Page 73 of Gangster's Empire: Leeza & Havel

“If I can’t get my hands on a real target, yes.”

Leeza tried to turn toward her bodyguard, then stopped as dizziness swamped her. "Stand still," she slurred. "I'm talking to you."

"I am standing still."

"Oh. I was going to ask you what you did to relax. It can't be all combat all the time.”

“My idea of relaxation also includes explosive devices.”

“Wow.” Leeza stared at her with blinking eyes.

Ayaan shrugged. “It’s all I’ve ever known.”

Leeza reached for Ayaan’s shoulder, accidentally patting her breast. “That sounds sad. I’m sorry you had a sad life full of guns and explosives.”

With a small laugh, Ayaan removed Leeza’s hand from her breast. “I’ve had a perfectly good life.”

“Do you need a hug?” Leeza swayed toward her.

“Nope.” Ayaan stepped back, thrusting a well-timed Saskia into Leeza’s path.

Leeza gripped her sister around the neck. “I’m so sorry you’ve had a sad life.”

Saskia gripped Leeza back. “Yeah, you too.”

The two sisters hugged it out, lamenting their sad lives.

“Okay, you two, let’s get back to the VIP booth before the boss has a fit.” Ayaan glared at a couple of guys who stumbled too close to Leeza on their way to the washroom.

“Oh right,” Saskia exclaimed. “Yolanda bought another round of tequila for the table and I ordered a glass of red wine for you. I know it’s your favourite.”

“You’re the best sister… a sister can have.”

Ayaan gripped each sister by the arm and ushered them back to the VIP area where several women filled the booths. Most were old friends and distant family.

Anne was there as well, though she spent most of her time scanning the club for someone. Havel, Leeza assumed. Babi’s companion nursed her drink, sipping occasionally while declining to join the others when they did shots and made their way to the dance floor.

It pained Leeza to see Anne waste her time over a crush that would go nowhere. She wanted to shake the other woman and tell her to wake up. Havel didn’t love her and he never would. Not only because he loved Leeza, but because Anne was not his type.

To put it generously, Anne was a homebody. She wanted someone to cook and clean for, but Havel didn’t care about those things. Less generously, Anne was whiny, jealous, and judgmental, and Havel didn’t have patience for any of those characteristics. Which was why he would never look twice at his cousin.

It was Leeza’s bachelorette party and she wanted to have fun, which meant no more dwelling on her dour soon-to-be cousin-in-law. Pulling a face at the thought, Leeza grabbed Saskia and Ayaan and hauled them out of their chairs. “Let’s dance!”

Ayaan groaned, but Saskia sped onto the dancefloor, flinging herself into the music. Leeza danced and watched her sister with affection. Saskia threw her entire being into everything she did, and she did it effortlessly. It was like she danced her way through life to music only she could hear.

After hours of dancing and a few more tequila shots, the building pressure in her bladder had Leeza rushing off the dance floor. She glanced over her shoulder to see if Ayaan was following but the other woman was quickly swallowed up by the crowd.

Oh well, Havel had bodyguards everywhere, their eyes following Leeza’s every move. She wasn’t worried that anything would happen while she peed; she was worried Ayaan would chew her out for peeing alone. But she really couldn’t wait!

She stumbled into an empty stall and released her screaming bladder. She wiped and flushed, then washed her hands. As she made her way out of the washroom, a crowd of clubgoers surged down the hall, pushing her toward the open back door. A rush of cold air hit her and Leeza groaned, swaying towards it.

She squinted at the crowd. There was a guy walking in her direction who looked like Halil, one of Havel’s best mercenaries. She decided she was 70-ish percent certain it was him and 90-ish percent certain he would say yes to her going outside for some fresh air, and those odds were good enough for her.

She moved down the hall, blending into a crowd of laughing people.

“I love your dress!” A woman exclaimed to Leeza.

“Thanks!” She grinned. “My fiancé hates it.” She remembered how he’d had his hands all over her. “But he also loves it.”

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