Free Mafia Enforcer's Sassy Lover (The Karzhov Crime Family Series Book 4) by Leslie North Page A

himself—she had become far more than someone he had just met. She was far more than an employee. He did not want to look at how quickly things were moving between them, but it was impossible now not to deal with what was in front of him.
    He saw her throat work. Her skin seemed far paler in the weak lights in her office. She wet her lips and told him, “David is my little brother. He’s in danger and I need to go rescue him. And I’m on a clock here.”
    Kostya pressed his lips light. He disliked men who hurt children. They were the worst of the worst. “Who is trying to hurt your brother?” He kept his stare locked onto her face. He decided he did like anything that brought tears to those violet eyes. He could see the shimmer of pain… and he could see fear in her eyes. A large amount.
    “My stepfather. Earl Barlow. Now, please, Kostya, I need to go.”
    Kostya shook his head. “How old is David?”
    “Nine. He’s nine, okay? And he’s locked in a closet and he’s no match for my stepfather. I thought…it doesn’t matter what I thought. What matters is that David needs me and I have to save him before—”
    She cut off her words and pressed her mouth tight, but Kostya knew what she was thinking. Before my brother is dead.
    Kostya didn’t need to hear any more. He stepped back and gestured for her to precede him from the office, “I will drive. You will give me directions.”
    Tori shook her head, “No! You can’t get involved.”
    He gave her a small smile. “This is a bad habit you have of telling your boss what he should do or cannot do. We must work on that. For now, leave your suitcase here. We will go rescue your brother and then you will tell me the whole story once your brother is safe. I will help you figure out a solution to your problem. Believe me; I have many more resources at my disposal than you do. I really can help.”
    Tori let out a frustrated growl, but she dropped her suitcase, pushed past him and hurried toward the garage.  “What are you going to do? Kill him for me? That’s about the only solution to this problem, unless you want to loan me twenty thousand dollars?” She glanced sideways at him. “I could pay most of it back.”
    Kostya opened the door for her. She started for her battered VW. He grabbed her arm and shifted her toward his Mercedes. “If you are in a hurry, you do not want to break down on the way. As to the rest…” He lifted a hand and opened the car door for her. “It would not be the first time I have killed as a way of solving a problem. And it will not be the last. But let us first see what is required, shall we?”
    She shivered and her eyes widened. “Shit—you’re serious.”
    “I do not joke about killing. That is a serious business.
    She pulled in a breath, but she got in the car.
    She buckled her seatbelt, Kostya got in and the engine purred to life. He had already found an automatic opener for the garage. He punched the button. As soon as the door slid open, he punched the gas. Ice coated the roads, but Kostya had driven in worse. He kept the car just over the speed limit. No sense attracting the notice of any law enforcement.
    Next to him, Tori wrapped one hand around her shoulder belt, her knuckles white. “If I can get to David, there won’t be any reason for you to kill today. We’ll just disappear and that will be the end of it.”
    “We? You mean you and your brother?” Kostya glanced at her and shook his head. “No one is going to disappear until you have told me the entire story. Now please direct me to where your little brother waits. We will retrieve him and see is he safe and then you and I are going to have a chat.”
    Tori stared at him, her mouth open. She snapped it closed. “What’s the catch? This isn’t…you’re not just looking out for an employee. And you want to get on the freeway here.”
    He accelerated onto the freeway as she had directed. Glancing at her, he asked, “Why must there always be a