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Grigore stood in a huff and made about as graceful an exit as Tatum had. I hoped they didn’t kill each other if they crossed paths outside.
Once the door clacked shut, I allowed a moment to pass. It was like a window had opened in this oppressive library, stuffed full of Baroque furniture like an estate sale at an English country manor.
I rubbed my hands and started, “Blood bonds are the backbone of every family. Between clans, where those bonds of blood and birthplace do not exist, there is trust. You, Clara, clearly have little trust in us. And that’s understandable. Our recent ambition seems to have come out of nowhere, having been in this country for decades, and yet we never bothered to venture west of the Hudson River. I might explain that we were busy solidifying our power base, and it took that long before we felt comfortable extending beyond our known territory. But we’re here now, and we aren’t going anywhere.” I paused meaningfully. “I want you to be cognizant of that one pertinent fact. We are here to stay.”
Her shoulders went back. “Is that a threat?” she spat out.
“No, no, it’s not, but it is a reality, and one that you must accept.”
I steepled my hands over the arms of the chair as I had seen Alex do, time and again. “To do that, I suggest you learn more about us. Come to New York for six months. You can live with my mother and grandmother. You can get to know us. Perhaps after some time spent in our world, seeing us as living, breathing human beings, and not monsters that indiscriminately kill rivals or intrude on other people’s territory, you’ll come to understand more of who we are. And who we are is not necessarily your enemy. We have lucrative treaties and contracts with other clans. We’ve built a network that crosses continents. We know how to play nice, and we can benefit you because, believe me, you’d rather deal with us than another clan. We aren’t the only ones with an eye on California. Sooner or later, a foreign group will arrive at your doorstep.”
I purposely avoided Simu’s death. It would do no good bringing it up, even if it was the elephant in the room. We could work on that issue when she lived among us. His death was tied to Grigore’s influence over her, but separation from him coupled with spending time with us might naturally resolve it.
“You sound so sure of yourself, but not everyone is greedy like the Lupu clan,” she retorted.
“It’s not only greed that motivates people to look beyond their own territory. It’s expansion and growth. You’ll see. Once the Hagi clan matures, it will happen to you. Aligning your family with a powerful clan is the way of the world, and no clan is as powerful as ours,” I replied calmly.
“I don’t know…” she prevaricated.
“The truth is you have little trust in us. That is the root cause behind your reticence. I’m giving you the opportunity to see for yourself what we are like. I would not take my offer lightly. We’ve never extended one like this before,” I added with a meaningful look.
It would be more than bad form to reject my proposal. It would be an insult, and if these negotiations devolved into violence, they could only blame themselves. Clara would come off as insane too. There was no rational explanation for outright disregarding my offer. Since we had made a clean kill with Simu, she couldn’t use that as an excuse. I smirked inwardly. It would be suicide to refuse me. I had her right where I wanted her.
Clara’s gaze darted to her father, who turned a hundred and eighty degrees to scrutinize me carefully. He broke into a laugh and said, “Well played, Nicu. For the youngest, you’re not only good for your looks. Seems you have a brain on your shoulders.”
“Not so fast,” Clara cut in. “I can’t be away from my family for that long. Six months is too much.”
Ah, negotiations. She’d accepted the fundamental premise, and now we’d haggle over how long. Perfect.
Picking invisible fluff off my pressed slacks, I asked, “What would you suggest?”
“A month”
“Impossible. It will take you at least a month to meet everyone, much less remember their names. Forget about getting to know them. I’ll shave off a month, if you’d like,” I offered blithely.
She pursed her lips in displeasure. “Three months.”
I tapped my knee, pretending to think on her suggestion. “Perhaps four months, but that’s my final offer.”
Going once.
She darted a look at her father. He inclined his head slightly.
Going twice.
“Fine,” she bit out.
Sold.
“But don’t think I’m going to make it easy on you Lupu people. Especially that one,” she pointed a finger at the door, referring to Tatum. No problem, I’d make sure to have Alex put him on guard duty with her.
Fucking finally, I could get the hell out of here. Hopefully, it wasn’t too late.
