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His dark eyes narrow to black points. “You talk a good game, Lastra, but are you a man I can trust?”
“How about you pull that trigger and never find out. Or in an hour we can be sitting around a blackjack table like good criminals and discussing bad things. Your choice.”
There’s a tense moment and then he’s holstering his gun.
A beat later, I’m aiming mine at him to surprised curses from Viper and Grayson as they scramble for their own weapons.
Santiago doesn’t move a muscle. It’s like I just pulled a water pistol on him.
Another thunderclap rumbles overhead.
“A wise man once told me that to play in hell it’s smart to have the Devil on your side, but it’s also a good idea to have his respect as well. You got me out of jail to do a job for you, Santiago, and I’m good with that. I’ll make you so much fucking money it’ll make your black heart sing, but in return I want your word that your men will help us destroy every faction of the Red Compass. I want my family’sCosa Nostracoscaresurrected, the East End back under Razor’s control—”
“And Semenov’s wife back in your bed?”
Okay, now we’re dancing.
“Need I remind you that when a man has nothing, he has nothing to lose? If you screw me over and something happens to Ada, I will hunt you down to the ends of the fucking earth. She’s in hell right now, and you’re the one who’s keeping her there. Then again, I know how prolific thisBrigaziis.I’ve done my own homework. I want to smash this ring as much as you do. And so will Ada once she learns the real reason why she’s still living in a brick jail in Surrey when she should be here with me. Why? Because she’s fucking brave like that. But it’s not just one woman’s courage to save ten thousand here, Santiago. She’s the woman I love. The mother of my son—”
“We know her sacrifice, Lastra.”
“Do you? If so, I want your goddamn surveillance all over her, as well as my own. The second it gets too hot we get her out. Am I clear?”
“Finally, a language I can understand.” A beat later, he’s pressing his forehead into the muzzle of my Beretta, the same way I pressed into his. “I wish her no harm. You have my word. Our surveillance team has already been tracking her from the moment Semenov barged back into her life after a two-year absence. It just so happens, yours is better… And I don’trenegade on deals. You can ask my wife if you don’t believe me.” Then, out of nowhere, he smirks, looking more like a devil than ever. “Now, who do I have to kill around here to get some bourbon?”
* * *
Three hours later,we’re sitting in one of the private gaming rooms at Encore, weighing up cards instead of threats. That’s the thing about our line of business. Relationships don’t hinge on percentages. It’s all about respect. Show fear and you’re a dead man. Show audacity and you’re a player.
“The girls are crossing the continent in a ferry from Calais. Two truckloads. A hundred in each.” Grayson taps the red felt for another card from the dealer. “They’re planning to enter the country in Dover at eight p.m. Our estimation is they’ll be hitting London around midnight.”
“TheBrigaziwill process them at a warehouse in Vauxhall.” Santiago takes a measured sip of his bourbon and glances at the corners of his own cards. “Our sources indicate that O’Sullivan and Semenov will be there to oversee. This is the first shipment of a new deal. He’ll want everything on point. TheBrigaziare jumpy bastards. They only like to deal with their fellow Romanians, so the first sign of trouble and they’ll run. We plan to hit them hard just before one a.m.”
Grayson folds on a twenty-two with a curse, tossing his bad hand across the blackjack table. “You say you have people in the emergency services? Tell them to take their time arriving at the scene. Our men are good. Civilian casualty count should be at zero.”
“While the trafficking cunt count will be sky high,” mutters Viper, staring down at his cards.
Santiago glances at him. “Find out if any of your contacts have businesses nearby. We need strategic access points. Places to set up a base. We need your men standing by as well.”
“I’ll make a few calls.”
Grayson reaches for the bottle of bourbon and pours himself another double. “We’ll have The Red Compass on a ‘shoot to wound’ order. After the area is secure and we’ve got the girls out, they’re all yours. It’s your vengeance. Your families’ deaths they need to atone for—”
“And we’ll take our time because of it.” Sticking on a hand of nineteen, I pass the game to Santiago. “What about Mario?”
“You want him, too?”
“Let’s just say he touched something that didn’t belong to him.”
“How very stupid of him.” The Colombian grimaces. “Jesus, these cards. Where the fuck is Thalia when you need her? My youngest daughter,” he clarifies. “Five years old, and she already outplays me.”
Grayson leans forward and studies his cut glass tumbler for a moment. “We know about your boy, Lastra. If he’s there on Friday, we’ll make sure no one touches him.”
That fist in my chest is back. Pushing. Squeezing. “I doubt he will be, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
I received a message from Silas half an hour ago. Ada’s back at the house on her own. No strip clubs. No Semenov.A one-night reprieve.He’s on his way over to the casino right now with new information about Alex.
“Then we’ll talk more tomorrow.”
