He folds his hands in front of him. “Adriana. I must admit, I didn’t expect this invitation.”
“Well, technically, I didn’t inviteyou.”I flash a tight smile, keeping my hands flat on the table. “But here we are.”
“Yes. Here we are.” His eyes sweep over me and a chill shuttles down my spine. “You killed several of my men.”
“To be clear, your men were trying to killme.And for the record, my brother-in-law killed most of them. I was tied to a chair at the time.”
A half-grin lifts his lips. “Fair point.”
“Look, let’s cut through the bullshit, Alexei. Your uncle made a deal with Eamon Molloy and Vincenzo Solitano. Since then, Eamon disappeared, and Vincenzo is dead.” I force a smile. “And I’m still standing.”
He nods, a hint of amusement in his gaze. “So you are.”
“I didn’t come here to threaten you or to start a war with your bratva. I came because I think we can find terms that work for both of us. I don’t need to tell you that it’s in both of our best interests to find a peaceful solution here.”
He leans back in his chair and holds his hands out to me. “I’m listening.”
“The Kozlovs wanted access to DiMicheli distribution networks. Ports, trucking routes, contacts in customs. Eamon promised you’d get all of that through this alliance.”
“He did.”
“I can give you some of it. Not all, though. I’m not handing over my family’s entire operation. But I can offer you access to two of our port contacts and shared use of three trucking routes. In exchange, the Kozlovs back off. No more attacks. No more attempts on my family. We coexist together here.”
Alexei watches me, his piercing gaze making me shift like a bug under a magnifying glass in the hot August sun. “That’s a lot less than what Eamon promised us.”
“Eamon promised you things he couldn’t deliver. Things he had no rights to. I’m offering you things I do control.” I sigh. “Neither of us wants a war. It’s expensive, it’s messy, and it will catch a lot attention neither of us need. It will make us weaker to our other enemies, as well. If we agree to move forward with this plan, everyone walks away with something.”
“What about Eamon Molloy?”
“I don’t give a damn about Eamon Molloy. He betrayed his own sons and took off on them. The Molloy brothers want him dead as much as you probably do. If you find him, he’s yours.” I smile. “And please do your worst.”
Alexei chuckles softly. “So much potential…” He drums his fingers on the table for a minute or two. And then, “I’ll need to discuss this with my uncle.”
“Of course. I’d expect nothing less.” I pull a business card out of my bag and slide it across the table. “You have forty-eight hours. After that, I’ll assume Viktor did not want to accept the deal and we will prepare for what comes next.”
He takes the card, looks at it, and tucks it into his jacket. Then he stands up. But I stay in my chair.
“You’re not what I expected, Adriana DiMicheli.”
I shrug. “I get that a lot.”
“We’ll be in touch.” Then he turns and walks out, his men jumping out of the booth and rushing over to him.
I sit alone at the table, rigid against the back of the chair. I hold my breath as he disappears into the back of a blacked-out Range Rover parked outside.
It expels from my lips, shaky as hell, once the Range Rover pulls away from the curb. I bite down on the inside of my mouth and twist my ring.
Holy shit. That could have gone a very different way.
A very deadly way.
A smile toys with my lips. The Kozlovs underestimated me.
They didn’t know my actual title is Adriana Colonna, Badass Boss Bitch.
And now, the countdown begins.
CHAPTER 34
