Perfectly Bad: a bad boy romance (14 page)

He moved to let go of her hand, but she held on. “But it
is
. It will be.” She crouched to speak into his ear. “At least, it will if you don’t submerge us in dumb gambling debts again.” She gave his shoulder a tight squeeze. “Daddy, how can you do this? Stop, please, just stop right now.”

“Darling, you’ve got your solution, I’ve got mine.” She recognized the smile he gave her. It was the assured glow of a man carried on the warm, magic carpet of a few bourbons.

“Ladies and gentlemen, your attention, please.” The French accent of the croupier came from the roulette table. “Those of you here for the presentation, would you please take your seats. All other guests and players, please, please leave your chips and cards in place. Play is suspended for now. The games room will reopen in forty-five minutes. Thank you,
Merci
.”

As the other players at the table rose, her daddy said to the dealer, “Well, I suppose that I can stay while the snake oil gets sold.” The shake of the dealer’s head was polite, but firm.

A sharp pang stabbed in Princess’ chest as she watched her daddy shuffle out of the room. She didn’t want to see him at the table, but still she hated to watch him be treated like a gambler stretching his welcome.
 

She moved to follow her father as Agostini entered the room. “Stay,” he said, and as his hand encouraged her with a press in the small of her back, a vibrant glow came off his palm and bolted though her.

She wanted to go after her father. She said, “I have to go and—” But Agostini cut her off.

“Watch the audience. I want to know if you think they’re getting it. Gauge their reactions for me. Stand near me.”

“As what, the magician’s lovely assistant? What will I be doing?”

“You’ll be representing the club. And dazzling them with your loveliness.” She frowned. He said, “Just smile as you look at them. No one’s going to ask why you’re there.”

When he said that, it made her she want to stamp the pike of her heel through his shoe. They were in front of the seated guests and he turned to shine a thousand-watt smile across the waiting audience.

Princess figured that skewering the host’s foot and crippling him right now might not be taken in the spirit of “helping to make the evening a spectacular success.”

Agostini stepped onto the dais and stood behind the lectern. She stood to the side of him and looked in the faces of the men seated in rows in front of them. Barney, Miflin, Tranter, Cane, and Clemson she knew, and about half of the others. All off the rest she recognized from the pictures on Agostini’s guest list.

She wondered whether he really wanted her observations or if she was just a prop. There was no shortage of beautiful and glamorous women in attendance in the club for the occasion, and she knew that any number of them would happily spend twenty minutes smiling at a rear view of Pierce Agostini.

He began, “Ladies and gentlemen,” with a little smile for her. He took his time and spoke slowly, and he held the attention of the room. Her inner thighs quivered as he slowly opened the big, black book.

“You know the proposition. A parcel of government land in western Pennsylvania is due to be released, and it will open the route to a shorter data line between the Chicago and New York exchanges.

“A shorter wire between the exchanges means faster information for the subscribers. That’s a competitive advantage, and that means money. The last time this was done, a saving of just twelve
milliseconds brought annual revenues of over a hundred
billion dollars to the owners of the line.”

Agostini took his time and looked around the room. He waited to let everyone take in the numbers before he turned a page of the ledger.

“Three parcels of property stand in between the existing data line and the government land.”

The heavy cream pages made an excellent and expensive swish as he turned them. Turning the page gave him a chance to sweep the guests with a glance. Show them that the evening was all about them.

At the same time, he could judge how engaged they were. How closely they were paying attention.

“With new, high-tech switches, the new cable route will cut more than thirty milliseconds off the one-way access time, and that’s by a conservative estimate. For high-frequency traders, the value of the faster speed of this line is immense.”

He watched carefully, checking that all of his audience were following and taking it in. “On the shortest route between the government land and the existing data pipe there are, as I mentioned, just three parcels of land.”

This was the point. Here, he had to be sure. He needed every one of the potential investors to understand the how huge the value of the proposition was. He looked around the seated audience. They all leaned forward on their chairs and their eyes all gleamed.

“We have the rights—not promises, not undertakings—the actual rights,” he waited, “to all three properties.”

