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“No, baby girl. Tell me when you see me.”
He shakes his head and bites his lip, his nervousness reinforcing my uneasiness.
“I just—”
“Annika,” he warns. “Don’t look at me with those pretty eyes of yours like it’s the last time. I’ll get you out of this. I promise.”
I’m struggling to hold back my tears. I want to be strong. I want to be like Hanna, ready to fucking take on anything and everything, doused in main character energy. But I have no superpowers, no hidden talents to magically make everything better.
“Are the guys we sent, okay?” He quickly changes the subject.
“They are. A few of them are patrolling the island, and six, I think, are in the house.”
“Good. Stay with them at all times.”
“I will.” I sigh. I would rather him be with me than risking his life out there. Nothing about me is worth all this trouble.
“I’ll see you soon, little witch.”
He smiles as I say my goodbye, and when the screen goes black, I feel like my whole world goes right along with it.
CHAPTER 12
RONAN
The private cliff-sideterrace of Coveview Estate has enviable views of Queenscove shores, the marina, and on a really clear day, some of the islands off the coast. However, I’m not entirely sure why Bartiste chose this place to meet us this morning.
I step onto the flagstone floor, joined by my brother, Maddox, Vincent, and eight of our men. We’re stretched thin. I wish we were more established than this so that we could afford an entire fucking army. But good help is hard to find. At least we have enough men to watch the girls and some to lurk around in the shadows of the estate. Carter is with the hacker team, just in case.
“I take it you have my answer,” I say, nodding to the man as he turns away from the view.
“You’re quite the morning person, aren’t you?” he deflects. “Seven in the morning is definitely not the time I was expecting you to call at.”
“You’re an experienced businessman. I presumed you made your decision long before that. Was I wrong?”
He’s brought just as many people as us. I don’t feel outnumbered anymore if this deal goes south. But I would lie if I said at least two of these motherfuckers didn’t scare me. More scarred than Maddox, and just as tall and broad.
“I have. But that doesn’t mean that I appreciate being rushed.”
That sleazy grin makes another appearance on Bartiste’s face, and goddamnit if I don’t want to wipe it off with a bullet. But I don’t know the man, what contingencies he has in place. As much as I want to kill him right now, I can’t until I make sure there’s no ace up his sleeve.
“I see no point in wasting each other’s time. We both know what we want, so we might as well get it over with,” I say.
He takes a few aimless steps, hands clutched behind his back, as his gaze moves between us.
“You’re still quite young. There’s so much more to learn about this work of ours. How to handle business. What things to let go. What matters and what doesn’t.”
I sigh as I urge my patience to hold on, because all I want is a goddamn answer. The pulse begins to hammer in my temples.
“Some very important rules are,” he continues, like he’s checking off a list, “to always take back what you’re owed, never give anyone a second chance, and keep your word. You see, I may not have many morals, if any, but I will always make good by my promises. No matter what they are, or who I made them to. Why is it important to be strict about these rules, you may ask?”
No one did.But I’m starting to hear the pulse in my ears now. He makes me more nervous by the second.
“Because there is one thing the underworld values over everything else—reputation. You should know this. And you should also know that money is only a printed piece of paper that anyone can make. I don’t give two shits about theirs or yours.”
My fists are itching to flex, fingers needing to feel the trigger of my gun, because I don’t like this one bit. It’s creeping up my spine—a sense of terror that’s settling deep in my chest. Suddenly, regret replaces it.
I should be with Annika.
