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“Logan! You remember Paris’s father, Judge Alderson. Have a seat here! We are just waiting on Paris. She seems to be running late, too. Speaking of tardy, have you seen my daughter?” I round the corner just as Diana chokes out the word daughter in a falsely, cheerful tone.
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world, Mother,” I drawl out slowly, disgust laced in my tone. I can’t help it.
She won’t ever be my mother. I used to pray for Lorrie to show any type of motherly love for her child, but I stopped dreaming a long time ago. Diana brought me into this cruel world, but she doesn’t mean anything else to me. I could probably meet a stranger on a train who would show me kindness, which she has shown me in the short time we’ve interacted.
She sneers at me, her deep red lips curling, before she straightens her expression into something false, since Judge Alderson clears his throat awkwardly.
“Judge,” Logan says in a bored tone as he addresses the balding man next to Diana, “I’m sure Paris will be joining us very soon.”
Logan’s voice sounds a little too sinister as he drops the cooler on the floor next to his chair by Franco, and it takes a lot of effort to not grin at the inside joke. Diana swallows nervously as her hands flutter in her lap, and Franco’s wine sloshes on the table as he places his drink down a little too hard.
“Sit down, now. We were just having a conversation about the new shipment coming in soon. Alderson haspulled some strings and assured me that a few witnesses have come forward and won’t be saying anything after all.” The double meaning in Franco’s voice isn’t hard to figure out. Any witnesses who talk will be silenced by any means necessary.
I saunter over next to Logan as he pulls out the chair for me, his lips brushing my temple with affection once I’m seated. I peer across the table at Alderson to see the sour expression crossing his face, his beady eyes behind his glasses glaring at me. I can only imagine Logan touching me in any way that is going to make Alderson angry. He probably has plans for Paris and Logan, wedding bells, and popping out babies just so he can be on Franco’s good side.
I wrinkle my nose at him but grin as I trail my hand down Logan’s arm once he sits beside me. I want Judge Alderson to know that I’m oh so painfully familiar with the man sitting close enough to me that my hand disappears under the table to grab the hard thigh and climb higher.
Logan doesn’t say anything. His expression is stoic, but a glance down shows me the little game I’m playing makes him deliciously hard. I gaze up from under my lashes with a sly smirk at the judge and love how red his face gets in his barely contained rage.
“One moment, Franco. We can’t start dinner without my new partner. It’s rude to talk about business behind his back. Dom. Please, do join us.” Logan’s voice comes out bored, as if he’s talking about the weather instead of one of his father’s rivals.
I peek over my shoulder with a grin as Dom strolls into the room, as if he owns the place, his arms casually clasped behind his back as he surveys the scene in front of him. His eyes are heavy-lidded, slowly drifting his gaze over Diana, Alderson, and, lastly, Franco. If I didn’t know him andunderstood the way he likes to observe people for their weaknesses, I’d almost say he looks entirely unbothered for being a target in a room of people who hate him.
“What the fuck?" Franco shouts, his chair scraping back as he starts to stand and grips a steak knife in his fist. Except Dom puts a stop to a raging Franco by leveling a gun at his forehead.
“Now, now. Is that any way to treat a guest?” Dom clicks his tongue and shakes his head at Franco, like he’s a great disappointment for behaving rudely. “Logan. I’m starting to see why you were a complete ass the first time we met, but you’ve really grown on me. At least you have some manners. Obviously, you must have gotten those from your mother.”
“What can I say? Once you start fucking the same girl, you end up finding out you have a lot in common with the enemy.” Logan sloshes the red wine glass he stole from Franco and sips it like he doesn’t have a care in the world.
I’m impressed. He can act so nonchalant and appear bored while everyone else is practically sweating in their seats. Who will kill who first is going around the table as we all stare at each other with shifting, untrusting eyes.
“I knew when I let you into my house that you would only cause trouble. You couldn’t turn out to be anything but a slut. Being raised by bikers only leads to your thighs spreading,” Diana directs at me as she pretends to clutch pearls around her neck, her voice laced with disgust.
“You would know, wouldn’t you, Diana?” I sneer back at her, flicking my gaze up and down at her as if she’s filthy. “I didn’t have a choice about who ended up between my legs, but at least I didn’t beg for it. Especially when your husband was eating my pussy like he was starving. Funny, I didn’t ask for that either.”
“How dare you talk to me like that? You're nothing butan unwanted whore and always will be,” Diana screeches like a banshee, her ridiculous blonde hair not moving as she whips her head over to Franco. “Are you going to let her talk to me that way?”
Franco hasn’t looked away from Dom the whole time. His forehead is damp with sweat, and his eyes are bloodshot with rage.
“Shut the fuck up, Diana,” Franco hisses between his teeth, glancing over at his wife out of the corner of his eye with a warning look to behave or else.
Diana huffs and clenches her fists on the white silk linen covering the table. I shift my gaze to Alderson, who hasn’t made a peep since Dom entered the room. He looks like he’s seconds away from the grave, his complexion grey and his breathing harsh.
“I no longer recognize you as my son. You're dead to me for being a traitor,” Franco says in a low voice, but for some reason he doesn’t look so surprised by this outcome; he has pure anger in his eyes.
“You already knew,” I state, staring pointedly at Franco as he turns to look at me.
“You were all foolish and naive to think Jin doesn’t have eyes and ears everywhere,” Franco says smugly, his expression causing a shiver down my spine.
“You are the fool, Franco. My mother doesn’t have peace because of you. She’s rolling in her grave at the man you’ve become. She wouldn’t recognize you, and I almost lost myself because of you. This whole time you’ve been blind, letting Jin whisper into your ear like the devil.” Logan slams his fist on the table, causing the fine china to rattle as he grabs the rolled-up file out of his suit jacket and throws it in front of Franco on the table.
Franco glances down and back at Logan before slowlypicking up the file, opening it with what I can only describe as apprehension on his face as the blood drains from his cheeks.
“You can't—you have no right to threaten us! I am a judge! I’ll have you all thrown in jail, where you’ll never see the light of day again.” Alderson raises his voice with each threat, but his hands shake on the surface of the dining table, giving away his fear.
“People always think that money will give you power, but that’s far from the truth. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a big part. However the real thing that makes men quake in terror at your presence is not being afraid to do what is necessary to rise to the top. My hands are covered in blood, and my men's hands are covered in blood. They follow me because I’m not scared to get my hands dirty. I must say that Tey has a wonderful way of showing everyone that he is something to fear. For example… Logan?” Dom smirks at Franco but addresses Alderson the whole time before flickering his eyes at Logan with a nod to the cooler.
“Ah. I almost forgot Tey’s thank-you gift for hosting dinner. He’s sorry he couldn’t make it but hopes this centerpiece is enough to show how much he regrets not making it.” Logan’s honeyed eyes darken just like his voice, downright sinful and with a hint of glee.
