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I warned, “Today, we’re only talking.”
He accused in a low tone, “As long as you don’t let your dick lead the discussion. Doesn’t matter that you’re fucking. She had Santini murdered. Remember that, or I’ll help you remember.”
After a quick glance around us to ensure no one heard, I hissed, “You touch even a hair on her head, and I’ll kill you myself.”
Roberto quirked a brow. “Be careful, Gianni. Your emotions are showing. You only kill to stop greed or in self-defense, remember? Which one would this be for you?”
“No shit from you, Roberto.” Mask firmly back in place, I straightened my suit jacket, and I allowed one of my men to open the door for me to enter the dark entryway. The club was much bigger and more modern than I expected. Chrome bar tables and chairs looked down on the vibrant purple dance floor for those guests who preferred to watch and drink. The young man I’d seen at the casino with Diamond waited at the end of the entrance. “The meeting with Wisdom is this way.” He then turned for us to follow him.
We stepped down into the empty main floor. I looked up at the ceiling that gave the illusion of a starry night or a planetarium. I could imagine how different it would look in a few hours, music blasting, the beats pulsing through the dancing, happy crowd. Diamond had done well for herself. Admiration and love swelled within me. Rebuilding her family’s wealth, her legacy, and now running her father’s former organization took an almost unimaginable ambition, strength, and determination for any person. And I was here to stop her progress. A feat I feared wouldn’t happen without any more bloodshed.
Near the DJ booth at the back of the room, a tall black man, crisply dressed in a gray suit, perfect for any corporate job, flanked by five men, stood fearlessly, ready to talk, ready to battle, ready for anything. “Heard you were looking for me?”
I almost faltered in my step at the sound of his voice. Years of forcing emotions into the deepest recesses of my soul intervened. I continued walking until the man, and I stood inches from each other. “Wisdom?”
He grinned though his eyes didn’t have the familiar crinkled skin whenever he laughed, which often happened while growing up. But the man before me had long lost his joy. “G.”
I looked around at my men. “Leave us.”
Roberto frowned. “Gianni? What’s going on?”
“I need to speak to him alone.”
Wisdom followed my lead and said to his men. “Wait for me outside.” He stared at me as he continued addressing them. “His men won’t touch you.”
I didn’t contradict, and he and my people quietly left.
Wisdom spread his palms before putting them in his pocket. “I see why they call you Mask on the street.”
I nodded. “Never show any emotions.”
“Time has taught you well. I’m a ghost resurrecting from your past, and all you can do is say my new name?”
“How did you survive?”
“It’s a long story. Maybe I’ll tell you one day. Maybe I won’t.”
We sized each other up. Although I’d been taller than him when we were teens, he had grown and had at least two inches on me. His biceps bulged without much movement. Lafayette wasn’t the skinny teen anymore. We would fight to the death if it ever came down to it. It wouldn’t be my first fight that ended in death. I just wasn’t sure it wouldn’t end up my last. “Best friends now, enemies?”
He shrugged. “That depends on whether we can mutually agree on territories.”
I wasn’t yet ready to discuss business. “So, Diamond is your front? The club, Desire is yours?”
“Surprised she didn’t tell you since you are the one secret she kept from me. Back then and even now.”
I scoffed. “Apparently, she is and has always been loyal to you first. She led me to believe she was Wisdom.”
“Her idea, not mine at first. She’s very protective over me as I am her. We built all of this together. The Desire is back and stronger than ever. We are unstoppable.”
“I remember this arrogance of yours. Everything in life is stoppable.”
Wisdom, otherwise known as Lafayette, placed his hands in his pockets. Instinct quickly informed me that I was safe, at least for now. “Not me. When you beat death, it creates invincibility, an unexplainable fearlessness. Nothing and no one can stop me from whatever I want.”
“Except me.”
He tilted his head. “If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be where you are today. My family took the fall for Tucci’s death, and we lost everything while your empire only grew.”
“Your idea, remember? I wanted to save you.”
