Unwilling Pawn by Measha Stone

Chapter 3

Amelia

Every year my uncle Konrad rented out one of the dinner cruise ships on Lake Michigan to celebrate his wedding anniversary. Depending on which wife he was currently married to, the party could be held any time of year.

Out of all the parties my father forced me to dress up for and accompany him, my uncle’s party was the only one I looked forward to. My father would be so wrapped up in trying to outperform my uncle for the crowd of people, that Maggie and I could hide away in one of the lesser used decks with a bottle of champagne and whatever appetizer platter she swiped on the way up.

Maggie found me the moment I boarded the Odyssey, breezing up to me and my father and dragging me away.

“Excuse us, Uncle Kacper. Important things to see to.” She waved a hand at my father and tugged me to the stairs leading us up to the second level.

“Don’t hide all night, Amelia,” my father called.

“Don’t hide all night,” Maggie mimicked him. “Like he’ll even remember you once everyone arrives.” She led me through the deck and into the large party room. A buffet was already spread out for the guests on this level, but as the ship wasn’t full yet there were no guests.

“Oh, he’ll remember.” I unraveled my arm from Maggie’s and looked out the window at the massive city on the other side of the pier. Once we pushed away from the dock, the city would become just a series of lit speckles against the dark sky. But now, while the sun was still setting, the orange and pink hues cascaded around the skyscrapers, giving the city a majestic appeal.

“Is he putting you on display again?” Maggie asked, picking a strawberry from one of the platters.

“Always.” I breathed a sigh. “Where’s Charity?”

Maggie made a face and rolled her eyes. “My father’s fourth wife is downstairs mingling with her guests. She spent three thousand dollars on her damn dress for tonight and my dad said she better make sure everyone sees it for what he paid. Like that somehow makes it worth it?” Maggie took another strawberry. Charity was only seven years older than us. She and Maggie came to an agreement after the wedding a year ago, that they would stay away from each other to keep the peace in the house.

“That reminds me.” She snapped her fingers. “You remember that guy you told me about?”

I turned from the window. “Christian Kaczmarek?”

“Yes. Him.” She smiled. “He’ll be here tonight. Him and his brother.”

“Why?” An instant tingle shot through my nerves.

“I don’t know. He works with Dad, or his cousin did? I’m not sure, I heard Dad telling Charity that they were taking over for their cousin. Whatever that meant.”

I leaned back against the wall. “There’s going to be a few hundred people here tonight. I’m sure I won’t even see him.” And I shouldn’t want to. The man had danger written all over him.

The doors opened and guests began to pour into the room from the outer deck. Maggie came to stand beside me.

“Oh, you never know.”

“Maggie, he’s dangerous.”

She leaned her head back. “I know.”

“How do you know?” I asked, recognizing that tone in her voice. She was keeping something from me.

“I’ve heard stories. People talk when they don’t know I’m there. Which is pretty much all of the time.” Maggie made it her mission to stay below the radar. It made holding onto her freedom easier. A lesson I should have learned from her.

“Here you two are.” My father broke off from one of the groups. “Maggie, your father is looking for you. He wants to do a welcome announcement.” He gestured toward the door. “Better hurry. The ship is about to push away from the pier.”

Maggie’s shoulders dropped. “I’ll be right back.”

“Shouldn’t you be there as well?” I asked him when he took her spot beside me and leaned his hip against the window ledge.

“No one will miss me yet.” He took a sip of his drink; the ice clanked against the glass. “You were away from the house all afternoon. What were you up to?” he asked, doing his best to sound casual, but I could hear the underlying interrogation.

“I went to the community center for a few hours,” I explained. Twice a week I gave piano lessons for kids who wanted them but couldn’t afford them.

“You didn’t take anyone with you.” He took another sip of his drink, hiding his irritation in his glass. The center was west of us, not the best neighborhood I would admit, but I didn’t need a bodyguard to teach piano to grade school kids.

“Your men draw attention. It’s better I don’t have anyone with me. I go in the middle of the afternoon, and there’s security at the center. You worry too much.”

“You don’t worry enough. What if someone saw you?”

I raised my brow. That’s what he was upset about; not my safety, but the optics.

“They would think you raised a decent human being for a daughter,” I shot back at him.

“I’m sure they can get someone else to teach those kids. You shouldn’t waste your time.”

