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“At first, she came for intel on The Crusaders,” he admitted. “She wanted to find anything she could that would end this war without risking the lives of her husband and child.”
I rolled my eyes. “She was willfully naïve, that girl. Bonnie knew what she married into and when the reality of it became too real, she wanted to change things.”
It was why I set up this little meeting with the kinky priest in the first place because I needed a favor.
“Maybe, but she was struggling. Asked for painkillers several times.”
I laughed. “And you didn’t give them to her?” I shook my head and took a sip of wine. “What a missed opportunity, Bishop. You could have gotten her hooked and sold her to one of your perverts for a pretty penny.”
He didn’t appreciate my joke. His nostrils flared and his eyes darkened in anger. He couldn’t stop that chiseled jaw from grinding his teeth into dust, either. “Maybe that was part of my plan.”
“Doubtful,” I snorted and took another sip of wine. “That’s the one thing Bonnie wouldn’t have done, and we both know it. So tell me, Bishop, what did you do for her?”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Mostly, I listened.”
“Really? And what did you learn, Dietrich?”
“Not much, Sadie.” He swirled the last of the burgundy wine in his glass before pouring it down his throat with a satisfied sigh. “Only that your son, Calvin, was hacking into some of the alphabet agencies which could get him serious time in federal prison. She wanted to know how to get out of town without you knowing.”
“That bitch.” I shook my head. I knew she was up to something, but I would never have guessed she had it in her.
“Oh yeah,” he replied, suddenly all smiles. Very fucking amused. “She had a big hate-on for you in particular. Besides Calvin, she wanted the whole family to go down so she and her family could be free of the Ashby syndicate. She wanted my help, and in exchange, she was willing to give me some clandestine info on your family’s operation.”
I scoffed. “Bonnie didn’t know shit about my business.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Coy doesn’t suit you, Bishop.”
“Doesn’t it?” He flashed a sexy smile that I felt in places I shouldn’t, momentarily distracting me with a burst of…something. “I know a lot, Sadie. More than you want anyone outside your organization to know, and worse? I have proof.”
Proof. That word had echoed in my head for a full sixty seconds. Proof. What the fuck kind of proof did he have? How did Bonnie get access to anything concrete? Not even Calvin was dumb enough to trust her with intel that private. Was he?
Shit. It was that moment of doubt, of uncertainty that would lead to Mueller’s downfall.
“Would you be willing to turn over this proof? For the right price?”
He let out a deep chuckle, but his eyes filled with the kind of heat I recognized as blatant lust. “Hold up, you invited me here for a reason, and I want to know what it is.”
“Bonnie. I need her taken care of. The sooner, the better.”
“Then that’s two things you need, Bonnie gone and the flash drive she gave me. So, that means two separate payouts. Right?”
I knew at that moment that Mueller would end up dead. Not because I had some deep need for revenge, though I did, but because I would pay what I had to in order to get rid of the Bonnie problem. But there was no fucking way in hell Mueller would give up that flash drive for just anything. I wouldn’t. “Name your price then.”
“You know what I want, Sadie.”
Yeah, I knew exactly what he wanted, and as distasteful as it was, I would pay the price. It was no different than Colm using me and my body to pay off debts he couldn’t afford. No different than him convincing me that the best way to learn the whoring business was from the ground up.
This time was different. I would spread my legs for Mueller because it suited my interests. After all, I couldn’t be the one to kill Bonnie. And I needed this.
“Yeah, I know what you want, Mueller. I know exactly what you want.”
He gave one sharp nod. “Glad we understand each other.”
“Me too.” I finished off the bottle of wine with a satisfied sigh. “I know a place nearby. Let’s go.”
The hotel was a step above a shit hole—barely—but the pink and teal bedspread was clean, and that was all that mattered for this transaction.
“Undress,” Mueller barked a breath after he locked the door behind us.
I knew the drill here. I couldn’t show any emotion, and I wouldn’t. I would never give any man, especially this one, the satisfaction of knowing my true feelings.
“You want me naked or you want a show?”
