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"Real estate scams."
"Excuse me?" He blinks.
"Real estate," I murmur, "it’s where there’s lot of money to be made in Europe."
"You’re kidding me, right?" He leans forward, his hard British accent growing more pronounced, "If this is why you called me all the way to a back office behind a smelly restaurant then—"
"Cryptocurrency," I throw out and he blinks again.
"Cryptocurrency?" he says slowly.
I nod, "The two of you…" I glance between the two clan leaders. "Partner with us in the deals we have going there. Nikolai, you bring the cyber experience. We bring the contacts of those at the highest echelons in the top 100 investment firms in Europe. JJ, you bring the contacts of those in the UK and together, we’ll all be able to walk away much, much richer."
"Hmm," JJ strokes his chin, "how much richer?"
"Molto più ricco."
He frowns, "I’d prefer you be specific."
"Take a number, triple it, and I guarantee, the three of us will come into enough money to increase our sphere of influence on a global scale."
JJ’s eyes gleam. His right eyelid twitches. He taps his fingers on the table, before he stops… And bingo, the guy is interested, all right. I turn to watch Nikolai surveying me with a shrewd look in his eyes.
"It’s going to be a challenge," Niko murmurs. "No one knows exactly how cryptocurrency reacts to worldwide influences. Hell, we know far less about it than we know about the weather or the stock market. It’s a big risk."
"The higher the risk…" I raise a shoulder.
"You getting cold feet, Solonik?" JJ smirks, "You can opt out of the deal. More for the two of us."
Nikolai’s gaze narrows. He tilts his head, a question in his eyes, one he’s not going to voice because he’s not going to give away his hand. He’s smart. I respect that. And he abides by the same kinds of laws that we do. Family first and last, and above all, keep your enemies close at hand. It’s why he’s sitting here at the negotiating table.
"Perhaps it’s you who’s getting cold feet at the thought of keeping pace with the both of us?" Niko murmurs.
JJ’s features harden and a nerve throbs at his temple. "That’s enough of pleasantries," he growls, then turns to me. "The money we make is split three ways."
"Sixty, twenty, twenty, is more what I had in mind—"
He opens his mouth to protest.
"But I can work with fifty, twenty-five, twenty-five," I add.
"Split three ways evenly," JJ snaps "and not a penny less."
"You think the same way, Nikolai?" I turn to him, "A three-way split, I presume."
Nikolai drums his fingers on his chest, "You know what they say about three being a crowd."
"Are you saying you are not interested?"
"I am…" he glances from me to JJ, then back at me, "interested."
"Well then," I knock my knuckles on the table, "gentlemen, let’s drink to our new business partnership, shall we?"
The door opens and a woman walks in with a bottle of Macallans whiskey and three glasses. She retreats, but not before JJ has looked her up and down. "Part of your crew?" he asks, "Is she—"
"No," I pour out a shot of whiskey into each of the glasses before sliding one over to Nikolai. "She’s part of my clan and off limits to anyone except her fiancé."
"Take care of your own, eh?"
