters, Gedeon. One directly across the street on the rooftop and the other a block away. The blue building. Woman walking her dog. Looks like a bodyguard to me. Two coming up behind us came from the alley.” She spoke low and then got out of the car as she shuffled the books in close to her and closed the door.
Gedeon locked the doors as he wrapped his arm around her, and they crossed the street together, going straight to the glass door of the bakery. The Sweet Shoppe. The name of the shop was done in calligraphy and looked very elegant. The moment Gedeon opened the door, the aroma of baked goods drew Meiling inside. Gedeon stepped back to allow her in first.
His gaze swept the interior. He’d been to the bakery multiple times. This early, there was only one table with two customers he would consider legitimate. There was a second table with two men he knew immediately were leopard and definitely bodyguards. He recognized both men. The owner, Evangeline Amurov, was married to Fyodor Amurov. He held the reins over a very large territory and did so ruthlessly. He guarded his family, his wife and children with that same ruthlessness. Few would ever dare to cross him. He was surrounded by bodyguards, and his wife and children never went anywhere without them.
Both bodyguards looked up immediately, recognized him and nodded, and then their gazes swept over Meilingwith a little too much interest to suit him. He put a possessive hand on the small of her back. If they had been home in New Orleans, going to the Café Du Monde, Meiling would have stepped away from him. She would have done so casually, finding some excuse, but here, she followed his lead.
“Evangeline,” he greeted. “I don’t know why I didn’t expect to see you this early in the morning when I know you’re the one who does all the baking. The last time I was here, your sister-in-law, Ashe, let me know she was not the baker in the family. That was all you.”
Evangeline laughed. “She was telling you the truth. It’s Gedeon, right?”
“Good memory. This is Meiling. I told her you have the best coffee and pastries in San Antonio.”
“Nice to meet you, Meiling,” Evangeline said. “Are you staying in San Antonio for long this time, Gedeon?”
Gedeon remembered the genuine warmth she exuded. She gave that to Meiling, making her feel welcome. Evangeline had a gift. That was part of the charm of her shop. He had been surprised that a man like Fyodor Amurov would allow his woman to continue to work in an environment that could be a danger to them both.
The first time Gedeon had come to the shop, it had been very small, but charming. Now it was much larger, with more tables and far more display cases, although the charm was still there. The coffee machines were set up in a wide U with plenty of space for the women to work. There were rooms beyond the wide, spacious counters and, of course, the kitchen one couldn’t see into. Gedeon knew Fyodor had an office somewhere in the building to stay close to his wife.
“I’m not certain how much time I’ll be spending here.” He put in his order and waited for Meiling to give her selection. “How are Fyodor and Timur?”
“Healthy,” Evangeline said, without stopping the flowof work for a moment. She was making their coffee and putting their pastries on plates for them. She made a face over her shoulder, her eyes laughing. “Bossy.”
“I love everything about this bakery,” Meiling said. “The colors on the walls are so soothing.” She looked up at the ceiling and then around to each wall separately. “I like that your decorator used a deeper blue for an accent wall and then chose the same color for the lines in the ceiling. I never would have thought of that.”
Evangeline looked pleased, a warm rose color creeping under her skin. “I’m the decorator. When I first bought this place it was very small, and I didn’t have a ton of money. I did all the painting and decorating myself. I had a lot of time to think about exactly the way I wanted it to look.”
Meiling did a slow turn right there at the counter, looking around the bakery. “You did a fantastic job. You have a good eye for detail. I especially like the way you detailed the darker blue lines on the ceiling. They’re so faint, but they add dimension. I moved into a new apartment recently and I was told I could paint if I wanted to. I sometimes just stare at the ceiling wondering what I want to do differently, and your ceiling opens up all kinds of possibilities I hadn’t thought of.”
Gedeon took the plates with the pastries. “Do you have a time limit on your tables, Evangeline? We’re working. We’ll be happy to pay for the time.”
