My time on the streets meant I was used to my own company. It felt weird to be around people. I supposed that was something I would have to get comfortable with quickly, seeing as I was going to be working serving drinks to people. Bartenders were expected to be social, and I mentally vowed to do my best to not come across awkward.

I flushed the toilet, washed my hands, and then opened the door and shrieked. Loudly.

Lev stood there, dressed only in a pair of grey boxers, leaning against the wall, blinking his eyes sleepily.

Clutching my heaving chest, I panted, “I needed to use the bathroom.”

His voice heavy with sleep, he muttered, “I can see that.”

My cheeks began to burn. “You didn’t show me where the toilet was last night.”

He blinked again. “I realize that.”

My palms began to sweat. Eyes wide, I blurted out an anxious, “I wasn’t stealing anything.”

His eyes roamed my shirt-clad body. “No, it doesn’t look like you were.”

I then felt the need to remind him, “I left your watch on the bathroom counter.”

He gestured with a jerk of his chin down to his wrist…where the watch was, secured tightly.

“Okay,” I whispered in relief. I swallowed hard then nodded once. “Okay then.”

Pushing himself off the wall, he stretched languidly in a feline manner. I spied the muscles of his abdomen tighten in a most delicious way. My eyes were drawn to the small smatter of hair leading from his bellybutton down lower still.

It was then I noticed I was looking directly at his material-covered crotch. With a light gasp, I turned my face to look straight up and stared at his chest.

He scratched lightly at the stubble on his steely jaw. “We should dress for breakfast.”

Yes! my mind yelled. Clothes are good!

I followed him back into the bedroom and saw my clothes neatly folded on the nightstand. He must have taken them out of the dryer in the middle of the night.

The pile was small. I went through it, my brow bunching in confusion. “Where are the rest of my clothes?”

Walking into the closet, he replied coolly, “Where they belong. The trash.”

Anger ignited, but I spoke calmly. “They were all I had.”

“I know.”

Irritation clear, I pulled on my one clean pair of panties underneath the long shirt. My black jeans followed, and with my back to the closet, I slipped off the black shirt to replace it with my white tee. I looked down and cussed softly.

My nipples had come out to say hello. “Where’s my bra?”

He walked out of the closet, still in boxers, and going about his business without looking at me, he uttered, “I told you. The trash.”

Lifting the black shirt to hide my lady lumps, I gaped in shock before sputtering, “It was the only one I had!”

“It was threadbare.”

“It did the job,” I returned, falling into hysteria.

Hearing my prickliness, he turned his face up to look at me then eyed my chest before raising a brow. “You don’t need a bra.”

My face flamed. I hugged my arms around myself as tight as I could without folding into myself.

Well, that was rude. He should’ve just told me my tits were tiny and one needed to pull down my pants to make sure that I was, in fact, female.

Man, this guy was doing wonders for my self-esteem.

“I need to shower,” he stated. “And you will wait right here.”

My surly response of ‘Sir, yes, sir’ was cut off as the bathroom door closed behind him.

Great. Just great.

I waited obediently on the edge of the bed and silently wondered whether putting my faith in a man I didn’t know was a terribly good idea.

Chapter Seven

Mina

Lev, freshly showered and dressed in a gunmetal grey three-piece suit over a crisp white shirt, led me out the back door of his house, down a scenic path to an even larger house.

We walked in complete silence, but as we approached the front door, he ordered quietly, “Don’t talk.”

Repositioning the giant cashmere sweater he lent me, I nodded, allowing him to take me by the hand and lead me down a near identical foyer to his own and to the right, into a large dining room. A tray of fruit sat in the center of the table with two vases full of decorative greenery on either ends. A man sat at the long table in the well-lit room, reading the newspaper, his ankle resting across his knee. He was also dressed in a suit, but, unlike Lev, he was kind of scary-looking.

I recognized him instantly. It was the man I’d stolen the wallet from the night before. This was Lev’s brother.

“Sasha,” Lev said in way of greeting as we stepped into the room. I tried to pry my hand from his, but he held it tightly. I pulled a few more times and finally, compromising, he placed my hand into the crook of his elbow.

The man, Sasha, did not look up from the newspaper. “Morning.” He picked up his cup of coffee and sipped at it. Still reading the paper, his brow furrowed. “Where did you go off to last night? And where did you find my wallet? I didn’t realize I dropped it until Anika gave it back to me.”

“You didn’t drop it,” Lev responded. “Mina stole it.”

And my heart stopped.

What the fuck, Lev?

Oh, God. I was in trouble.

“Who the fuck is Mina?” Sasha uttered as he lifted his face. Spotting me, he looked me up and down before turning to Lev. “Any reason we’re discussing this in front of…whoever that is?”

Lev clarified, “Yes, and this is Mina.”

My palms began to sweat. I almost fainted dead away, but dug my nails into Lev’s arm to anchor myself.

“Ah. I see.” Sasha sipped at his coffee again before sneering at me. “Sit. Please.”

His please did not sound like a request, more of a command, and yet, he spoke softly.

My brow felt suddenly clammy. I looked up at Lev with wide eyes and whispered, “Is this a set-up?”

Looking down at me, he patted the hand at his elbow, pulled out a chair, and helped me sit. “Relax. We’re just talking.”

Sasha folded the newspaper and set it down in front of him. “So, Mina, is stealing wallets a habit of yours?”

“No,” I answered quietly through the thickness in my throat.

Lev spoke then. “You had seven hundred dollars in your wallet.”

Sasha glared at his brother. “I’m well aware of that fact.”

Lev reached over to the fruit platter in the center of the table, carefully took a handful of grapes, and threw one into his mouth. Chewing, he nodded toward me. “She took a single hundred.” He threw another grape into his mouth. “Left the rest behind.”

Sasha’s brow rose in a similar fashion to times I had seen his brother do it. He eyed me harshly. “Not a very good thief.”

Lev tilted his head to look over me. “Not a thief at all.”

“I see,” Sasha muttered as he absently scratched at his chin. “Okay, so why is she here?”

My brow furrowed. I didn’t like being spoken about as if I wasn’t even there.

“She’s staying with me until she gets back on her feet. I hired her. She’s the new bargirl. And what with her background, I’m hoping she’ll be able to spot trouble before it starts. She’d be assisting me.” Lev looked to his brother and laid it out there. “Mina’s homeless. She took the money because she was hungry.”

“I see.” But Sasha looked as though he didn’t. On top of that, he looked at me like I was a cockroach that needed to be squashed. He spoke directly to Lev, “You take responsibility for her. She fucks up, it’s your ass, moy brat.”

Lev looked to me. “She won’t fuck up. She has too much to lose.”

I wanted to protest. I wanted to explain that a person with nothing had nothing left to lose. But I kept quiet. This conversation was about me, not including me. Clearly.