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Finally, he looks away and I suppress my satisfied smile as soon as it tries to appear. He clears his throat. “My name is Logan Donnelly.”
“Oh my God, I thought it was him,” Vic breathes from the far end, trying and ultimately failing to contain her excitement. Everyone else turns their heads to face her, and I see Donnelly’s brows rise in surprised mockery. So full of himself, the son of a bitch.
“Sorry, T—,” she says, then claps her hand in front of her mouth as her eyes widen.
“Mister T.” Donnelly drawls, voice soaked with irony as looks at me. I grind my teeth.
“We are The Void,” I growl.
He cocks his head. “Really? And I suppose that you are the leader?”
I hesitate as I wait for Thomas to take over. Although he was clear about leading the conversation earlier, I haven’t officially succeeded him yet and he is still officially in charge. And the only one who knows why the hell we’re here. I wait for a few heartbeats, but when he doesn’t take over, I continue, “Correct. Now, with the introductions done, let’s get to it, shall we? Or would you prefer to wait for those who haven’t managed to get here on time?” I flick two fingers at the two empty seats and hear Vic chuckle softly.
“Let’s just get on with it. They’ll be here shortly.”
“Good. Let’s get to it then.”
Donnelly sends me a cold smile and starts talking. “Our informants confirm that The Void are currently facing someincidents.”
“Please elaborate.” We’ll need to look into these so-calledinformants.
“We have reason to believe that the people behind said incidents are the same people who have been causing problems within The Business.” His voice sounds mechanical, nearly uninterested.
I snort. “Can you get to the point?”
Donnelly shakes his head, and for a second I believe that he might actually dodge my comment, but he continues, “Recently, some of our people have vanished, only to be found hanged in our territory a few days later. Sound familiar?”
There’s silence and I wonder whether I should put our cards on the table. I turn my head to face my father and though he keeps his head straight, he gives me a slight nod. Donnelly’s seen it too, because his eyes dart from me to Thomas, a small smile playing on his lips.
When I don’t speak, he sighs and hangs slightly back on the uncomfortable chair. “Listen, I understand that you don’t see the point of talking to us. But I’ve recently stepped up as the leader of our organization and with my new team, I’m shaking things up.” He shrugs. “So unless you don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, I’m offering you a hand here.”
“I do,” I exhale.Though I don’t see any reason to work with you.I swallow that last phrase, just trying to be the nice guy for once. For the sake of the rest of us.
He hums. “My right hand has been researching these incidents and has some interesting intel.”
I try to stay neutral, but then my curiosity gets the better of me and I ask, “What has your right hand discovered?”
Donnelly replies with a sly smirk. “He’ll be here shortly. But before we continue, we’ll need some assurances, you know?” He grits his teeth as if it hurts to get the sentence out, and for some reason that makes me chuckle. “To make sure that you don’t screw us over.”
“How do I know you’re not screwingusover?”
“You’re right, you don’t know.” He leans forward, elbows on his knees, cupping his face in his hands as he eyes me intently. “But I’m feeling generous today, so we’ll work something out. Put some rules in place so that we don’t get in each other’s way.”
Reluctantly I turn to face Ro.
“Why not?” He whispers. The eternal peacemaker, that one.
“All right.” I breathe out. “Show us what you’ve got, first. As a gesture of your goodwill, since you’re in such a good mood. Andifwe’re gonna do this, we’ll definitely need those rules, since I’d rather not have to come after you if you don’t play fair.”
Donnelly gives me a filthy smirk. “If you ask nicely.”
I bolt out of my chair, fists clenched, and turn to Ro. “This guy is bullshitting us, let’s get our asses out of here.”
But before Ro can reply, more suits enter the room, causing Kai and his boys to stand up on high alert while I reach for the Glock in my hidden holster.
“Wait!” My brother hisses.
Donnelly, still seated, although now fully protected by his own people—so much for the no-weapons code for tonight—gestures for the newcomers to join him. Silence and surprise fill the room as a pregnant woman walks in, caramel-colored hair falling over her shoulders like sand through an hourglass. She is leaning on the shoulder of an auburn-haired man as she wobbles her way toward Donnelly, who immediately stands to reach out for her. But it isn’t Donnelly’s sudden loving gaze and his protective arms that make my eyes narrow. No, it’s the other man, dressed in black slacks with a mocha-colored shirt that I know will match his eyes perfectly. I watch him smile to the people on his side of that fucking table, adjusting his large glasses before he sits down next to the prick in the middle. He whispers something to him before he flexes his body, sucks in his full lips, then turns to face us. His stare is reserved and guarded—the same permanent stare he had back at college. Back in that library. But then our eyes meet and he visibly freezes. It’s fascinating to see the fear cracking that reserved look, making his light brown eyes darken a shade. Never in my life have I been so turned on by making another person cringe, but this man’s got it all. Without tearing my eyes away from him, I ask, “That your right hand?”