They applauded. Three men stood. He didn’t expect that. Well, whether they had completely understood it or not, Pierce Agostini had made enough deals to know buyers when he saw them. Every one of his hand-picked invitees was ready.

He turned the next page. When he lifted his hand, the room fell silent as he said, “Back here in this room at one a.m., we will hold an auction for shares in the company that will own those rights.” They began to applaud again and he had to shout, “And you’re all invited to bid.” Everyone rose to their feet.

They all came toward the stage with glows of wonder on their faces.
Well
, he told himself,
you did just offer to make them a lot of money
. He stepped off the dais to greet and be greeted.

Miflin was at the front of the surge. Everyone wanted to shake Pierce’s hand, pump his arm, and, he guessed, curry favor. They all wanted in. It looked like a perfect result.

Having Princess at his side while he made the address had felt good. Her presence gave him a new and unfamiliar kind of strength. And he was really starting to like looking at her, seeing her nearby. Every time he looked, there was more to this girl.

And every time he looked at her, he liked what he saw some more. It was a shame she was so infuriating to be around when she was so good to look at.

Princess watched as the doors opened to allow the players back to their gaming tables. Already at the door, her father was waiting.

Princess made it look as unhurried as she could, making her way over to him. She tried to block his path. “Daddy, this could go on and end up really badly. Please, please stop.”

“I will, Princess. Of course I will. I’d do anything for you, Princess.” He moved to step around her. “Just let me win back what I lost here.”

“Daddy, no.”

“Oh but, well, you know, it was quite a lot, Princess.

“Daddy, please. Please. Just stop.”

He gave her a smile that made her heart sink. “Sure, Princess. I’m just going to turn it around and then I’ll stop. I promise.

Before she could stop him, over her father’s shoulder Princess saw a blond head with a pair of watery gray eyes. His smile sent a chill dripping down her spine. Yvgeny wore a white tux with a black shirt and pants and a thin black bowtie.
 

His head dipped in what looked like a formal greeting. Arthur Cane stepped out of the room toward him and the two men slipped into a booth together.

Princess’ heart banged in her chest as she followed them. Her feet felt heavy like they didn’t want to go. Yvgeny and Cane were seated in the corner as she stepped in.

“Welcome to Hotsteppa’s, Yvgeny. I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure to offer you hospitality before.” She smiled and looked from him to Cane. “Can I get you something, gentlemen? Some bar snacks perhaps, or have you tried the signature
Fasttracker Hotsteppa
cocktail, created exclusively for this evening?”

“We’re fine, Miss Grace. Thank you,” Yvgeny said. Cane didn’t seem so sure.

“For you, Mr. Cane?” She smiled some more. Her face muscles felt tight and tired.

“I said we’re fine,” Yvgeny told her.

“Well, do let me or one of the staff know if there’s anything that you would like. And I hope you have a pleasant evening.”

“Goodbye, Miss Grace,” Yvgeny said. “For now.”

Princess left the two men. As quickly as she could, she found Agostini and told him.

His face darkened. They moved into a dark passageway and he took out his phone, punched a few buttons, then held it to his ear. “Callaghan,” he rasped, “how did Yvgeny get in?” He paused. “Never mind finding out. Get someone to cover the door, bring Calhoun, and get Yvgeny out.” Her heart thumped and she watched as he listened a moment more.

“No, don’t risk any gunfire. Bleeding guests could put a dent in the party atmosphere.” He listened again. “I don’t know, Callaghan, but it’s why I recruited you both from Special Forces. Get special on his ass, and quick.”

After he hung up, he paused for a moment. “Princess, you go this way, I’ll go that way. Find all the people who were in for the presentation. Get them back into the games room. Promise them each a thousand dollars on the roulette wheel.”

“Including Cane?”

“No, leave Cane to me. I have a different special offer for him.”

They were about to move when Yvgeny stepped out and toward them. “Looking for me, lovebirds?” A boiling mix of emotion bubbled up in Princess, ready to burst, but she had to contain it all for now.

Agostini said, “Yvgeny. I don’t know whether you got your invitation.”

“I didn’t.” Callaghan and Calhoun approached from behind the Russian with their hands out to their sides.

