Page 20 of Hard Bargain

Dominic held his eyes for a moment longer before giving the smallest nod. A silent order to approach the table.

The walk over felt longer than it should’ve. The other men noticed him now, their attention sliding over him one by one. The man to Dominic’s left looked unimpressed. Another regarded him with a lazy sort of menace, as if measuring how much trouble Knox could be.

Dominic’s attention didn’t waver. “It’s done?”

Knox nodded. “Yeah. Delivery made.”

Dominic said nothing. The silence stretched long enough to make Knox wonder if he was expected to say more, explain himself, justify something.

He didn’t. If Dominic wanted more, he could ask.

A chair shifted. “Rivera,” one of the men said, leaning forward with a smirk, “you recruiting kids now?”

A few laughs circled the table.

Dominic didn’t even glance at them. “Sometimes new blood works out,” he said, still watching Knox.

Knox kept his face neutral, didn’t react or look away.

After a moment, Dominic leaned back, the pressure easing just enough to breathe. “Wait over there,” he said. “I’ll be done shortly.”

Knox stepped back without argument, retreating toward the edge of the gaming floor where the shadows were thicker and he could observe without being watched quite so openly.

His gaze kept drifting back to Dominic. Not just because caution told him to keep track of the most dangerous man in the room, but because it was impossible not to watch him. There was something magnetic about him. Even surrounded by men who looked capable of violence, Dominic stood apart. No one interrupted him. No one challenged him. He never needed to raise his voice; the authority was in the way he carried himself. Even when he smiled, it wasn’t warmth so much as promise—of danger, of power, of something Knox couldn’t quite name but felt drawn to all the same.

He wondered if he was the only one who saw how easily Dominic could shift from charming to lethal in a single breath.

A few minutes later, the meeting broke apart. One by one, the men disappeared into the casino, leaving Dominic alone at the table. He rolled his shoulders, then lifted a hand and crooked a finger. It was such a small gesture, and still unmistakably a summons.

Knox crossed the distance. By the time he reached the table, he had his expression under control, his shoulders loose, whatever nerves remained buried as deeply as he could force them.

Dominic watched him, dark eyes intent. “Sit.”

Knox slid into the chair opposite him. Up close, the effect was worse. The control was simply there, settled into his posture. “You handled yourself well tonight,” he said.

Knox let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “I did what you told me.”

The corner of Dominic’s mouth curved. “Did anything feel off?”

“You mean besides the gun?”

Dominic didn’t react. “Go on.”

Knox shook his head, anger flashing before he could suppress it. “He shoved me and put a gun against my ribs. The other one just stood there. Waiting. Like it was completely normal.”

Dominic nodded, like none of that surprised him.

Knox let out a disbelieving breath. “You knew that was a possibility?”

“They’re distrustful,” he answered. “And a little unstable. New faces make them nervous.”

Knox just stared at him.

“I knew they wouldn’t like seeing you,” Dominic continued. “I didn’t know how they’d react, but this isn’t out of character for them.”

That did it. Knox’s expression hardened. “So you sent me in blind?”

Dominic held his gaze, unbothered. “It told me what I needed to know.”