Page 26 of Gangster's Empire: Leeza & Havel

“You definitely shouldn’t.” The two women exchanged a glance, which turned into a laugh. “Hit him as hard as you can and gloat over it. It’s not often anyone, let alone a woman, can go up against these guys and come out the other side unscathed.”

Havel was now arguing with a saleswoman. “You can scan it without fucking touching it.”

Leeza shoved her bags into Ayaan’s already full arms and hurried to intervene. She reached for the T-shirt, which was bundled protectively in Kris’s arms. Finding the tag, she yanked it off and handed it to the woman with a smile. “He doesn’t like to be touched.”

Havel frowned. “That’s what I said.”

Grin still pasted to her lips, Leeza replied, “It sounds different coming from me than it does from a tatted-up Neanderthal who grunts his demands with profanities rather than using full sentences.”

The saleswoman coughed and hid a smile as she scanned the tag, her face innocently neutral as she turned back to him. “260 Koruna, please.”

Havel paid for their items and they left the store surrounded by their bodyguards.

Kris was getting fussy and Leeza’s feet were beginning to hurt. “Can we stop somewhere for a drink?”

“Yes.” Havel opened the door, helping first Leeza, then Kris into the vehicle. “We’re going to Babi’s.” His eyes glittered like hard black diamonds as he closed the door, leaving her alone with a slowly creeping panic.

Babi was the last person on the planet she wanted to see. Leeza hadn’t been able to face the woman since the day she’d broke Babi’s grandson’s heart.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Leeza’s stomach was churning as she helped Kris climb out of the car. Shaking her head at herself, she squared her shoulders and stepped up to Havel. She’d had her stepfather kidnapped, shot two men while helping her mother escape an assassination attempt, and spent years honing her reflexes so she could handle any combat situation. A frail 93-year-old woman should not cause her this much anxiety.

Yet, here she was, sweating through her borrowed T-shirt.

“She’s not going to eat you,” Havel said, picking up on her mental state.

“I’ll eat her back if she tries anything,” Leeza replied with a bravado she definitely wasn’t feeling.

“Do that and I’ll be forced to eat you with extreme prejudice.”

Leeza couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of her. Leave it to Havel to make an inappropriate joke at a time like this.

She’d always liked Adeline Tsotsarov who was called Babi by her loved ones. Babi was a tough woman who doted on her last remaining family. It was why she made Leeza nervous. Leeza had rejected her grandson, and Babi was a fierce protector of those she held dear.

They approached the single-level dwelling and, as Havel hammered on the door, Leeza gazed at the house with a critical eye. “You can’t afford to buy her something better?”

“The only move she’ll make is after she’s dead. She raised four children and seven grandchildren in this house and refuses to accept any offers of something bigger or fancier. I’ve tried.”

Leeza’s face grew warm. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”

“I know,” he said bluntly.

A woman who appeared to be in her early forties answered the door, smiling widely. “I’m so glad you came.” Her smile became brittle when she turned it on Leeza. “Babi has been so excited for your visit.”

She stepped aside allowing them to enter. Havel instructed their security team to remain outside, which was a good thing as there wasn’t enough room in the tiny home for the entire group.

Leeza had been in the house before, first as a child stopping in for a treat whenever Havel brought her to the city for an appointment, then as a young woman hoping to marry Babi’s last surviving grandchild. Now that she wasn’t a starry-eyed girl who saw everything in the best possible light, she saw the home for what it represented. No amount of nostalgia could fix the place.

The main room housed a kitchen, dining room and living room while the back of the house contained two small windowless bedrooms. The walls and floor were stained with water damage and the appliances looked like they’d been there for as long as the house, which was probably around sixty years.

“Díte!” Babi excitedly pushed herself up from her chair to greet Kris, who stood clutching a robot toy Havel had bought him in a children’s store.

She'd aged since Leeza last saw her, which was eight years ago. Back then she'd appeared stronger, more solid. Now, her shoulders stooped, and her hair was thinner and whiter. She still dressed the same way though – a bargain bin dress, worn slip-on canvas shoes and the exact earrings she’d worn when Leeza last saw her.

Babi reached for Kris and Leeza flinched, warring with indecision. Kris hated when strangers touched him, but she didn’t want to insult the older woman, especially if Havel went through with his preposterous plan to marry Leeza. It would make Babi her grandmother too, and Kris’s great-grandmother.

Before Babi could grasp hold of Kris, Havel stepped in front of him and took his grandmother’s hands in his, bending to kiss her wrinkled cheeks. “Babi, it’s good to see you.”

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