AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Maxim. What the hell are you doing in London?”
“I am here for an opportunity, Frankie.” The Russian nods at me, his heavy accent suffocating his words like oil on water. “Same as yourself. Ah, and vengeance,” he adds, with a deliberate smile. “Again,same as yourself.”
Maxim Lebedev is the most powerful Bratvapakhanin Europe. He’s also Aiden’s brother-in-law. He rarely leaves his sick wife’s side, which tells me he must have a stake in the outcome of this plan.
Interesting.
Just then, a dark shadow appears in the jet’s doorway as another streak of lightning races across the sky. Santiago pauses to slide his phone into the back pocket of his jeans and turn up the collar of his black shirt before he’s striding down the steps towards us, his face unsmiling, never flinching or faltering—even as another clap of thunder detonates above.
“Jesus.” I hear Viper mutter, and the sentiment resonates. Judging from the vibe Santiago’s giving off, any connection to God just left the building.
He slows to a stop next to Grayson and Lebedev and rakes his chilly dark gaze over my face. “Mr. Lastra.” It’s more a statement than a question. His accent is an all-American drawl, laced with the faintest flavour of Colombia.
“Señor Santiago,” I say, dipping my chin. “Welcome to London.”
The next thing I know, I’m staring down the barrel of his gun.
Fuck, that was fast.
“Do you know why we’re standing five metres away from you, Mr. Lastra?” he says casually, his face devoid of emotion. “It’s because when I give the order to one of my snipers to blow the back of your fucking head off, the spill radius of your blood and brain won’t make a mess of our boots.”
Straightening up to my full six-foot-four, I keep my tone even. “Do you always start business meetings with the threat of violence,señor, or is this a Colombian thing?”
A ghost of a smirk haunts the corners of his mouth, but his gun doesn’t waver. “You took out Guido Rossi against my wishes.”
“Like I told Grayson, I took out the rat and left the cats.”
“You nearly fucked up my plan.”
“If you’re here for an apology, you’ll be waiting a long time.” Holding his eye, I take a couple of steps forward until I hit the No-Man’s Land between us. “So, I guess that means you’ll be heading back home with dirty boots after all.”
Hold the fucking line, Frankie. Think of Ada. Think of your father dying in front of you. Think of your son.
“Are you testing me, Lastra?” His voice is like ice. “Don’t forget, it was my connections who got you out of jail. You were looking at a stretch of twenty-five-to-life. I authorised it because I had a purpose for you. Aiden Knight vouched for you—”
“Then you won’t want to kill me after going to all that trouble now, will you?”
“Ah, but you see I have this irritating character flaw.” He shakes his head at me slowly. “I like to change my mind in all things, except for the woman in my bed.” I watch his fingers flex around the grip. “Do I need to find another business partner in this city, or do you have something special for me that will make this bullet stay in its clip?”
There are pissing matches, and then there are pissing matches with this man.
“The casino you requested is fully operational. It reopens tonight.”
“What else?”
“There are some unhappy dealers all over London who want a regime change as much as we do. They want to work with us. They want to work withyou.”
“Go on.”
I take another step towards him until the muzzle of his gun is making an indentation in my forehead. “Viper has contacts in every warehouse and whorehouse across London. He has people at Heathrow customs who can hide imports, including cargo planes with gold scorpion motifs on their fuselage. This isn't Miami, Santiago, this is London,our London. Mine and Viper’s, so if you’d like to make your business work here, I suggest you lower your fucking gun.”
A slight tilt of his head tells me he’s impressed. “And you? What do you bring to the table in particular?”
“I’m the fixer. The backroom boy that gets shit done. I make connections that benefit, and I cut loose the ones who disappoint with a bullet and a Christmas card to their relatives. See those casinos in Monaco that are cleaning your money so sweetly right now? I set up every single one of them for Aiden. There are cops at the Met I’m already blackmailing to behave and,hell,I haven’t even been here a fortnight. By the end of the month, I’ll have every influential politician in Westminster in my pocket.” I pause to let a slow smile stretch across my face. “And I don’t hesitate to kill...Ever.”
“Heard the Red Compass wiped out your whole family, including your ten-year-old sister.”
My smile falters. “It’s something I reminded Zaccaria of before I ripped his throat out.”
