"We aren't done with our deal until I say we are. I want one meeting with Hunter; you need to find out what will get me that."
My stomach sinks. The relief curdles into something colder. It feels like I've walked out of the fire and signed the papers straight down to hell.
But I have the Sterlings behind me. Gianna doesn't scare me, because she doesn't scare them.
"Okay. I can deal with that." I straighten my spine. "To be clear, I'm not working for you. I will find information, and I will relay it. My loyalty lies with..."
She smiles. "Ace?"
I nod. "Yes. With Ace."
"I can deal with that. I'm on their side. I don't want trouble with them. I want the Greeks gone."
There it is again. That pain. Flickering behind her composure like a candle she can't quite blow out. Her brother. The reason all of this exists. I can't help myself. I reach across the table and rest my hand over hers.
"I will do everything I can to deliver that man to you," I say.
The man who killed her brother deserves to pay.
She looks at me. And for a second, the armor drops. The red heels and the leather shorts and the cigarette smoke and the calculating eyes all fall away, and underneath is a woman who has been fighting alone for a very long time. A woman who might not have a single person in her life who looks out for her without wanting something in return.
"I don't want your money, either," I say.
"I called you smart, Harper. Don't make me take that back."
I laugh. "I'm doing this as a friend, Gianna. One day, I might need a favor. Or maybe just someone to get a cocktail with."
She's quiet for a moment. Studying me.
"What's it like?" she asks.
"What?"
"Being that deep in love that you're willing to step into a war. Quit your job. Leave your home."
I don't answer right away. I think about Ace. About the truck bed under the stars. About the way he buckles my seatbelt. About the way he saidI'll marry you, Goldieand made it sound like a promise that existed long before the words did.
"It's something I never want to lose again, G." I smile. "That's how good it is."
She gives me a soft smile.
"Go end your engagement. Get out of that trap." She stands. Adjusts her glasses. "Call me when you're back in New Falls. I'll handle Hudson."
“I need to make sure anything Hudson knows about Ace and his family is wiped from his brain, too,” I tell her.
She nods. “Easy. I can be persuasive.”
We both stand, and she takes a step toward me. I freeze as her arms wrap around me. A hug. A real one. She holds it for a beat longer than expected, and I feel something shift between us. An alliance becoming something closer to trust.
"Thank you," she whispers.
I hug her back. This woman, who runs a mafia family and wears red heels to a seven a.m. meeting, just gave me my freedom in exchange for a friendship she didn't know she needed.
"I might have an idea to convince Hunter to speak to you," I say quietly.
She pulls back. Straightens up. The armor slides back into place. The assassin returns.
“Do tell.”
