Our next hurdle waited near the entrance—Lorne, my father’s fixer and business partner. His grin was predatory, just as deadly—even with a woman clutching his arm. She was eye candy. Decoration. He barely noticed her as he caught sight of us crossing the room, as if he’d already scented blood. Dark eyes that always held promises no one wanted to know danced with unwelcomed mirth as they shifted from me to Mila.
“Lorne.” I drew his focus back to me, but only briefly.
“And this must be Mila Callahan.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “You have your mother’s eyes. I hope they’re finally seeing clearly.”
I moved without thinking—angled my body, hand settling at Mila’s hip, not blocking her but making the boundary unmistakable. “Careful,” I growled.
“Always.” Lorne laughed, white teeth flashing briefly before he sobered, his gaze drawn to whoever approached over my shoulder.
A commotion sounded behind us. A flurry of greetings. The air thickened. Lorne’s presence shifted from—what for him—was playful to menacing. The voice I heard just behind us told me exactly why. Charles Dunn—Elise’s father, the man behind Dunn Industries, and one of the few men who operated on my father’s level—had arrived.
I shifted so Mila and I weren’t caught with our backs to him as he approached, all pit bull intensity and barely restrained force. His polished suit couldn’t hide the menace. His stunning wife clung to his arm, eyes slightly unfocused.
When Dunn was a few feet away, he paused and then lifted his glass. “Luke. Good skate last weekend.”
“Thank you.” I kept my mask in place. He was the last necessary hurdle we had to endure.
His gaze moved to Mila. The smile stayed polite. The eyes did not. “And this must be Mila Callahan.”
Mila stiffened against me. I stepped in before she could respond. “And my girlfriend.”
“Your mother’s been helpful too, hasn’t she?”
He was digging—using Mila to do it.
That did it. With the last of the big players notified, we were public now. A dark sense of satisfaction rolled through me despite the blood already in the water and the sharks circling.
“Of course.” Dunn’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “That must be why you’re here.”
Adriana appeared at Mila’s side. “Good evening, Mr. Dunn.” She plastered a polite smile on her lips. “Mila and I were just heading for a drink. Excuse us.”
I looked at Mila, the question clear in my eyes. The strain around hers gave me pause.
“I’ll be right back.”
My thumb brushed her hip as I let go—a slow, deliberate promise.
I watched them move toward the bar before I turned back to address Charles Dunn, noting that Lorne and his date were conveniently turned away and engaged in another conversation.
Dunn stood beside me as though he’d always planned to be there. Power hummed off him, quiet and lethal.
“Luke.” He lifted his glass. “I’m surprised your family supports your new relationship.”
I held his stare without flinching. “You know them well enough to predict that?”
A corner of his mouth twitched. “I’ve been around long enough to notice patterns.” His eyes flicked—not to me but past me. Toward Mila. “You tend to choose… complications.”
I followed his glance deliberately, just long enough to make it clear I knew exactly who he meant. “Mila isn’t a complication.”
“Isn’t she?” Dunn asked mildly. “There’s more to Adriana Callahan than you realize. More to her daughter too. People don’t disappear from Blackwood without leaving carnage.”
Something cold churned in my gut.
“If Adriana Callahan has skeletons,” I said evenly, “you’d know better than anyone. She works for you. As her employer, spreading rumors would be unprofessional.”
Dunn laughed softly. Not amused. Appraising. “You think this is rumor.”
“I think,” I said, leaning closer, “that if you have a problem with my girlfriend or her mother, you should address it directly. Otherwise, we’re done here.”