He could think he had the privilege to tellmewhat to do, but that wasn’t how things worked around here. If he wanted to text me out of the blue, he could “discuss” this over texts too.
Speaking to him in person would give me more nonverbal cues, but I wasn’t ready to go back down to his territory yet. Not after the last time I was near his turf, when I was run off the road and ambushed.
Maksim:There are no changes to any agreement between our families.
Maksim:State your concerns about my wife and I will determine if they are worth my attention.
I set my phone down, wondering how long he’d wait to reply. Fuck his demands to come see him and talk.
The screen hadn’t locked yet, and three dots appeared, indicating he was replying.
That’s fast.
He must really want something.
But what?
Garcia:We need to meet.
Maksim:You are not and never will be in any position to dictate what I need to do.
Garcia:We should meet ASAP.
Maksim:Why?
I wasn’t bending to his will, but I wanted this to be a productive thread.
Garcia:Now that a child is on the way, it’s time for us to discuss operational concessions in the territory. This child is a representation and token of how strong the alliance is between our families.
“Thefuckit is.” I scowled at the screen. Contrarily, his “mistake” of that shipment and his act of befriending someone like Yusef Antonov were tokens of how poorly our alliance had gone.
Garcia:Now that you and my sister are clearly settled into your marriage and expecting, it is past time for us to discuss more details about business in the area. Where can we expand our routes? What else can we procure for you and deliver? How much more are you willing to increase your purchases within this quarter?
I fumed, staring at the questions he probably had drafted ahead of time.
Garcia:This is why we need to meet. To discuss what else we can do through our business alliance.
He was really reaching now.
The fact that Carina and I were having a child had no bearing whatsoever on any trade agreement our fathers had made. Arturo arranged for me to marry his side with not a single page of a contract stipulatinganythingabout what would happen after the wedding. Not a word.
Carina was mine.
Our child would be ours.
And that was the sum of how things would be.
“Bullshit.” All that he wanted from me was intel. He was fishing for details, not looking for more peace. Realizing that Arturo would forever be a threat now, I exhaled a long, harsh breath.
Maksim:No.
I left it at that.
Short and simple.
Direct and to the point.
No.
