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Steel stepped up and clapped me on the back. “You’re screwed.”
“For your sake, I hope that is literal!” Noah added, trotting out the door behind Steel before I could jab him in the ribs. Insolent bastard.
They left Quinn and me in the empty room, and she looked at me with a strange expression, her forehead wrinkled and her head cocked.
“Is she worth all this…angst?” she asked.
“When I’m with her, I’d tell you yes a hundred times over. But right now, when I’m outside looking in, all I see are roadblocks and the things we aren’t talking about.”
“So talk to her.” Quinn shrugged like it was the simplest thing in the world.
If only…
“I’m afraid to ruin it.”
“Love is for the bold.”
I huffed. It was a short, harsh sound, the parody of a laugh. “Haven’t you been single since the dawn of your thirties? What makes you my guru?”
“Romance novels.” She plucked the five from between my fingers and left me alone in the conference room with my swirling thoughts.
I pulled my cell phone back out of my pocket and replied to Lee’s message, confirming our date.
Chapter 25
Lee
Isteppedoutofthe back door at Oleander into the muggy Florida night. Onyx’s low growl was my first warning we weren’t alone. I shoved my hand into the purse compartment that held my .22 and closed my fingers around the gun. Its weight was a solid comfort in my hand.
I’d known this was coming but had hoped to have more time.
“Why do your dogs always hate me?” Tony leaned against my car, his ever-present soda cup resting on the roof of the Bentley, a trail of condensation already running down the car’s window. The man had no respect.
“Because dogs are excellent judges of character.” Onyx leaned into my leg, his body quivering with tension. Tony was playing it cool, but the way he shifted his body, he was scared. He’d never been comfortable around animals. Guns Tony understood—dogs he didn’t. Little wonder I’d become an avid dog owner.
“Were you always such a bitch?”
I sighed. “Did you really have to slash my tire last time you paid me a visit?”
He smiled like the slashed tire had been an extra special Christmas present he’d bestowed upon me.
“Uncle Jimmy said send a message. I thought it was eloquent.” His Jersey accent garbled the wordeloquent, his delivery like a line from a low-budget gangster movie.
“It was annoying.” It also was the first time Derek kissed me. And how I’d found the tracking device, which I was suddenly thankful was still on my car. If I didn’t show up to Derek’s with dinner, at least he’d know where to start looking for me.
“Enough chitchat. It’s time, Lee. No more fucking around. You’re up.” He straightened away from the car and eased another step back from Onyx.
“Up for what?” I clutched the gun tighter, ready for anything from a kidnapping to a slap in the face.
“I’m here to make a one-time offer. You fence those fancy-ass watches from that big party and you’re out. Free and clear.”
Free and clear. Those words were my dream. The one and only way what I had with Derek could be more than temporary. My first instinct was to jump at the offer. Agree to anything. It was my chance to be with Derek, to realize my teenage dream and my deepest desire of adulthood. But thankfully, a lifetime of good sense stayed my tongue before I said something stupid.
“Those watches are nuclear. I said no months ago for a reason. There’s no money in merchandise that hot.”
“If you say no, there will be…repercussions. Uncle Jimmy has a few lingering stolen goods investigations gumming up the operation. He needs them cleaned up. And if you aren’t willing to do this for him, you would be an ideal scapegoat. A little prison time should help you get your priorities straight.”
This wasn’t a chance to get out, it was a threat. Jimmy liked making people squirm.
