Mafia Hitman's Daring Lover (The Karzhov Crime Family Series Book 2) (2 page)

Desiree Addams was tired, and as she drove into Pinellas Park, she mentally cursed the shift captain who had assigned her to the third shift for the fifth week in a row. Sure, she was the youngest officer on the Clearwater police force, but her assignments had been not only unorthodox, but the worst ones in the rotation.

It was not standard operating procedure to place new officers on third shift and in solo vehicles. She hadn’t been assigned a backup partner once and could only pray that she continued to have routine traffic stops until this month’s rotation was finished.

She’d already filed a formal complaint with the captain, but he’d assured her nothing could be done until the next rotation was put out. He did promise her a partner if she was so unlucky as to draw the third shift beach patrol once again.
Yeah, and that will happen when it snows here.

For some reason, most of her coworkers had made it very clear they resented her presence on the force. She’d been able to find nothing that had prompted their response, other than the fact that they were reminded of what they’d lost each time she showed up for work. Not even the men who’d watched her grow up had lent their support.

Her father and brother had both been career police officers with the Clearwater police force, her father having headed up the criminal investigation division and her brother a special investigator in both drug and human trafficking. Both had been killed in the line of duty two years earlier. Her brother had been investigating something sinister and had been very troubled the weeks leading up to his death, but all of his notes and files had disappeared after a drugged-out prisoner went crazy in the office.

Her father had been killed during the same incident, and in the days and weeks after the funeral, Desi had been so grief stricken, she hadn’t realized that things weren’t progressing normally. The official report had listed their killers as members of a Russian mafia organization operating out of St. Petersburg, but after only three weeks of investigation, the case had been closed as unsolvable.

Desiree had been so upset, she’d immediately enrolled in the Police Academy and then secured a job as a patrol officer within the department. Her retail salesclerk job had been going nowhere, and at the age of twenty-two, she had willingly made the choice to join the police academy. She’d never even thought about becoming an officer of the law, and truthfully, her only motivation was finding the person, or persons, responsible for killing her father and brother.

She didn’t truly enjoy her job, but saw it as a means to an end. After she made sure those responsible were caught and justice was served, she wasn’t even sure she would continue on the force.

She had been with the force for almost six months at this point and had yet to gain the trust of the detectives in the criminal investigative division. Their support would give her access to the case records and evidence that had been collected. She yawned as she parked her car across the street from Molly’s Diner, and glanced at her phone. Five twenty in the fricking morning!
God, I hate working third shift.

She took a quick glance across the street and set her phone alarm for seven thirty. Two hours of sleep would have to suffice for today.
Thank goodness I have the next three days off. I’m going to have to get a few more hours of sleep than two or three at a time.
She slumped down in the seat, another yawn testifying to her lack of sleep.

She’d discovered on her first unauthorized surveillance operation that the Pinellas Park patrol officers did a horrible job of moving about the city during the wee hours of the morning. She’d been amazed as she sat in her parked car, night after night, and had never seen even one patrol car. Under different circumstances, she might have made an anonymous call about the dereliction of duty, but for now, it was in her favor and she wouldn’t complain one bit.

Pulling the blanket from the backseat, she snuggled it around herself, kicked off her shoes, and pulled her feet up and curled into a small ball of exhausted woman. At 5’2” tall, Desiree didn’t find the confined space of the driver’s seat uncomfortable at all, and most nights didn’t even bother to scoot the seat back. She closed her brown eyes, after ensuring the vehicle was locked up tight, and succumbed to her dreams.

                                                                                    *****

Grigori stepped out the back door of the hotel and took a quick glance inside his new Humvee. His stomach reminded him he hadn’t eaten since a hurried, dry sandwich in the airport terminal the day before. He glanced around, looking for some way to alleviate his hunger pains with haste.

He wouldn’t eat in the hotel’s restaurant, wanting to draw as little attention to himself as possible. The hotel had numerous secondary entrances, and he would use them as often as possible. He looked around the surrounding buildings and noticed the sign for Molly’s Diner only a few buildings down.

Heading in that direction, he glanced at his watch—7:20 a.m. He wondered if the diner would already be serving customers. He looked at the neighboring businesses, all of which were still locked up tight. Not exactly a good sign. As he approached the diner, he took notice of the surrounding businesses. A small hair salon, an insurance agency, and a martial arts school sat on the same side of the street as the diner. Across the street, a dry cleaner, a tattoo parlor, and a real estate office occupied the buildings.

As he drew even with the diner, he noticed an old man sitting on the concrete next to the light pole. From the look of his clothing and the black plastic trash bag sitting next to him, Grigori assumed the man was one of the many homeless that lived in the area year round. The relatively mild weather of Florida drew the homeless and those wanting to drop off the radar, and the beaches and parks provided plenty of places to spend their time.

