Page 36 of Gangster's Empire: Leeza & Havel

“Saskia.” Only her sister would care enough about fashion to do such a good job of choosing Leeza’s wardrobe without her input.

In one of the drawers, she found a pair of silky black shorts and matching camisole and slid them on, shivering as the silk touched her skin.

When she emerged from the closet, Havel was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Thought you fell asleep in there."

Leeza's eyes slid over Havel's perfect form. He was naked except for a pair of black briefs. His gun and knife were on the night stand next to him. Everything about him screamed sex and violence.

Leeza made her way to the other side, tentatively crawling beneath the sheets and hugging the side of the bed. She watched Havel over her shoulder as he stood and walked to the door, his ass flexing beneath his underwear. He hit the light switch and darkness shrouded the room.

“Can you please leave the door open?” she asked. “In case Kris needs me.”

She heard the door creak as he pushed it open a little more.

The bed dipped as he slipped under the covers. Seconds later, his snores filled the room. Leeza turned to face him.

She envied his ability to set his worries aside and fall asleep quickly. Perhaps it was a survival mechanism. Exhaustion would slow his reflexes and could get him killed in the field.

Rolling onto her back, she stared at the ceiling until his soft, even snores lulled her into sleep.

What felt like only a few hours of sleep later, Leeza was rudely awakened by a sharp slap on her rear that had her flying up in the bed, fists flailing at her attacker. Havel stepped away from the bed and out of reach, his eyes glinting with amusement while his expression remained serious.

“Time to get up,” he said in his deep, gruff voice. “Tutor’s going to be here in a few minutes.”

“Tutor? What tutor?”

But he was already gone, the door closing behind him.

She sighed as she stretched her arms. She hadn't slept for that many unbroken hours in a row since… well, since she was young and carefree with nothing to keep her awake at night.

Hopping off the bed, Leeza strode to the closet where she chose a conservative but flattering black dress that would hug her curves. It had short, capped sleeves and went to her knees. She paired it with a yellow leather jacket for a flare of colour.

As Leeza stepped into the bathroom, it was like she'd entered paradise. The bathroom she remembered was gone. In its place was marble - the walls, the shower, the bathtub. Splashes of tangerine on the bathmat and ornamental lilies relieved the white. It was beautiful.

Smiling, she stepped into the shower, turning the water to hot. She didn’t enjoy a shower unless it was skin-pealing hot, and she’d been unable to find a shower with good enough water pressure to meet her needs these past few months.

Life didn’t look so bleak now that it was a new day and the sun was shining. She felt safe.

After the shower, she dressed and headed into the living room just as Havel was ushering someone into the apartment.

“Oliver!” she exclaimed, rushing toward him. Relief at seeing Kris’s previous tutor had her grinning. She’d grown close to Oliver over the years. He cared about her son in a way that touched her heart. Kris was going to be thrilled.

She lifted her arms to hug Oliver, but Havel snatched her wrist and pulled her against his side. She side-eyed him. Goodness, the man was becoming possessive fast.

“It’s very good to see you, Mrs. Horácek,” Oliver said in his neat British clip. “How have you and Krystoff been holding up?”

“Please, call me Ms. Koba.” For now, she added silently. She could only imagine what the man knew about what had passed at the mansion. He’d likely been told to stay away for a while as Jozef and Havel sorted through the fallout of the takeover. “Kris and I have been doing very well, thank you. We just got back from a wonderfully relaxing vacation in Sumatra. I’m sure Kris will tell you all about it.”

Havel’s hand landed heavily on her shoulder and she had to force herself not to wince as his fingers squeezed. He said to Oliver, “We’ll be out for most of the day. If you need anything, text one of us.”

Leeza felt her face grow hot as Havel spoke for her, planning her day without her input. The urge to remain silent, as she’d practiced her entire life, competed with the urge to elbow him in the chest and tell him to fuck off. She stepped away and smiled tightly at Oliver. “Why don’t we go see Kris and arrange for some lunch for the two of you?”

“Our housekeeper starts at ten. She’ll make lunch,” Havel said, staring mildly at her as she rounded on him, her lips pressed together. Was he testing her to see how far he could push? How much he could take over her life without an argument?

Her mother had taught her never to show emotion, and certainly never to argue in front of the hired help, but Leeza was about to break the cardinal rule. She was about to rudely inform Havel what he could do with their new housekeeper, but a sound caught her attention.

She turned to see Kris rush out of his room and hurtle toward Oliver. Unable to resist his sleep-mussed hair and his excitement, Leeza’s expression softened and she let Havel’s presumptions about their household routine go. She could deal with him later. For now, she was going to enjoy the sight of her son greeting his favourite tutor.

Kris stopped short of flinging himself at Oliver, instead excitedly signing a mixed-up collage of sentences. We went on a big trip and my mom got me chocolate for my birthday and I hid in a hole in the floor, but it was just a game. Grandpa K-R-Y-S-T-O-F-F is in heaven and so is grandma, which is sad, but mom says we’ll see them again one day when we’re really old. Grandpa V-A-S-I-L-I-Y is still alive and we got to visit him. Want to see my new room?

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