I clenched my jaw. The room had filled while we’d been talking and too many would hear me if I snapped at my father.

My uncle’s voice piped through the speakers and the room fell silent as he welcomed everyone to the celebration. I pretended to listen to his prattle about devotion to his wife and family, but I was scanning the room for an exit strategy. Maggie would be up soon.

During my last sweep, my eyes locked on a pair of dark eyes at the entrance. It was him. Christian.

He stood half a foot over the crowd around him, another man nearly his height, stood behind him. A heated tremor ran down my spine as he took his first step in my direction. The sound of my uncle’s voice was drowned out as my heart pounded in my ears. I pressed myself closer to my father, bumping into him.

“What’s the matter…oh.” He stood to his full height and waited for Kaczmarek to get to us.

“I should go meet Maggie.”

“No. Stay put,” my father whispered harshly. The man was already close enough that he’d notice me duck away. It could be seen as a direct snub. Something my father was dead set against ever doing.

“Dudek.” Kaczmarek inclined his head toward my father, taking his eyes away from me and letting me breathe.

“Christian. Lukas.” My father shook their hands in turn. “Let me introduce my daughter, Amelia.” He flattened his hand on the small of my back and pushed me forward.

Christian’s gaze captured me again. “We’ve met before, actually.”

“Oh?”

“Last weekend, at the alderman’s party.” Christian raised his hand to my cheek, sliding his finger down to my jaw. “A piece of hair stuck to your lipstick,” he explained when I froze beneath the titillating touch of his finger.

“Thanks.” I brushed my hand across my cheek to be sure there were no other flyaways.

“Have you been on the Odyssey before?” My father turned the topic to the ship hosting the party. “You’re not from Chicago, if I remember.”

“No,” Christian said, keeping his eyes on me. “My cousin preferred Chicago. I like New York.”

“I was sorry to hear about Piotr. My condolences.” My father feigned sympathy as well as any other man of status. Did anyone have an honest conversation among these people? Could any statement, compliment, or endearment be believed?

“Thank you.” Christian glanced at my father briefly before returning back to me. “You need a drink.”

“Oh, no, I’m fine—” My father pushed his elbow into me, cutting off my words. “But thank you.” I tried to recover, but a shadow fell over Christian’s features. He noticed my father’s actions, and he didn’t seem pleased.

“Some water at least.” Christian cupped my elbow and gently led me away from my father’s side. The man with him stayed behind, instantly breaking into a conversation with Dad.

“I’m really okay, but thank you.” I tried to peel my elbow away from his touch, but he closed his fingers around my arm. It didn’t hurt, and he was still being gentle, but there was a definite warning about the gesture.

He led me across the massive room to the bar at the far end, overlooking the lake. The ship had left the dock and already the city was becoming a sea of lights as the sun fell from the summer sky. He released me once we were at the bar.

“I’ll have a whisky straight, and a glass of ice water.” He retrieved several dollar bills from his wallet and stuffed them into the tip jar on the bar.

I glanced over my shoulder, looking for Maggie. My uncle’s speech was over; she should be coming for me now.

Christian handed me the plastic cup of water and gestured toward the door.

“It’s nice in here.” I tried to turn his attention to the party. “Charity spent a lot of time decorating.” Rather, she spent a lot of money for someone else to decorate, but I wasn’t going for accuracy points at the moment.

“It’s quieter outside,” he said and touched his hand to the small of my back. I glanced toward my father who seemed enthralled in his conversation.

“Maybe for a minute,” I caved. Maybe if I just humored him for a moment, he’d realize I wasn’t his type and he’d go away. Not that I was an ugly duckling. I worked out regularly and I mostly watched what I ate, but this man didn’t seem to be someone who wanted an ordinary woman on his arm. This man could snap his fingers and have super models fall at his feet. Several beautiful women turned their heads as he passed through them toward the outer deck. The looks they gave me were less generous.

Once we were outside, the scent of the lake surrounded my senses. The breeze blew through my hair, cooling my heated face.

Christian led me to a secluded spot on the deck, away from the prying eyes of anyone inside.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” I asked once he seemed settled on where he wanted to take me. I faced outward toward the lake, not sure I could hold his gaze, I focused on the city getting further and further away from us as the boat cruised along the lake.

