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Brennan heaved a sigh as the Dragon Head jumped to his feet and snarled, “What is the meaning of this?”
In Mandarin, I retorted, “I am here to advise you, Zhao. Do not piss me off.”
“Star? Maybe put the guard down?” Finn drawled.
“Not like a dog. Just let him go,” Brennan clarified, his eyes flaring wide at any potential misunderstanding.
I flicked the gun around in my hand, released the magazine, and as it clattered on the concrete floor, I threw the Glock to the Dragon Head who fumbled the catch and ended up having to splatter it against his chest to hold it.
Holding in my smirk, barely, I looked around the table at the usual suspects.
“Lyanov,” I greeted in Russian. “Heard you tried to rescue me in Moscow. I do not forget favors and I haven’t forgotten that the situation with the Krestniy Otets is worse than ever as a result of your actions. I’m on hand to help with whatever you need in the future as compensation.”
Though his stony features didn’t exactly relax, he drawled, “I appreciate the offer and accept it.”
“How goes it in The Forgotten Boys? Still the Pakhan?”
“Everything’s the same but the name,” he retorted. “I’m no longer Pakhan, but the Shukher.”
I hid a grin but nodded at him before I turned to the Sicilians. It was prudent to speak with Luciu Valentini first even though my inner feminist longed to deal with his sister foremost.
In Italian, because I hadn’t picked up Sicilian yet, I murmured, “Your wife and Savannah bought me these shoes, Valentini.”
“Great shoes,” Custanzu replied.
Valentini merely smiled. “She has the best taste.”
“Apparently.” I motioned between us. “We’re still okay?”
Aurora chimed in, “Yes, Luciu, are we still okay after she arranged to have Alberto De Laurentiis murdered?”
My brow furrowed with annoyance. Though something niggled at me, I was too pissed not to snap, “If anyone has an axe to grind then it’s me because you fucked up my plan. And Hunter too. But he should know that I don’t do things for shits and giggles.”
“I only fucked it up because you didn’t key me into the plan in the first place,” she snarled.
“Of course, I didn't. You had to appear innocent if the cops talked to you.”
She sniffed at me. “As if they had the chance to do that when I am who I am. They dealt with our attorneys.”
“Hate to break it to you, lady, but the reason you weren’t in the know was Alberto’s idea. Not mine. And, to be completely honest, after years of getting Hunter to chase after you, was it any wonder that he didn’t know what your endgame was?”
Aurora’s expression didn’t give me much hope of us getting friendly, but that was fine with me.
I didn’t need to make friends, only had to stop making enemies.
Hunter was the one I missed anyway.
I’d have just liked it if two smart-as-fuck women in positions of power in NYC’s underbelly had gotten along.
“Aurora?” Luciu drawled then switched into Sicilian—the exact goddamn reason that was at the top of my list of priorities.
I fucking loathed it when people thought they could talk around me.
Aurora glowered at me throughout whatever the hell it was Luciu was saying because, damn, Sicilian was entirely different than Italian—a whole other language in and of itself.
Eventually, she huffed. “Fine.” In Italian.
Then Conor spoke.