His clothing consisted of dirty khaki pants, tattered tennis shoes, and a dark green army T-shirt, covered by a sleeveless leather jacket that had definitely seen better days. His head was covered by a blue bandana, and as Grigori got closer, he could see a small gold hoop earring gleaming in the lobe of his ear.
He looks like an old pirate, or possibly an old biker.

Grigori headed towards the door of the diner, only to be stopped by a friendly, “Good morning, sir. Ain’t the sun beautiful?”

Grigori was astounded at the gravelly voice and the cheerfulness behind it. “Good morning.” He took a step closer, intrigued at the smile the man sent his way.

“The name’s Dennis,” the man said, offering up his gnarled hand in greeting.

Grigori took the proffered hand, noticing that it was clean, the nails were neatly trimmed, and the palm was covered with the remnants of callouses. “Gri—uhm, Greg Walker.”
Good save!

“Nice to meet you, Greg. Are you new around here? I haven’t seen you before.”

Grigori nodded. “Yes. I’m just visiting the area for a few days.”

“It’s a nice place to visit. At least, that’s what I told myself twenty years ago. I’m still here, as you can see.”

Grigori stepped closer still and asked, “So do you live around here?”

The old man chuckled. “Well, I has me a cot over at the homeless shelter. It’s clean, and they have a shower we can use.”

Grigori was intrigued with the man and wondered what circumstances could have brought him to this point in his life.
What would make someone live like this for twenty years?

Grigori nodded towards the diner. “I was just about to go grab some breakfast. Would you care to join me? My treat.”

The old man smiled. “I have to confess I would love one of Molly’s breakfast burritos, but I don’t go inside buildings. Well, except for the shelter at night.”

Grigori looked at him and decided not to push the man for answers right now. While he would love to hear his story and see if there was something he could do to help the man out, he had other pressing matters that needed his attention.

“I’ll be right back.” Grigori entered the diner and ordered two breakfast burritos and two cups of coffee, then had the waitress box up a homemade cinnamon roll.

He paid for the food, then balanced everything as he stepped back outside and headed for Dennis. He handed him a cup of coffee, one of the burritos, and the boxed cinnamon roll. He was standing directly in front of him, bent slightly at the waist to ensure the man’s food didn’t slip from his hands as he stabilized it, when he heard an unholy shriek split the air and the sound of feet running towards him.

He straightened and turned just in time to catch sight of a little spitfire hurtling towards him. “Get away from him!”

“What in the world?” Grigori asked, holding his coffee cup to the side so it wouldn’t spill on either of them.

“What are you doing?” the spitfire asked, edging around him and placing her body between his and the old man. Talking over her shoulder, she asked, “Dennis? Are you okay?”

“Sure enough, Desi. I’m fine. Greg here was just—”

“Greg? How do you know Greg?”

Grigori had had enough, and he turned and narrowed his gaze at the small woman standing in defense of the old man and had to bite the inside of his lip to hold back the chuckle that wanted to erupt.

The woman Dennis had referred to as Desi was over a foot shorter than he was, with brown eyes that were currently shooting daggers at him and short brown hair that framed her heart-shaped face. She had both hands on her hips and was daring him with her stance and her look to make another move towards the old man.

Her hair was askew on one side and her T-shirt was slipping off a very delectable shoulder, and from what he could tell, she wasn’t wearing anything beneath it. He let his eyes travel leisurely down her body, then back up to meet her eyes. She was delightful in her anger, and he found himself stifling another laugh as she squared off against him.

Grigori wasn’t a small man, and even men who matched his height and weight took one look at him and usually turned away.
This little sprite thinks she can take me on. All by herself!

“I think you may have gotten the wrong impression. I was just buying Dennis breakfast. Would you care to join us, miss?”

“Desi.”

Grigori inclined his head. “Miss Desi.”

“No, not miss. Just Desi.” She turned away and all at once realized she had made a complete fool of herself. Dennis had a breakfast burrito, cinnamon roll, and coffee cup from Molly’s in his hands, and a smile that never ceased to brighten up her day, no matter how tired she was.

Turning to apologize, she let her eyes travel up the length of the stranger’s body, and up and up.
Gosh, he’s really tall, or I’m really short!
Her eyes took in the black skintight T-shirt he wore, the long sleeves barely concealing the end of the full sleeve tattoos he wore. His deep blue eyes were visible, but only because his aviator glasses had been hung on the neckline of his T-shirt.

His thick black hair was cut short and spiked up at the front. She let her eyes travel back down, pausing at his full lips and fighting down the urge to lick her own as she wondered what it would feel like to be kissed by him.
Where did that come from?

Shaking her head, she held out her hand. “Desi Addams.”

“Greg Walker. I’m sorry if you got the wrong impression. I didn’t mean him any harm.” Grigori took the hand she offered, marveling at how small she was compared to him and how soft her skin was.

“I realize that now. I’m just a little territorial about him, I guess. Usually I buy him breakfast.” Desi made a feeble attempt to withdraw her hand, but the stranger held tight to it.

