Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57707 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57707 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
“You know why I’m here,” he says.
“Raffie didn’t mention,” I reply, trying to keep my voice level. “All I know is that they want to force me to work with you—a man who drugged two innocent women.”
He laughs cooly. “Don’t throw accusations around now. We’re friends, remember? Let’s talk business.”
I wave a hand. “Talk, then.”
“You understand by now that you’re part of this thing.” His confidence makes me sick. I want to punch that grin off his face. My fresh cut should be enough to remind him they don’t call me “the Marine” on the streets for the hell of it.
“You got that, don’t you?” He clicks his tongue, then winces, like he’d forgotten he’d hurt it.
“What thing?” I grunt. “I do my own work. I run my own business. I’m my own man.”
“Yes, yes, sure. Most of the time, but since you made such a mistake last night …”
“The mistake was I refused to fight three kids. One of them was a girl. Do you have any idea what would’ve happened if I was some psycho? If I did what they wanted for the cash? Those poor kids didn’t stand a chance.”
“Yes, I know, quite the sob story. I mostly remember the part where you punched me, buddy. That’s ancient history, though.”
“Raffie,” I say, opening and closing my bruised hands. After a fight, the ache goes right down to the bone. The pain melted away slightly when I was in the office with Maya. It’s wild how often I’m thinking of her. It’s like I can’t help it sometimes.
“Mr. Trentini is a … political man.”
“Those dramatic pauses don’t jive with the whole tongueless bit too well, bud,” I say dead pan.
“How amusing,” Carlo says.
“You drugged two women, fuckhead.”
“Don’t be dramatic. We were having a good time. Everybody was.”
I step forward, forgetting everything, the plan, and what I agreed upon. “You dosed them with Devil’s Breath. That little smirk tells me you’ve heard of it, haven’t you.”
Carlo rolls his eyes, seeming determined to be detached and suave. “Let’s go along with it for a second, then. Let’s say I breathed like the devil over two young ladies. Let’s even say I was going to bag one of them. You know the one …” He dramatically looks around. “She’s here, no?”
I grind my teeth. It shouldn’t bother me as much as it does. I almost tell him he’s read too much into my behavior toward Maya. But after the closeness, the kiss, and that last one, hot damn, I’m not so sure.
“Not for a while,” I say.
“What could you do about it?” he sighs, shrugging. “If I did all that, friends of ours talked, and they decided that I get to run the game on this spot. You can’t do a thing.”
“What game?” I snap.
“You don’t need to worry about it,” he says. “Just give me the keys to the storage shed out back.”
“If you’re moving stuff on my property, I’ll at least lay eyes on it myself.”
“No can do, amigo.” He grins. “Raffie didn’t decide this. This went up the chain. You can say no if you want. I can tell the Trentini Family, ‘I’m sorry, but Tristan Greene refuses to let me use his storage shed.’ How would that go?”
“Is it guns, drugs, what?”
“You ask a lot of fucking questions,” he snaps, pushing away from the wall and walking right up to me. He’s far more confident than hours before. Now he’s got the Family backing; he has reason to be. “Just get me the keys. In the meantime, where’s Maya? We didn’t get to finish our date.”
When I slam my hand down on his shoulder, his whole body shudders. I lean down and look him right in the eye. I’m not thinking about my connections, Raffie, or that I should play nice, nothing but her. “Your friends give you some privileges, but if you touch Maya, I’ll rip your goddamn face off.”
His mouth falls open, and then he slowly shakes his head. He must see my absolute fury—my willingness to break his bones.
“Get your hands off me,” he whispers.
“Are we clear?”
“I’m not interested in her, anyway,” he says with a huff.
I shove him away. He stumbles back, then brushes down his leather jacket. I can tell he’s thinking about whether or not to make a big deal out of it as he stares at me. Then he flashes a forced grin. “You can have her. Just get me that key by Friday night next week.”
“If you’re getting a delivery, I’ll be there.”
He grunts. “Don’t push your luck.”
I stare at him. After a long pause, he waves a hand. “I’ll check with the bosses, asshole.”
That’s fine. He can call me anything he wants just as long as he doesn’t say anything about Maya.
Once he’s gone, I sit at my desk. Tank calls a minute later.