Clinch (The Underground Book 2) (29 page)

Leo stared at Mikhail for longer than necessary, undoubtedly picking up on the same vibe as Katie. Finally he changed the subject. “Listen, all of this information must stay in this room. Nothing changes. No one on Yenin’s team has any idea I’m feeding information to the FBI. I’m only telling you all this now because you saw too much today. I don’t have a choice. And frankly, the more information I’m able to feed the FBI, the better.”

“Of course,” Ivan said. “We want Yenin nailed in a coffin as badly as you do. Until he’s locked behind bars, our lives are not our own.”

Leo continued, “We all need to be diligent at all times. Boris and Erik are dead, but they’ll be replaced. Make no mistake about that. People are following us. If anyone sees anything suspicious, let me know. I’ll pass the message on.”

Mikhail glanced at the doorway. “You think there are people out there watching us now?”

“I know there are. Especially since we have Haley.”

“Fuck.” Mikhail hung his head. “This is serious.”

“Very. So listen closely. We don’t want the police overly involved in this investigation. Too messy. The FBI has it handled. They’re getting closer every day. That means there’s a good chance Haley’s in grave danger. All of us need to watch our backs, but that woman can’t walk out of here on her own and go back to her regular life.”

“Never intended for her to,” Mikhail said. “She’s too shook up, and she refused to go to the hospital.”

“Frankly, I’m glad she didn’t go to the hospital. Easier to keep tabs on her this way.” Leo turned back toward Katie. “What did you do with her blood work?”

“The police took a sample with them, but they’re looking for drugs—whatever was currently being injected into Haley’s body to make her docile. I kept a sample here too. Should I send it to my lab guy Stuart?”

Leo shook his head. “No. He’s seen too much. Someone at the FBI will pick it up.”

“What’s up with all the damn blood samples?” Mikhail asked.

“It’s a long story,” Leo said. “For another day. I’m too tired to think anymore tonight.”

A soft whimper had all of them turning to find Haley inching into the room. She had her hands wrapped around her middle and still wore the scrubs she’d been wearing when they found her.

She looked at Mikhail first and then Katie. “Thank you so much for letting me stay here. I should get home. I’m sure my apartment’s a disaster and my landlord probably thinks I skipped town.”

Mikhail bolted to his feet. “You can’t just go home. You’ve been through a lot. You shouldn’t be alone. Do you have a roommate? Boyfriend? Anyone?”

Katie knew he was fishing for information. Haley had already told the cops she didn’t have close friends in the area. She was kind of a loner. Her parents were overseas. “No.” She bit her lower lip.

“Then if you won’t go to the hospital, let me go with you or come back to my apartment.”

“I need to go home.”

“Fine. I’ll go with you.” Mikhail turned to face Ivan as Ivan jumped off the exam table. “Will you go be with Alena?”

“Of course. You don’t have to ask, man. I don’t like how long she’s been alone, anyway. I’m gonna head out now.” Ivan made his way from the room, nodding at Katie on the way by.

The rest of them followed him to the front of the clinic.

“I don’t want to put you out,” Haley said to Mikhail.

“How about you let me worry about that. Let’s get you home and check on your place. Then we’ll figure out what to do next.”

A tear ran down her face. “Thank you,” she mumbled.

“No reason to thank me. It’s human decency.” Mikhail grabbed his jacket off the counter in the waiting room and tucked it around Haley’s shoulders. “I’ll talk to you in the morning,” he told Leo over his shoulder as he helped Haley from the building.

Katie stood by the front windows and watched both cars pull away while Leo locked the door and set the alarm.

“Let’s go upstairs, babe.” He tucked her under his arm and led her toward the back stairs.

On Friday afternoon, Katie was on pins and needles. It was a struggle to pay attention to anything her patients said. She had never been so nervous in her life.

It was one thing to watch strangers fight so brutally in the underground clubs. It was another thing entirely for the man she was head over heels for to step into the ring.

Her hands were shaking as the last patient left the clinic and Mandy headed for the door.

Leo was unfolding himself from his Trans Am out front, which made Mandy giggle on her way out. “That man is smoking hot. So much better than that stuffy Marshall.” She winked at Katie on her way by and hustled to her own car parked on the street.

