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“Now,” he said. “My father’s been contemplating retirement. However, he thinks my mother—and the births of my brother and me—were integral motivators in his rise to power. There’s an old family tradition of having sons take over the family business after they marry.”
It was hard to imagine Gavin Crude having family dinners and kicking a soccer ball around the yard with his sons. He seemed sexy and dangerous and untouchable.
Like Aiden.
“He wants to see you settled down,” I filled in the gaps.
Aiden nodded. “My father also is chronically suspicious, so he doubts my loyalty at times. He’s sent more than one woman to cross my path who was loyal to him and reporting back to him.”
“Some of them didn’t just cross your path,” Xander said. “Lolly was a childhood friend.”
Aiden’s jaw tightened, and Xander fell silent.
“I assume any woman who was ready to pull the trigger on my father has an independent mind,” Aiden said. “That’s your value to me.”
If I agree to help.“So tell me why I care about mob maneuverings?”
“Because if my father doesn’t retire—soon—he’s going to open a new branch of the family business. I think perhaps you’ll share my interest in stopping that activity.”
“Because there’s something more unsavory than providing arms to all the world’s baddies?”
“Yes,” he said without hesitating. “They can all blow each other to pieces. It doesn’t matter.”
“The collateral damage would beg to disagree, if they could.”
Aiden seemed not to hear me. “However, my father now wants to branch into the skin trade. I’m not interested in seeing that happen.”
“The skin trade?” I repeated, even though I knew damned well what they were talking about.
“My father’s always owned a series of sex clubs, hotels, and resorts,” Aiden said. “Now he intends to expand those services to include unwilling labor.”
“Forced prostitution.”
Aiden nodded grimly. “He’d like to bring in women from other countries who won’t have the resources to regain their freedom. I’m not going to allow that.”
“But you don’t want to go to war with your father.”
Aiden shook his head. “I’d like a peaceful transfer of power without any bloodshed.”
“That doesn’t seem like you.”
He gave me a dour smile. “There’s more at stake than just getting my hands dirty, I promise you.”
“And you’re not going to tell me what?”
“Prove to me I can trust you first.”
I nodded slowly. I wouldn’t have been willing to play all my cards yet either.
But as much as I didn’t want to tell them anything too personal, there was one thing we needed to discuss…now.
I couldn’t stand the thought of letting my parents’ killers’ trail go cold. It had been years since anyone had accessed that account.
“I need a favor too,” I said, my voice sounding distant to my own ears. I hated to ask for anything from anyone.
But if I were going to play their game… I couldn’t give up my own.
“What’s that?” Aiden looked smug, his eyes dark and knowing as if he had me on the hook.