“I was glad to see you when I arrived.” He balanced his drink on the flat railing. “Though your cousin whisked you away so fast, I couldn’t greet you.”

“Greet me?” I looked at him sideways. “For what?”

“Because I wanted to continue our talk. I did tell you we’d finish our talk the last time.” He slid his fingertip along my cheekbone, gathering and pushing my hair behind my ear.

“We weren’t talking,” I pointed out, then took a sip of the cold water. My insides were warming with his full attention on me. It wasn’t something I was used to, and I wasn’t sure I liked it.

I hated when girls fumbled over their words and went brain dead over a good-looking man, and there I was mirroring the same behavior. It was unacceptable. I would just need to figure out a way to keep my head around him.

“Your father, he’s an important man in this city,” he said, his New York accent showing through. I’d heard him speak Polish at the party, but he didn’t carry a Polish accent.

“He thinks so anyway.” I took another sip of my water. “I actually don’t know much about his business. So, if that’s what you want to talk to me about, there’s no point.”

“Sebastian Gorecki,” he said the name as though it cut into his chest. “I’ve heard a rumor he’s interested in a romantic relationship with you.”

I blinked a few times at the rapid pace he changed topics. At least he was blunt.

“I’ve heard the same thing.”

“He’s older than you.”

“So are you,” I pointed out, though I doubted he was much older.

His lips twisted up at the corner, like I amused him. “You’re not as fragile as I thought when I first encountered you.”

“You tried to scare me. I’m not scared.” I finished my water and turned as though I would go back inside.

“Maybe I’ll talk with your father. Maybe I’ll ask for your hand instead of Sebastian.” He spoke as though he were taunting me, checking to see what sort of response he could get out of me.

“Why would you do that? You don’t even know me.” Not that it really mattered, I knew that. My mother hadn’t known my father until a day before their wedding. Sebastian Gorecki recalled my name, but that was about all he knew about me. These marriage arrangements had nothing to do with the people being arranged.

“Both of my parents passed away years ago, my uncle passed, and recently my cousin died. My brother and I are the last Kaczmarek men on my grandfather’s side. It’s time I took a wife and started a family.”

“Took a wife? You make it sound so romantic.”

He arched a brow. “Do you like that sort of thing? Romance and flowers and all that?”

My mind blanked. I didn’t, no, but is that something I should say? Would that deter him or give him more ammunition?

“I like honesty and sincerity.” I answered, straightening my stance.

He stepped closer, lifting his hand to my cheek. “We agree on that,” he said running his hand to my chin. “I think you’d be a good wife for me.”

Fire erupted in my chest. A good wife? For him? Did I have nothing more to offer anyone besides the ability to create children? I’d watched my mother’s marriage to my father. I wanted more. I deserved more. I may not get to marry the love of my life, but I would at least marry someone who saw me as something more than an object.

“I’m not an item you can just call my father and buy, Mr. Kaczmarek.” I rolled my shoulders back. Taking a step away, my heel caught on a nail sticking up from a plank and I tumbled backward. The plastic cup went flying, but I was saved from hitting the deck by Christian grabbing hold of my arms. He pulled me back to my feet and sought out the offending nail.

“Thank you,” I breathed, flattening my hand to my chest. My heart banged against my ribs.

“Are you all right?” he asked, returning his attention to me. He grabbed hold of my shoulders and turned me around, checking me for any injury.

“I didn’t even fall. I’m fine.” I tried to push his big hands away from me, but he wouldn’t relent until he’d checked me completely.

“You could have broken your neck,” he growled, a fierce frown tugging on his lips.

“It was a trip. I tripped,” I laughed. “Are you always this overprotective?”

He brought his heated gaze to mine. “I always protect what’s mine.”

A shiver ran through me, making me step away again. It was too much, too intense. The power of what he said, it shot through me. He didn’t mean that. He couldn’t. I didn’t even know him.

“I think Maggie is looking for me.”

“I’ll be talking with your father soon, Amelia. I expect you to be there when I do.”

“You shouldn’t bother.” I checked my footing then turned. I needed to get away from him. “I’m not interested.” Before he could say something or do something that would make me stay near him another second, I hurried around the corner where more guests were lingering. Finding the door, I threw it open, checking quickly to see if he was following me.

He stepped out from the corner, bringing his drink up to his lips as he watched me flee.

I needed to find Maggie and I needed to get off that damn boat.