“Then I’m so very sorry, but I’ll have to ask you to leave. This is a ticket-only event.”

“Ah, but I was having such fun here.”

From behind Calhoun and Callaghan, half a dozen men in white tuxes and black jeans stepped into the passageway.

Yvgeny said, “You know why they call it ‘Mexican Standoff’? Anyway, I think I have more men than you, so by the numbers, I will win if we start a shooting match.”

He and Agostini looked at each other. Yvgeny said, “Still, it would be a shame to get so much blood all over the walls when you just had them painted.” He touched one. “Dark, though. It maybe won’t show too badly.”

His brow wrinkled like he was thinking it over. He turned and walked over to Callaghan. “You want to be dead, Irishman? Is your boss worth you being dead for him?”

The vein in Callaghan’s neck beat. Yvgeny turned and walked up to Agostini. “Are you afraid of me yet, Pierce Agostini?”

“No, not yet, Yvgeny. Tell you what, why don’t I give you a call if it happens?”

“Pretty cool for a stupid man,” Yvgeny said. “The coolest people often are the most stupid, don’t you find,
tovarich
? How do you think that works?”

He stood back and looked from Pierce to Princess and back. “You two have no idea what you’re up against. No idea at all.”

Princess shuddered but she tried not to let it show as he stood in front of her. “Agostini, you should take better care of your little mouse. She seems very exposed here,
tovarich
.” The way he looked at her throat made her cold.

Agostini said, “Did you really sneak your little gang of Cossacks in here, just to huddle with Crane?”

He turned and raised a hand. “We will discuss it all another time, Pierce,” he said, and he strode away. After just two steps, he spun around and came quickly up to Princess.

“How about you, little mouse lady? Are you afraid of me?”

Princess said, “It’s not something I’ve thought about, Yvgeny. Do you think I should be?”

“Shame.” Yvgeny shook his head. “Lovely girl.” He lifted her chin with the side of his finger. “What a waste.” Then he took his goons and left.

Princess breathed out about as slowly and quietly as she could.

“You handled yourself pretty well there,” Agostini told her.

She trembled and her eyes blazed at him. “I’d say keeping my whole body from shaking itself apart was handling it
very
well.”

“Fair point.”
 

All her bones felt like they were turning to Jell-O as she stood in front of him. “I retained the power of speech ‘pretty well.’ ”

“Okay.”

Her insides quaked as she beat on Pierce’s chest with shaking fists. “Not emptying my bladder right in front of him. That was handling it all pretty well, I thought.” The sides of her fists found a rhythm as they bounced off his warm, hard body.

Her eyes stung and her face prickled. It felt good to hit him. “Look what you’ve done to our club. We never had gangs of men coming here with guns before!”

“They didn’t show any guns.”

“They had them, though.” She beat him harder. “You know they did. Them, too.” Princess’ voice rose and she was about to turn and point at Callaghan and Calhoun.

Pierce seized her. Held her. Her heart thundered and her throat was thick and jammed. He held her tighter. His strong arms wrapped around her shaking body. She was pressed against the hard front of him.

“It’s okay now.” He held her with one arm and stroked her head with his hand. “You can beat me up later. It’s all under control now. Let’s not frighten the guests, all right?” And he stroked her cheek. Pulled her toward his face to whisper, “It’s okay.”

Her whole body surged at him as she went to shout in his face,
It doesn’t feel okay!
But as he held her, it began to, and her lips landed on his. She kissed him with a trembling hunger. Pressed her soft body against him.

Pierce’s taste filled her head. Coursed through her body. Like she tasted him with her breath. Her lungs, her breasts, her stomach, and her core. Like every space inside her drank and tasted him. Sucked him in, from her thighs to her tingling lips.

She clung to him, wanting his strength. Wanting him to fill her with his raw, ruthless power. Needing to draw him in, to breathe him, wrap herself completely around him.

He held onto her. She felt his breath deepen and he held her like she belonged to him and he would guard and keep her. Princess hung on. She didn’t want to stop believing. The recollection of having to face Yvgeny, to watch his lip curl as he came toward her, the echo set a thrumming chorus of vibration all the way through her.