“You have a caring heart,” Grigori told her with a smile. He let his thumb caress the back of her slender hand, watching as her eyes darkened and her breath hitched.

Desi couldn’t understand what was happening to her. All the man had done was smile at her and she was turned on!
God, has it been that long since I’ve been with a guy that all one has to do is smile at me and I’m ready to fall into his arms? I’m pathetic!
Determined to take back control of the situation, she pulled her hand from his own and then boldly wiped her palm on the front of her jeans.

“You’re new in town?” Desi asked, all of sudden becoming aware of the fact that she had just rushed from her car, where she’d been fast asleep. Her phone alarm had gone off, and as she’d opened her eyes and uncurled from her seat, all she’d seen was a very big, unknown stranger leaning over Dennis. She’d wrongly assumed he’d been trying to hurt Dennis, not feed him breakfast.
So much for being impetuous.
Dad always said it would be my downfall.

She wanted to shake her hand, the tingles from his touch still travelling up her arm and setting off fireworks all along her spine. When she lifted her eyes to meet his, he held her gaze and she found she was unable to pull hers away.  After what felt like minutes, the man lowered her gaze, releasing her from his mesmerizing stare.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Grigori murmured, trying to figure out what it was about this little woman that had his body humming and his brain wondering how long it would take him to talk her back to his hotel room. He’d been without a woman for far too long.

“He’s just in town for a few days,” Dennis answered her question, almost forgotten as the chemistry flowed around them.

Desi glanced over her shoulder with a smile. “Is that so? Well, it was very nice of him to stop by.” She turned her back on the large man and addressed Dennis directly. “After you finish your breakfast, I can drive you over to the free clinic, if you like?”

Dennis shook his head, swallowing the bite of food in his mouth before speaking. “No need, sweetheart. Mrs. Tompkins at the shelter took a look at my foot last night, and it was only a small splinter. She took it out and it was all better this morning when I awoke.”

“Are you sure?” Desi asked, hiding a yawn behind her hand.

Dennis narrowed his eyes at her and suggested, “Why don’t you head on home and sleep today? Ivan isn’t going to go anywhere. He’ll still be breaking the law tomorrow.”

Ivan? How do they know Ivan?
The Russian name didn’t escape his attention. Grigori watched the interaction between Dennis and the young spitfire and grew more intrigued. Ivan was the name of the middleman operating in this area. What did this little woman have to do with him?

Desi squatted down in front of the old man. “Dennis, I warned you about paying too much attention to what goes on around here. I don’t want to see you hurt, okay?”

“Girl, I’ve seen more in the last twenty years than I could even begin to tell you about. This mission you’re on is going to get you hurt.” He raised a gnarled hand and gently laid it against her cheek. “You’re the closest thing to family I have, and I don’t want to see you mixed up with the likes of him.”

Grigori watched as the young woman closed her eyes briefly, absorbing the touch into her like she was a dry sponge that had touched an ocean of water. When she opened them a moment later, he was stunned at the emotions that moved within them.

“Dennis…” Desi cleared her throat and tried again. “Dennis, you’re the only family I have left as well. And I wish I could leave things alone and get on with my life, but I can’t. Every time I close my eyes, all I can see are my dad and brother lying in those caskets as they closed the lids for the final time. I can hear the bagpipes playing, and it breaks my heart all over again.”

She sniffed back the tears and shook her head. “Someone needs to pay for what they did to them. I’m the only one even looking for their killer.”

Grigori took a sip of his coffee, wondering how long this little melodrama was going to play out. He couldn’t stand seeing a woman cry, and one that he felt a sexual connection to was even worse.
She’s talking about catching a murderer, one that killed her father and brother.

Desi stood up, perplexed to find Greg still watching her and Dennis. “Was there something else you needed? Directions or something?” Dennis made a noise of protest behind her at the rudeness of her statement, but she ignored it.

Grigori had to give her marks for tenacity. “Not at the moment. I was curious about the conversation I just witnessed. Something happened to your father and brother?”

Desi nodded briefly. “They were killed two years ago.”

“And you’re looking for the murderer?”

“Got it in one.” She turned her back on him, annoyed that he was still around. She didn’t want to explain herself, and she was too tired to play twenty questions with a stranger.
I could always ask the questions myself.
In fact, I could skip tracking Ivan today and find some nice hotel with a comfy bed. Spending the day snuggled up against this yummy stranger wouldn’t be the worst idea I’ve ever had!

She let her eyes wander down his body once again, smiling when her gaze caught on the hint of his tattoos and stuck there.

Grigori let her look her fill, taking the opportunity to let his eyes roam over her slim little body once again. She was gorgeous in an understated way that called to him. The look on her face as she perused his body was more than curiosity, and he wondered if she had ink of her own hidden beneath her rumpled clothing.
She looks like she just crawled out of bed.

Grigori shook his head slightly, pulling his thoughts away from that tempting image.
I have definitely been without female companionship too long.