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he
admonished.
    “Absolutely.”
    By the time I got off the call with him, I was reasonably
certain that Yuri was over his Henry II snit. Now I just had to hope he let his
henchmen and henchwomen know that I was back in his good graces.
     With that little matter taken care of, I was free to turn
my thoughts once again to Emma. Given what she’d done, I had to conclude that
she wasn’t short of either courage or initiative. That was just as well given
what life had handed her.
    I also appreciated that she hadn’t let me think I was
responsible for her passing out. Plenty of people I knew would have laid that
guilt trip on me without hesitation and looked to benefit from it. Instead she
showed every sign of being a genuinely decent person, just one in a really
shitty situation.
    Maybe.
    I couldn’t dismiss my lingering suspicions about her father
and whatever connection she might still have to him. Not to mention my
willingness to use her, if I could, to get to him.
    All of which made my physical reaction to her short-sighted
at best. Granted, I was a healthy guy in good condition and at twenty-eight, my
libido didn’t require much encouragement. But even so--
    What was it about Miss Emma Whittaker that had my cock
twitching at the mere thought of tying her up again and having my wicked way
with her?
    To distract myself, I made a few more calls. By the time I
was done, Isaac was pulling the car up in front of the address I’d given him.
Schaffer Realty had offices in a building just off Fifth Avenue. Heather
Schaffer had earned that, clawing her way up from a storefront in Rego Park,
Queens. She was as tough, savvy, and ruthless as anyone in the business.
    I respected that but I sure as hell didn’t like what she’d
pulled with Emma. Giving a desperate young woman hope when the sole intention
was to exploit her was low even by New York standards.
    But maybe I was wrong. Maybe Heather had been keeping her
warm, nurturing side under wraps all this time and was genuinely committed to
mentoring Miss Whittaker.
    I resisted the urge to look up on the chance that a pig
might be flying by.
    As it turned out, I had the timing down almost to the
minute. Just over an hour after she’d walked out of the apartment, Emma
stumbled out of the building housing Schaffer Realty.

Chapter Seven
     

Lucas
     
    My chest tightened with an emotion I didn’t care to
identify.
    Emma was pale and her lips were pressed together like she
was struggling not to cry.
    Damn.
    I love New York but there are times when I really don’t like
what the city can do to people.
    All the same, I didn’t think Miss Emma Whittaker would react
well if she caught me feeling sorry for her. Stepping out of the car, I put on
my best shark smile and waited until she saw me.
    When she did, she stopped, glared at me, and said, “If
you’re here to gloat, don’t bother. Nothing you say or do can make today worse
than it already is.”
    I straightened away from the side of the car that I’d been
leaning against and opened the door to the rear seat, hoping she’d take the
hint and get in.
    So softly that I surprised myself, I said, “Then how about I
see what I can do to make it better instead?”
    “You and your proposition?” She all but spit the last word.
    I ignored the dangerous gleam in her stunning blue eyes, and
said, “Sheath your claws, wildcat. All I’m asking is that you hear what I have
to say.” For good measure and because she still wasn’t budging, I added, “It’s
not what you think.”
    What I’d let her think because it amused me to do so. It
didn’t any more. She looked like she was holding onto her self-control by only
the thinnest thread.
    Before it snapped, I said, “Please, Emma. At least let me
give you a lift to wherever you want to go. If I haven’t convinced you to take
my offer by the time we get there, no harm done.”
    She hesitated long enough to make me think that she really
was going to turn me down. When she finally