view of the street where cars passed by and inside the restaurant where everyone was eating. Those antique mirror walls outside were two-way mirrors. We could see everyone dining in the restaurant, but no one could see us. That’s cool.
Seated at the head of the table was Stefan and seated to his left was Jamie. Both looked dashing, dressed to the nines in their tailored suits. Standing guard along the far back wall and near the entrance were two more goons. Seated to Stefan’s right was an older gentleman in his late fifties. I didn’t know who he was, but as I took in his white chef's jacket, I had a good guess.
Stefan and Jamie both stood when I entered, and the older man followed suit.
“Maura, you look beautiful,” Stefan greeted and stepped away from the table to meet me halfway. He embraced me with a quick hug before planting a kiss on my forehead. I tensed slightly with the sudden show of affection but quickly recovered and forced myself to relax. It was going to take time for me to get used to him doing that.
Circling his arm around my back, he ushered me over to the older gentleman. “Adrian, this is my daughter I was just telling you about. Maura, this is Adrian, the executive chef of this restaurant.”
Adrian gave me a smile and held out his hand. I placed my hand in his and he covered it with his other hand before shaking it gently. “Your Papa is right. You’re stunning,” he said with a thick Russian accent. I thanked him in his native tongue and his smile grew.
“Vy govorite po-russki?” he asked. Do you speak Russian?
I smiled back at him. “Da.” Yes.
That seemed to please Adrian. He started firing off in Russian at Stefan about how I was not only beautiful but smart and that he should be proud. Stefan smiled genuinely down at me before he replied in English, “Yes, I’m very proud.”
“I must get back to my kitchen. Please, enjoy my food and yourselves,” Adrian said before leaving. I took the seat Adrian had vacated at Stefan’s right. We were all looking over our menus when our waiter came in with some appetizers. He asked me for my drink order. I noticed the men were drinking whiskey and ordered the same.
“So what’s the occasion?” I asked. They both looked at me then at each other. Jamie stayed silent, sipping at his whiskey.
“Does there have to be an occasion to go out to eat?” Stefan answered with a question.
I found that suspicious. “That doesn’t answer my question.” Both stayed quiet. I glanced at Jamie, who was refusing to look at me. He took a big gulp of his drink and kept his eyes down. I turned my attention back to Stefan. He was purposely acting obtuse. “We don’t go out for dinner. You don’t like to unless it’s a special occasion or business. You always said it was too risky,” I explained.
“I didn’t like to take the risk when you were younger. You’re not a little girl anymore and less vulnerable if anything were to happen.”
I could sense he was telling the truth and as much as it warmed me to hear that, in a small way, his explanation left me feeling patronized.
Deciding to let it go, I looked back down at my menu and stated, “I believe I was promised chocolate cake.”
Jamie chuckled at that.
“You can’t just eat chocolate cake, Maura. After dinner, we’ll get some,” Stefan admonished.
“I wasn’t planning to. I’m getting a big juicy steak and garlic fries. I was just reminding you about the cake.”
The waiter returned with my drink and took our food orders. While we were waiting on our food to come, we drank, nibbled on the appetizers, and interacted with small talk. It was nice, actually, and I was kind of glad Stefan dragged me out.
Our food arrived shortly after that. It looked so delicious and succulent, I might have drooled a little. With my steak knife and fork in hand, I was getting ready to cut into my steak when the door to our private dining room opened suddenly. In walked a big, dangerous-looking man, dressed all in black and obviously armed, followed by a similarly dressed, dangerous man, and then another.
An uneasiness spun into a ball in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t know these men, and with one look at Stefan and Jamie, I could tell they didn’t either. Our three goons standing around