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The hilt rests lightly in my palm. I’m better with a gun. Perhaps I should shoot—the kitchen door swings open. Sterno appears. “A female is here to see you, Priest.”
“A female?” Beefer and Justin chorus as one.
All three men turn to me as my knees turn to water. Oh, fuck, no. It’s Bitsy. I know it. The knife falls to the floor as I rush for the door, slamming it wide and nearly crushing Sterno in the process. Standing within arm’s length of Cesaro’s table is my gorgeous girl, her hair pulled back in a rose-colored bandana, wearing nothing more special than a pair of tight light-colored jeans and a heavy black sweater that’s sliding off one shoulder to reveal the thin silk strap of her undershirt.
In the low restaurant light, that bare patch of skin looks like molten gold. Everyone wants to touch it.
“I didn’t realize you knew this girl, Sterno.” Cesaro’s voice carries across the room.
“She helped ID your uncle’s murderer,” Sterno answers from behind me.
“A hero then. Come closer, girl. I can barely make you out.” Cesaro waggles his fingers.
This is my worst nightmare come to life. I reach Bitsy’s side in three strides and tuck her half behind my body.
“Cesaro, nice to see you. Your dinner’ll be out in a sec,” I say.
The corners of Cesaro’s cruel mouth tip up. “Nice that you could join us, Leka. I didn’t know you were working as the wait staff. Is your gun arm broken?”
“Gun arm is fine.” I could smash your face in so you could get an up-close demonstration of how well it’s working.
Cesaro laughs. “Good. Good. We wouldn’t want you out there with us if you can’t shoot. You’ve never been much good for anything besides that. Now that we’ve got that out of the way.” He points a finger to my left side where Bitsy is holding on to one arm. “Who’s this? I recognize her from the night outside the club. We were supposed to be celebrating together but she showed up in a delicious costume and you swept her away before we could get to know each other.”
“She’s his sister,” calls Beefer, who ambles up to my side, hitching up his pants.
“They don’t look nothing alike,” chirps one of Cesaro’s guards.
“Don’t really matter to me.” Beefer shrugs. He holds his hand up to his knee. “They’ve been together since she was a little tyke.”
“Interesting.” Cesaro drums his fingers against his chin. “You know what the girl said when I asked who she was?”
“No.”
“‘I’m Leka’s.’ That’s what she said. I asked who she was and that was her response. That loyalty is breathtaking, my man. Breathtaking. You don’t see that these days. Everyone’s got their own agenda. Everyone’s looking out for themselves, ain’t that right, Sterno?”
“I serve the family,” Sterno replies blandly.
Fuck. Is this some test for Cesaro’s men? If so, we’re in for an ugly time. I force myself to breathe normally, to not react, to not show how fucking terrified I am in this moment. Cesaro is a cruel man with an uncanny ability to figure out what’s important to a person and take it from them. He destroyed Camella and would do the same to Bitsy. I must be careful. I can’t make a mistake.
“Go and see how Cesaro’s meal is coming,” I order.
Bitsy bristles at the command but leaves without arguing. Everyone watches her except for me. I keep my eyes on the snake in the room.
When the door shuts behind her, Cesaro raises his lust-filled gaze to meet mine. A smirk spreads across his face.
“Your girl can’t be more than eighteen or nineteen. That outfit she wore last month looked genuine. I’ve always had a thing for girl’s in uniform.”
I remain silent because I know what’s coming. Mentally, I’m plotting out Bitsy’s escape. A ticket abroad tonight, to the Far East and then to the Maldives where I bought a small property a couple of years ago when I learned Cesaro’s contacts are concentrated in Western Europe. After she’s gone, I’ll put a bullet through his head and anyone else who might breath in Bitsy’s direction. I’ll spray a blood barrier down the eastern seaboard if that’s what it takes.
“I didn’t realize we had so much in common,” he continues. “I like them young, too. How much?”
“She’s not for sale.”
“Everyone is. Besides, you belong to me and so she belongs to me. I could take her without compensating you, but that wouldn’t be fair. I like to treat my people right.”
“She’s his sister,” Beefer repeats. He knows that he’ll lose me over this. I’m the best soldier here. There’s never been a shipment lost or a job failed while I’ve been in charge. Cesaro might not be able to read the room, but Beefer knows that his hold on this region is nothing without me.
