Page 26 of A Dangerous Proposal

Across the table, Alex leaned back in his chair, watching them with a strange glint in his eyes. He suddenly stood. “Let me take him so you can eat.”

“I’m used to it. It just takes longer. He’s not going to cooperate, and you’re going to end up with greasy fingerprints on your fancy suit.”

Alex reached for him, ignoring her warning. Jax settled happily onto Alex’s lap, rocking on his legs while picking up the scattered bits of grilled cheese in front of him.

“I think he’s done,” she said a few minutes later, and gestured toward the chair Alex had laid across the doorway to block Jax’s escape route. “You can put him down—He’s fairly well contained for a few minutes. If you ever give up the mob business, you should go into childcare. This has been nothing short of a miracle.”

His face hardened, the softness she’d just witnessed completely erased.

“You know nothing about my business.”

“That’s true,” she admitted slowly. “But I know what people say your business is.”

“People? You mean James Bloom,” Alex drawled. “That family is the definition of the adage ‘those in glass houses…’”

“Really?” Madison cocked her head. “James seems like a pretty straight arrow.”

Alex grunted. “Declan always said so, but I saw a different side of him this afternoon. He’s more like his older brother than he’d like to admit.”

Madison took another sip of her wine. “Did you look into me? After we met at Kip’s opening?”

His gaze burned steadily into hers, sending shivers through all of her nerve endings, and she noticed that he didn’t bother to deny it.

“That’s okay. I looked into you, too,” she continued with an arch smile. “Alexei Kovalyov,suspectedson of Anatoly Kovalyov… andpossiblybrother to the purportedpakhanof one of the largest bratvas in the US, based out of Atlanta.”

Alex’s lips thinned, but Madison was undeterred.

“Don’t get huffy. You know exactly what the internet says about you. Though I have to admit, there wasn’t as much as I wasexpecting, given what James said.” She smirked. “Then again, I imagine you have the resources to keep your reputation fairly clean. I don’t blame you. If I had the ability, I’d do the same thing.”

“How gratifying for me,” he drawled with narrowed eyes. “Am I the subject of your next podcast?”

She widened her eyes in mock surprise as a warm sensation spread through her chest, making her feel comfortable enough to tease him. “Are you saying there’s a cold case you’re responsible for?”

“If I told you, your season would be very short. Where’s the fun in that?”

“Good point.”

“I’m just a businessman, Madison.”

She made a face and gave him an exaggerated wink, which drew a laugh from him. The sound made her heart stutter—a wholly unexpected sensation. The sound was rough, as if he hadn’t laughed in a long time, and she knew she shouldn’t care that she was the one to bring the smile to his face…. But she did. She wanted to hear it again.

It’s official. I’ve lost my mind.

“My family has a bit of a checkered past, but my business is completely legal,” Alex said.

His admission surprised her a little. Everything she’d found on the internet only hinted at his relationship with the Kovalyov Bratva. There was nothing concrete, but Alex seemed readily willing to admit it to her.

“Your brother?—”

“Is not me. We live different lives.”

“But he’s your brother.”

“You don’t have family members who differ from you?”

Madison’s walls shot back up, and she straightened, pressing her back into the chair. She could see it in his eyes. He knew about Opal.

The sound of her phone broke the crackling tension.

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