Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Dimitri snorted. “Niko and his mother planted them. I’ve considered having them torn out, but it’s not been a priority.”
This man really needed to die.
We sat on a bench in the garden. It was suffocatingly hot and absurd for us to be out here. Was he hoping I would agree to anything he said just to get out of the heat? He was a fool if he thought I was that weak. I’d spend my whole life in South Louisiana; the heat was part of me.
While I waited for him to start the business conversation, I clasped my hands together and ran my thumb over my still-sticky skin. What would he say if he knew his son’s cum was decorating my hand?
He’d try to kill you.
He wouldn’t succeed.
“You want the weapons we have, but you’ve yet to name a fair price.”
I raised my brows. “I stand by my offer. It’s solid. You’re overly optimistic in what you expect to receive.”
“Your cousin won’t get these weapons from anyone else.”
I shrugged. “I can think of several men who could supply me.”
“Not at the volume we can. Or as quickly.”
That was unfortunately true. “I’m not prepared to raise my offer.”
“Then I suppose you’ll walk away empty-handed. Unless…”
“Unless what?” My expression remained neutral as I held his gaze, but my heart was pounding. What the fuck was he going to ask for now?
“My wife doesn’t know it yet, but things are over between us,” he said. “I’m filing for divorce.”
That was hardly a surprise. They hadn’t lived together in years. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“You have a lovely cousin, Teresa Anne. If you bring her to me and arrange for our marriage, you can have the weapons you require and more in the future.”
Rage burned through me. He thought I was going to sell my cousin for some fucking explosives? He was out of his mind. I flexed my hand, fighting the need to punch him.
“Never make a proposal like that again. I take it as a personal insult to my extended family. The women in my family are not for sale.” Tessa was younger than Nikolai. She’d only turned eighteen last month, but no matter how old she was, I would never let this man put his hands on her.
“It’s a shame that you feel that way. I thought you actually wanted to bargain.”
“I wanted to negotiate a sale.”
He sighed. “Surely you’re not naïve enough to think money is the only currency.”
“It’s the only currency I’m offering you.”
“If you understood the connections I’m making, you wouldn’t feel that way.”
He was blustering. I had connections throughout the underworld in southern Louisiana, and my cousin Remington was the undisputed king of New Orleans crime. Nothing happened without him knowing about it. Dimitri was an arrogant fool, and it was going to get him killed. He’d be lucky if I wasn’t the one to do the job.
He must have realized I was unimpressed by his bragging because he began the negotiations like I’d expected. “I’ll give you half of what you asked for the price you’re offering.”
According to Remington, Dimitri needed this deal. He was hurting for cash, and what Niko had said about him needing money corroborated that. I wasn’t going to agree to anything so low. “Ninety percent.”
He huffed. “Eighty percent, but that is an outrage.”
“Done.”
He held out his hand for me to shake, and it was all I could do not to laugh. I’d infiltrated his house, fucked his son, and now he was shaking my cum-covered hand.
“Come back in for a drink.” Dimitri didn’t mean it as a suggestion, but I refused anyway.
“No, it’s time for me to leave.” I’d gotten what I’d come here for: information, more weapons than I expected for the price, and Niko as a bonus. Somehow, though, I didn’t feel as triumphant as I should.
“Good evening, then. You’ve got three days to deliver the money.”
“I’ll contact you.” I walked away. I didn’t like turning my back to him, but I had no intention of letting him know that.
7
LORENZO
When I got home, my younger brothers were waiting for me. “You said you weren’t going to stay long,” Dante said.
“You’re always saying you don’t care about the family business, so why are you even here?”
“I’ve got to keep this one from destroying the place.” He gestured toward Rafe, the baby of the family.
“When are you going to stop treating me like a fucking child?”
“When you stop acting like one,” I said. Rafe was a fucking mess. I had to admit he was doing better running the family’s casino than I expected, but I paid off a hell of a lot of people to push his antics under the rug. Dante and I were both worried that one day we wouldn’t be able to save him from himself.
Rafe rolled his eyes. “So did you make the deal or what?”