Page 2 of Kidnapped Bride

I told her my name was Niko, that I was in business, that I lived in Brooklyn.

None of it was a lie, technically.

I just left out the parts that would've made her run. Like the fact that most men in this city knew me as "The Dragon".

When my phone buzzed with my five-minute reminder for our reservation, I sat a little straighter, reaching for the door handle. "It's time," I said. "Get Tyren on the radio and tell him two minutes after I'm out of this car, they move on the corner. Make sure it's loud and chaotic, and I don't want those Markin soldiers getting away. Take them out, and don't hurt the girl."

When a silver Audi rounded the corner and stopped right in front of Tatiana, I pulled the handle and slid out of the car. "That's her," I told them. "Start the clock."

I crossed the street without rushing, weaving through the foot traffic until she came into full view again.

She was gorgeous with her hair done up and that flattering dress on, curves for days, but I kept my eyes on the prize.

It wasn't her body or her attention I needed, not even her flattery or the fact that a woman her age could find me attractive still in my forties.

I needed Kira Markin in my possession to manipulate her father, and I would stop at nothing to make that happen.

"Kira," I called out in a happy tone as I closed the distance to her before she got to the door.

She turned, and the second she saw me, her whole face lit up.

Then her lower lip worked its way between her teeth and color dusted her cheeks.

It made her all the more radiant.

"Niko." She waited as I leaned in, pressing my cheek to hers in a mock hug.

My hands lingered on her elbows, and I didn't bother hiding the way my eyes roamed over her curves, down the front of her dress where the curve of her tits pushed out, giving me an eyeful.

"You look intoxicating," I growled out, not backing away, and she splayed her hand over her cleavage, blushing harder. She smelled incredible too, something expensive and citrusy, a hint of vanilla.

"I'm not easy, if that's what you're thinking." Her smile was a warning, though we'd had our share of banter and flirting over text messages.

I couldn’t begin to tell you how much research went into those conversations so I would sound youthful and happy, not the reserved, guarded man I was.

"I made no assumption. I merely pointed out that you rouse something in me…" I brought her hand to my lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

My men would be moving by now, ready to make that hit in mere seconds.

I just had to hold her here a bit longer and the magic would work itself out.

The version of me she'd been talking to for three weeks would've smiled, so I did, though it felt awkward and forced. "Are you hungry?" I asked.

"Starving. I skipped lunch because I was too nervous to eat…" She'd told me a few times how strict her father was, what he'dsay if he knew she was talking to a man so much older than her, and every time she had, I tried to assuage her concerns.

"Don't be nervous," I said, winking. "I'm a teddy bear and a gentleman."

"Too late." She grinned and glanced at the restaurant entrance. "Should we go in?"

I held my elbow out to her, and she wrapped her arms around mine and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the two SUVs come around the corner squealing their tires.

They stopped hard in front of the barbershop, and the doors swung open before the vehicles had fully settled.

The first gunshot split the air, and Kira turned into my chest, pushing at me as fear consumed her.

I wrapped my arms around her and turned, pinning her against the brick exterior of the restaurant.

A second shot followed, then a third, and then the whole block erupted.