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“Good girl,” he whispered, his soft lips meeting mine, tongue prodding at the seam of my lips. The kiss was intimate but only lasted a moment.

“We plan to blow up the Bratva and Yakuza,” Caleb stated nonchalantly.

Wow. That was one way to get a meeting going.

Gregori blinked back in surprise. Whatever he’d thought Caleb would say, it wasn’t that. Hell, I hadn’t predicted that, either.

“You’re going to blow them up?” he questioned, fingers drumming on the arm of the chair. “You know I sell them drugs, not explosives.”

Niko chimed in from where he once again stood, flanking Caleb. “We’ve got the explosives covered. We need you to get them to the warehouse we rigged with explosives when we give you the go-ahead.”

“Because the heads of those organizations always come to check the new product,” Gregori responded, understanding in his tone as he shifted to lean forward in his chair. “And what do I get for my cooperation?”

“You get control of the drug trade in the city. The percentage breakdown will be seventy-thirty.” Gregori nearly choked on Caleb’s answer.

“All of the city?” His expression was one of surprise. All they were currently allowed was to sell to the Four Families, and they got a fraction of what the shit sold for on the streets.

Fingers trailed up and down my black pants. The touch was gentle, like he wasn’t aware he was doing it. For whatever reason, that idea caused my heart to squeeze. I gripped Caleb’s hand in mine, interlinking our fingers. There was no way to focus while he drew those lazy circles on my thigh, reminding me of the circles he made with those same fingers on my clit.

“Except around schools,” I said, uncaring about what the three men thought about it.

“That includes the high schools,” Kenji added.

My head snapped to him in surprise. That was more generous than I’d even hoped for.

Gregori nodded in agreement. His expression was excited. Clearly, he was happy with any deal other than the one they currently had.

Caleb relaxed. The stiffness I’d been too distracted to detect melted away. “Good. Continue your business as usual. No one but your most trusted knows about our deal. Understand?”

“Of course. Business as usual until you tell me otherwise,” Gregori stated, pushing up from his seat and extending a hand to Niko before doing the same for Kenji and Caleb.

“Mrs. Callahan.” He held his hand out to me last. A gesture normally left for the person in the position of power. I quirked an eyebrow at his decision, and he laughed. “These three are lucky to have a partner as competent as you are. Is the cleaning fee still the same?”

His question confused me at first before understanding hit me like a freight train. He’d figured out I was involved with his father’s hit. Clients got an invoice labeled cleaning fee.

Words lodged in my throat, and I bit down on my cheek, giving him nothing but a slight uptick of my lip. He straightened; an easy smile snapped into place, as if the interaction hadn’t even happened.

“Boys, mind getting rid of this one for me? He’s been a pain in my ass since I had my father killed,” he asked over his shoulder before walking out the door and shutting it behind him without a second glance at Ivan’s prone body.

Kenji clapped his hands together. “I’d say that went well.”

CHAPTER 26

KENJI

ORDER ME AROUND, BABY

Three days had passed since the night down in the office. We’d all been trying to navigate living and working together. Caleb was pissed that Scar had managed to hot-wire her way out of the apartment, but the glaring flaw in our security couldn’t be ignored. So he’d hired her to change it out. Along with all the other areas she felt needed upgrading.

The three of us watched her like fucking creeps as she lay in the elevator with her tiny shorts and oversized T-shirt and soldered wires together. There was a rotating donation of men’s shirts that made their way onto her bed when she wasn’t in there. The room was starting to look more like her own. Caleb had a desk delivered and two additional monitors hooked up so she could work out of the apartment.

Jealousy had briefly zinged through me when she walked in to find his gift. She looked at Caleb with an emotion I hadn’t seen from her up to that point—affection. The jealousy lasted only a second because I wanted her to look at Caleb like that. Niko too. But more importantly, I wanted her to look at me like that. And I was hoping the time we’d get together tonight would provide that opportunity.

Niko had a retrieval job tonight, and Caleb was staying to keep watch over the club, so it was going to be Scar and me making the rounds. I crept into the apartment, keeping as quiet as possible. Scar was probably snooping around, trying to figure out as much as she could about us. Or maybe she was putting bleach in our body wash. But the place was silent. Apprehension crept up my spine when I called out her name and she didn’t answer.

The kitchen and living room were empty. I knocked on her door. Nothing. I rushed in with my katana drawn. Blue eyes popped up from behind a laptop screen, with a Sig pointed at me. She set the gun back down after she registered who I was, pulling off the silver headphones covering her ears.

“Hey, Kenji, what’s up?” she asked, her tone light and chipper, as if she hadn’t been ready to blow a hole in someone.