Could I be that lucky?
“It’s because I love you,” he says, and my world falls quiet.
37
BRADLEY
Three days after capturing Harris and rescuing Zira, I sit with Damian in his office and watch as he pours himself his third Scotch in as many minutes.
“Bad day?” I ask casually as he tips the glass against his lips and drains it.
“Bad year,” he mutters. “Are you here to kill me?”
“Kill you?” My brows twitch. “Why would I do that?”
After a beat, Damian faces me. “I know what my General did was out of order. I never would have commanded someone to go after your life or the life of anyone connected to your organization. You’re all off-limits.”
“You sound jealous.”
“Of the protection you get by being you?” Damian snorts. “Not jealous. Admiration, if anything.”
“Are you sure?” I watch closely as he moves back to the large desk that’s too big for the room and almost dwarfs him when he sits behind it.
“Aye. I know how it works. I respect the Suit as much as any Captain or any of the other families. I admire your strength because this?” He motions around his room. “The shit with the Cartel? The families under me? Keeping our businesses afloat, dealing with offshore deliveries and customs and keeping everyone paid? I deal with one family, my own. You deal with everyone.”
“And yet your General saw fit to threaten me by trying to kill my driver and then me. I fail to see how that admiration or respect is being enforced throughout your organization.”
Damian pales slightly. “It is.”
“Is it?”
“You know it is. You think I want to waste time worrying if the Russians are going to kick down my door because I’ve messed with you?” He leans forward into his desk. “For every greedy family that wants to remove or fight the Suit, there are ten others happy to be making millions they otherwise wouldn’t stand a chance of seeing. So aye, it is.”
Only time will tell if Damian’s telling the truth, so I let it slide for now. There are much more important matters to be discussed than the state of his family. Steepling my fingers together, I study Damian over the top of them.
“Harris.”
Damian rolls his eyes. “That cunt.”
“Did you get what you needed from him?”
“Aye. He held out for a while, trying to convince us that the real mastermind behind everything was that girl you’re so keen on.”
It takes all my strength not to bristle at the ‘that girl’ comment and instead, I keep my expression calm.
“Kept saying she had all the diamonds originally and even tried to act like you were working with her to scam everyone out of a payout.”
I won’t even dignify that with a denial.
“But…” Damian sighs deeply. “He cracked yesterday. Took about seven fingernails before he did, but he gave us the location of where he stashed the diamonds and you’ll never guess where.”
“Where?”
“That apartment your girl used to stay in. Got the key from some guy called Peter and hid it all there. We recovered them all and with the files and information Raven provided, everything is accounted for. There’s a handful missing, but not enough to be a concern, and given how they were stored inside vehicles, I’m not surprised some went missing. But he’s all yours if you want him.”
“And the diamonds?”
Damian groans slightly. “They’re where they belong thanks to Valentina. Deep in the pockets of the Cartel with all their weapons safe in my stores. My men are running a quality check to ensure everything is up to code, but it’s safe to say I won’t be dealing in diamonds anymore.”