“Speaking of Marshall,” Leo said as he hauled Katie into his embrace and kissed her gently on the lips. “Have you heard from him today?”

Katie rolled her eyes as they scooted into the waiting room so Leo could shut and lock the door. “Nope. Finally. An entire day without him calling.”

“You think he finally got the message?”

“I don’t know whether or not he got the message that I have no interest in him, but he does indeed fear for his life after being taken hostage and held by two men overnight.”

“He’s told the cops everything he knows, right?”

“Yeah. I guess.” She tipped her head back and set her chin on Leo’s chest. His warm chest. His chiseled chest. The chest she’d like to see bared in front of her as soon as they could make their way out of the front room and up the stairs to her apartment.

He’d been staying with her a week now. And she liked it. At first she was scared out of her mind that too much togetherness would ruin things. But she did realize her safety was at stake, and she slept better with him and his damn gun next to her.

The gun still unnerved her, but at least she was safer.

“You think he’s going to live?” Leo asked.

“Who?”

Leo grinned. “Where’s your brain, woman?” He set his hands on her ass and squeezed. “Marshall Pierce.”

She flushed. Her mind had indeed wandered to far better subjects. She moaned. “Do we have to talk about him? I’m so tired of the subject.” She lifted onto her tiptoes to reach his face, wrapped her hands behind his head, and hauled his lips down for a kiss.

And then she nearly jumped out of her skin when someone knocked on the glass door behind them. She lowered her feet and spun around. “Shit,” she muttered under her breath.

“Who’s that?”

“My mother.”

Leo chuckled. “Good timing.”

“You should—”

“I should stay right here and stand my ground. You want me to lie about us?”

“No. I just don’t want you to get eaten up and spit out.” She still stared at her mother, who held her hand above her eyes to ward off the glare from the waning sun and stared back, cocking a hip to one side as if to question what the holdup was.

“I’m a big boy.”

“Don’t I know it,” Katie muttered as she reached forward, unlocked the door, and pulled it open. “Mother,” she stated as the woman who’d given birth to her shoved her way inside.

“I didn’t think you were ever going to open the door.”

“What are you doing here?”

Loretta Schwan ignored her daughter and lifted her gaze to Leo, eyeing him from top to bottom and then back. “Who are you?”

Leo wiped his hands on his jeans and stepped forward. “Leo Gulin, ma’am. So nice to meet you.” He lifted a hand.

Her mother glanced down at his outstretched palm and ignored it, looking away instead to let her gaze roam around the waiting room as she wandered farther inside.

Katie bit the inside of her cheek at the snub and the way her mother so rudely dismissed Leo.

“I spoke to your fiancé’s mother earlier. Carmela is very upset by what happened.”

Katie sighed, exasperated, while Leo set a hand on her lower back and eased her into the room. “We’re
not
engaged, Mother. We never were. I don’t even like Marshall. I’ve told you this many times. I have a boyfriend. The man standing next to me, whom you’re rudely ignoring.”

Her mother spun around and glanced once again at Leo as if she hadn’t seen him already. “Don’t be ridiculous.” She turned her attention back to Katie. “I’ve invited the Pierces over for dinner tomorrow night. You need to be there at six sharp.”

Katie’s blood boiled. “You aren’t listening to me, Mother. I’m not coming for dinner. If you want to invite me and Leo over sometime, we’ll be happy to check our schedule. But I’m not joining you with the Pierces. Ever. It’s final.”

Her mother pursed her lips and glanced at Leo again.

Bless the man. He didn’t say a word, though Katie suspected it took a serious effort to remain silent. She would thank him later. With her mouth.

Leo spread his fingers wider on her back and hauled her closer to his side. And she was grateful for that too. He was staking his claim, but not in any way offensive.

Her mother humphed. “Katie, when are you going to come to your senses?” She shrugged. “If you want to keep a dalliance on the side after you get married, do it. Be discreet about it. I can see the appeal. I was young once myself. We all have fire in our blood for our fantasies at one time or another, but it’s time to settle down. This—” she waved a hand up and down toward Leo, “—man is fine to look at, but you can’t possibly be considering anything more serious than that.”

