Page 129 of Hard Bargain

Cassian wiped his hands on a napkin. “If you’re good with it, I’ll set up a meeting. You and the suppliers still sitting on the fence. You talk to them directly, no doubt they’ll fall in line. You should meet the ones already committed too, but that’s less urgent. Just say when and I’ll handle the rest.”

Dominic nodded. “Good work.”

Cassian’s mouth twitched, satisfaction flashing there. “Yeah, well. Someone’s gotta keep things moving while you’re…” his eyes flicked briefly between Dominic and Knox, “...occupied.”

Dominic didn’t rise to it.

Knox suddenly seemed very interested in his breakfast, though. His attention dropped to the plate in front of him and stayed there. The color creeping into his face wasn’t helping.

Cute.

For fuck’s sake.

For a moment nobody spoke. There was only the soft clink of cutlery as the three of them sat in the kitchen eating breakfast like it was an ordinary occurrence.

Dominic’s gaze moved to Cassian. Entirely at home in a way only Cassian could be. They had too much history for anything else. Their loyalty no longer needed words because it had been proven a hundred times over.

Then there was Knox, sitting at his kitchen island, in his shirt, eating food Dominic had made. Somehow he’d worked his way into Dominic’s routines, and now he was everywhere.

Dominic sat there watching him and questioned every decision that had led to this exact moment.

Not because he regretted them.

Because he didn’t.

* * *

The next day, Cassian sat in the passenger seat with one arm hooked lazily against the window, but he wasn’t relaxed. Dominic could feel it in the way his attention kept shifting, like he was waiting for the right moment to say something.

It was late enough in the day that traffic was slowing down. The meeting had gone exactly the way it needed to. The last of Mercer’s suppliers had folded—some quicker than others, but they’d all come around in the end. Dominic had the stability and the reach that Mercer didn’t. It hadn’t even been a real choice.

Mercer was finished. Just a matter of time now. Dominic should have been focused on that, but instead his mind kept circling back to Knox. He hadn’t brought him along today. Didn’t need the distraction. He’d sent him to Mendez instead. Mendez had been short-staffed, people calling in sick, and Knox was more than capable. It would keep him busy. More importantly, it would keep him out of Dominic’s head.

That had been the idea at least.

“You’re quiet,” Cassian said.

Dominic didn’t look at him. “Meeting went fine.”

“Yeah,” Cassian agreed. “It did.”

Silence stretched between them.

“So,” Cassian went on, tone shifting just enough to matter, “how serious is this?”

There it was.

Dominic glanced at him. “How serious is what?”

Cassian exhaled. “Don’t play stupid. Not this time. You know exactly what I’m asking.”

Dominic’s fingers tapped against the steering wheel before going still. “I’m fucking him.”

It wasn’t an answer, not really, but more than he’d intended to give.

Cassian studied him and nodded slowly. “Yeah. I figured.”

The silence that followed was heavier.