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But how can I stay in Chicago when Christopher is here?
Can I really trust Evander when he says I’ll be safe?
It’s stupid not to keep going. I got this far and I can go further. I should walk back in that little rental shop, hand over the cards, and offer to bribe the guy so he forgets my little tirade. I can hope the cards keep on working and pay the tow guy whatever he wants. I can get out of this, hit the road, and drive until tomorrow—
Instead, I hit call.
It rings for a few seconds and disappointment tightens around my heart until I hear his voice.
“Hello, Camille.”
I take a sharp breath. “How’d you know it was me?”
“Not many people have this number. Did you think about my offer some more?”
I close my eyes and steady myself. “I did.”
“And?”
“I want a job.”
“Good. Where are you?”
“I’m at a rental car place.” I look over and spot a police cruiser heading toward me, crunching over the gravel in the street. Rental Twerp’s looking stupidly smug, and the tow guy’s starting to realize he’s not getting paid anytime soon. “Also, I’m about to get arrested.”
Chapter8
Evander
Idrink the good, strong coffee and cross my legs. The diner is quiet at mid-morning after the breakfast rush and I’m only half listening to Lycus as he goes over the day’s schedule.
My mind’s on the girl behind the counter with her hair pulled up in a messy bun, looking lost and overwhelmed and so fucking beautiful it’s like a railroad spike in my chest.
Camille glances over and smiles uncertainly at me. I don’t smile back, which makes her roll her eyes as she gets back to refilling salt shakers.
It’s been a week since I paid off that predatory rental place and that asshole tow truck driver and used my connections to make the cops go away. Since then, I got her hired here, a diner run by a client of the Kazan family, a nice older Greek man named Demetrios. He manages the place along with his wife and daughter, two of the strongest and most intense Greek women I’ve ever met in my life, and that’s saying something. I got her an apartment in a house owned by a Greek woman named Hermia, another client of the family. I filled Camille’s pantry and refrigerator, paid for a new wardrobe, and offered to furnish the place, to which she said,and owe you more money? Yeah, go fuck yourself.
Camille is quiet when she’s at work, a little overwhelmed, definitely overshadowed by Demetrios’s loudmouth daughter, but she seems happy. I have Demetrios and Hermia keeping an eye out for the man that nearly chased Camille from Chicago, and although she still hasn’t told me anything about him, I’m making sure nobody gets anywhere near her without me finding out about it.
I should forget her now. I’ve done more for Camille than I ever should have, and now it’s time to focus on my business. She’s safe and comfortable, and I can be proud of that.
The loss of the dockworkers’ union is going to hurt my organization, and already the captains are making angry noise.
If my control was tenuous before, now everything hangs by a string. The family’s a powder keg, and Camille is the fucking match.
And I still can’t stop staring at her as she fills the stupid salt shakers.
“Evander,” Lycus says sharply. “You’re staring at her again.”
“I’m listening,” I say, turning my gaze to him. “Can you blame me for wanting to look at a pretty girl instead of watching your ugly face make noise?”
“I’m handsome as fuck and you know it.” His eyes narrow. “What was I just saying?”
“Kosmos is working on a new deal with an overland shipping company and we’re hoping to use them to cover some of our losses with the dockworkers. Stavros has been making noise about my leadership qualifications, and the Italians are rattling their sabers. What else?”
“I also mentioned that you’re a pompous little prick.” Lycus crosses his arms, smirking at me. Nobody in the Kazan family would dare speak to me that way, their boss and their lord, but I’ve known Lycus all my life. He gets away with things nobody else ever would.
“Duly noted.” I lean back and glance at Camille again. “Contact more amenable shipping companies. I want to make sure our flow of product isn’t adversely affected for long.”