“Actually, Mother, I am. I love him. He loves me. He’s not going anywhere. You need to get over yourself or stop calling me. If you can’t accept my choice in men, then keep your mouth shut. I don’t need your approval. I’m a grown woman.”

Leo’s hand snaked around Katie’s waist, and he tugged her tighter against his side.

Her mother’s mouth fell open and her eyes widened. “Kathryn Schwan. That’s no way to speak to your mother.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way, Mother.” Katie wiggled free of Leo’s hand and stepped toward the front door. She whipped it open and held it. “Now, we have someplace to be. You need to leave. If you can speak to me politely in the future and stop hounding me about Marshall, you have my number.”

Her mother hesitated and then stomped toward the door. She spun on her heels at the last second and opened her mouth to speak, but instead, she slammed her lips closed again and rushed out the door.

Katie exhaled, exasperated.

Leo wrapped his fingers gently around her forearm and pulled her out of the doorframe. He shut and locked the door as she watched her mother duck into her Mercedes and pull away from the curb.

Leo’s hands landed on her shoulders as she stared out the window. “You okay, babe?”

“Yeah. I’m so sorry about that.”

“What? You don’t have any reason to be sorry. I’m in love with
you
, not your mother.” His hands trailed down her arms, his fingers grazing the edges of her breasts beneath her scrubs and bra.

She leaned back into his touch, absorbing his warmth. “Thank you.”

“Let’s go upstairs.”

She nodded and let him lead her away from the waiting room and into the back hallway.

He slid his hand to grab hers and tug her toward the stairs and then up to the tiny apartment that had gotten so much smaller since he’d essentially moved in.

She smiled, shaking the incident with her mother from her mind.

Leo’s scent was everywhere now. His spare boots sat next to the front door. His jacket was draped over the end of the couch.

She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply.

“You okay?” He held her biceps and kissed the top of her head.

“Mmmm. Better than.”

“Good. Then you won’t mind if I relieve some of that stress you’re carrying before we head to the fight.”

“Mmmm,” she repeated. Her panties instantly grew wet at the mention of him dominating her. And that was exactly what he’d meant. His tone of voice had dropped to that level he always used when he wanted her to submit. It still made a chill race down her spine.

She had yet to thoroughly examine what made her so submissive. And it still embarrassed her half the time when he controlled her so easily, but she couldn’t deny how aroused she got at the mere mention of him dominating her. Just the tone alone made her nipples harden.

She shuddered, remembering how he spanked her long and hard Monday night after everyone left. Instead of pissing her off, it calmed her. Every swat of his hand against her ass lightened some of her burden. By the time he was finished, her skin was hot and pink and her pussy pulsed with arousal. And he’d delivered in that area too.

She shook the memory from her mind, wondering what was in store for her tonight.

Leo lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor. They hadn’t made their way farther than the kitchen area yet. He popped her bra off next without saying a word and reached for her nipples to tweak them roughly.

She flinched.

“Stay still. I love how these come alive under my touch.”

They did. He wasn’t kidding. Her entire body came alive when he went into bossy mode.

He released her nipples and grabbed both breasts with his palms, squeezing them almost too tightly. The pain was quick and sharp, but a shot of arousal made her clench her legs together.

Leo never liked that. “Spread your knees, Katie.” He held her breasts high.

She complied, scooting her feet apart at his command.

“That’s it. When we play, I don’t want your legs closer together than that. You don’t get to rub yourself between your thighs.”

“Mmm.” She was already slipping into a place he called subspace.

Finally, he released her aching breasts and turned around, leaving her standing there without his touch. “Let’s go to the bedroom.”

She followed, watching his fine ass in his perfect-fitting jeans.

“Take off the rest of your clothes and face the bed.” He worked his way across the room toward the large duffle bag he kept in one corner. He’d set it there the first night and never moved it since.

She hadn’t dared to examine the contents. Even when he wasn’t with her during the day sometimes, she hadn’t had the guts to peek.

For one thing, he’d expressly instructed her not to snoop. And for another thing, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know what all he had in there.