Russian Mobster's Forbidden Mistress by Bella Rose Page A

Otherwise, I’m sure nobody would think twice about it.”
    Dani couldn’t say anything else. She gave the woman a wan smile and headed down the stairs. She would have liked to have thought that the strange and disturbing conversation had dulled her voracious appetite, but it hadn’t affected her that way at all. Maybe she was stress eating? It wasn’t like she didn’t have stuff to be stressed about.
    The kitchen was quiet. Mikhail never got out of bed before eleven, and their cook wouldn’t start making breakfast until at least nine thirty. Dani opened the fridge and pulled out some eggs and cheese. She had barely managed to get the saucepan warm before the scent of the gas stove upset her stomach once again.
    Yanking the pan off the stove, she sprinted from the kitchen to the hallway bathroom. She barely made it to the toilet before she was heaving for the second time that morning. By the time she was done, there were tears running down her face.
    Feeling pathetic and a little frightened, she made her way back into the kitchen. She stopped short when she saw Josef standing by the stove looking confused. Her emotions were so jumbled at the moment. There was elation, because it was Josef and she wanted to be near him. But there was also fear, because she was beginning to think she had an awful big secret that she was going to have to share with him.
    “You left the burner on.” Josef gestured to the gas flame flickering on the stovetop. “That’s really dangerous with an open flame, Dani. Are you all right?”
    “I just feel a little under the weather this morning.” She tried to cover up her uneasiness with a smile, but it felt unnatural. “And maybe I’m a little distracted this morning. So my leaving the stove on would be your fault, you know?”
    “Were you making breakfast?” He replaced the saucepan on the burner. “Mrs. Tobolovsky could do that. Would you like me to knock on her door?”
    “Oh no, don’t bother the poor woman. She was probably up half the night making things for my father and Mikhail. She deserves some quiet time.” Their cook had been with the family since Dani was a little girl. “I can make eggs for myself. I promise I’m not that helpless.”
    “I never said you were helpless.” The light in his eyes warmed her all over and her nerves began to settle. Everything was going to be all right. Even if something crazy were going on, Josef wasn’t the type to turn his back or run with his tail between his legs. He was strong.
    “Ah, Josef!” Mikhail bowled his way into the kitchen, shocking Dani. Her brother ignored her completely. “You are here on time! Good. We have a situation to manage and it may require some muscle.”
    “Lead on,” Josef told Mikhail.
    It was hard for Dani to have Josef see through her simply because he was trying to be “normal” while Mikhail was around. Especially given the current circumstances. But when her brother led the way out of the kitchen, still jabbering in Russian about the job they needed to complete, Josef gave her a wink and a nod before disappearing down the hallway.
    Oh Josef…
    * * *
    Josef could tell there was something wrong with Dani, but he couldn’t afford to focus on that right now. He needed to think about Mikhail and this ridiculous situation he was blowing about. They were driving at a breakneck pace down the city’s tangled mess of streets.
    “So,” Josef said, forcing Mikhail to pause in his overinflated litany, “you’re saying that someone broke into the warehouse down in the city. But you’re not sure if anything has been taken?” Josef wondered why this was such a big deal. “Is it a vagrant, perhaps?” Josef continued speaking in Russian to keep Mikhail happy.
    “No.” Mikhail waved away the possibility with one hand. “You will go inside and see for yourself. Some of the crates have been disturbed.”
    “And who told you this?” Josef was starting to feel uneasy without knowing why.
    Mikhail gunned