CHAPTER 47
Jo
“My name is Jocasta Larvin. Your boss has been dying to meet me for a very long time.”
The bodyguards at the gates, fully alert, radioed the news. Voices transmitted back and forth through their devices until the gates buzzed open. Then, after searching me for weapons and wires, they each held me by the arm and escorted me in.
The mansion was tucked away in a forested corner of North Houston. The grand entrance accommodated at least a thousand guests with gorgeous gardens, an ample, circular driveway around a majestic Italian fountain and glorious, European antique fixtures.
When another bodyguard opened the front door, decadent marble floors greeted me and led to an incredible reception with stunning stairwells and chandeliers. “Wow. Is this a rental or did they buy the whole thing?”
With a stone face, the bodyguard just glared at me.
“It is a rental.” A man in his late thirties, wearing a light gray suit, came down the hallway. “For now.”
“I believe this is about to change…Don Lanza.”
“I believe so, too.” Smirking, he took my hand, and then he kissed the back in a greeting. “Piacere.”
My body ached as if bitten by a snake. “Is there a place we can talk?”
He nodded at the bodyguard holding me like a prisoner to let go, and then Enzio Lanza gestured for me to walk with him. I might as well be walking to my own self-dug grave, but I did it anyway.
We arrived at a cozy room that overlooked one of the gardens, and he offered me a seat. He sank in an armchair and crossed his legs. “Would you like something to drink?”
“No thanks.”
“Where’s Furore? I thought when I finally had the pleasure to meet you he’d be with you. He’s been keeping me waiting for a while. My wife was pretty upset when you declined our invitation to our son’s party.”
“I’m sure you and she understand we couldn’t make it.”
He stared at me with piercing eyes, leaning forward, the skulls and thorns on his wrist poking out. “I must admit it was very clever. Was it your idea? Like it is your idea to come here today?”
“Furore is my husband, Don Lanza. We’re a team. A family. His word is mine. Rest assured whatever I say here it’s binding for him as if it’s coming from his own mouth.”
“And what is it you’ve come to say, Jocasta Larvin?”
“We want to make a deal.”
“I’m listening.”
“It’s pretty simple. The Larvins in exchange for the South.”
His jaw flexed, and then he chuckled. “You want me to betray my new ally?”
“You’ll get another one.”
“Furore?”
“The Night Skulls. They’re all you need to open the new market you aspire for in the Southandkeep your ongoing business in Europe.”
He squinted at me. “Keepit?”
“If you start a war against the MC here, do you think the other global chapters will do business with you?”
“When I win, yes. They’ll have no choice.”
“Unless they find a replacement.”
