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I wasn’t right for her.
I wasn’t good enough for her.
We were from different worlds.
And we should stay in different worlds.
I turned the engine back on, and without looking at her again, I pulled onto the road and drove away. I gripped the steering wheel and refused to glance in the rearview mirror to see if they were walking out of the gallery and to her apartment. I focused my gaze straight ahead, leaving the past behind me for good. “Goodbye, Vanessa.”
Fourteen
Carter
I looked at the schematic of the new model I’d created. The design of the exterior was just as important as all the gadgets under the hood and inside the vehicle. From the special formation of the leather seats, to the impressive technology with the touch screen, people wanted the kind of car that both impressed and pissed off others at the same time.
I was sitting at my desk in my office, in my home situated just outside of Milan. I was in between the city and Verona, having a few acres to myself and a home surrounded by fortifications to keep the people I didn’t want to see off my property.
I lived under the radar, not because I had anything to hide; I just didn’t like people.
Anyone, really.
I like cars, sex, and booze. That was my well-rounded life.
And I liked it.
Conway had settled down and taken a wife. With a baby on the way, he’d turned into a family man. I’d seen him fuck three women at once. I’d seen him live in the shadows as well as I did, belonging there without question. But now he’d completely flipped, washing his hands of his past and taking on a new identity.
At least he was happy.
A domesticated life like that would never make me happy. I lived my life just the way I was behind the wheel, always going at full speed. Instead of slowing down and avoiding my obstacles, I liked to swerve out of the way and hope for the best.
I’d never take a wife.
Shit, I wouldn’t even take a girlfriend.
My parents never gave me shit about it. Carmen was a beautiful woman, and she would definitely give them grandkids. She was my saving grace, taking that kind of attention from my parents so they would ignore me.
I didn’t think Conway made a mistake. Sapphire was exquisite, and since she had a special quality that obsessed him, she seemed to be a good match. And she didn’t seem to care about his billions either.
But I still couldn’t believe it happened.
I was a bigger asshole than my cousin, rough around the edges in a way he never was. I didn’t think before I spoke, and as a result, I pissed off a lot of people. But that was fine with me. I preferred to be transparent, so people would know exactly what they were getting from me. They didn’t have unrealistic expectations.
Carter Barsetti was cold, ruthless, and a bit of an asshole.
My phone rang on the desk, and I paused with my schematic to check the number. It was a number I didn’t recognize, from a country code somewhere near Russia. Just because I didn’t recognize a number didn’t mean it wasn’t important. I took the call. “Carter.” I kept looking at my drawing of the new model, only giving half my attention to the phone call.
“Egor Sokolov. Nice to meet you, Carter Barsetti.” A heavy Russian accent came over the line, naturally formidable.
That name didn’t mean anything to me. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m glad you asked. My younger sister was taken by the Skull Kings. I’ve been told you’re the only person who can recover women in this circumstance.” For a man who’d lost his sister, he didn’t seem choked up about it. He spoke with a pragmatic tone, like we were discussing what kind of paint job a car should have. Most of my clients were either panicked or somewhat emotional. I’d heard grown men cry over the phone as they begged me to save their daughter.
“I used to be in that business. I’m not anymore.”
Heavy silence fell, the kind that was full of explosive disappointment. “I’m sure you can make an exception.”
I made a promise to my father, and I was the kind of man that kept promises. “I’ve been out of the game for a while. Too much liability. I’m sorry about your sister but—”
“Name your price.”
I’d never heard a man make that kind of offer. “I’m really not—”
“Any price.”
I sat back in my leather chair, my eyes narrowing on nothing in particular. I squeezed the pen in my hand, my nostrils flaring with hostility. “Interrupt me one more time, and see what happens. I’ll fly over there to the wasteland you live in and shove a pistol up your ass and pull the trigger.” No one came to me and asked for a favor then turned around and interrupted me. That shit wasn’t going to fly.
