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"You implied it."
"Your protection tithe won't take too much out of Nuovi Inizi," he says, clearly unwilling to argue. "We'll launder money through the club and within a year, you'll make it back in the fees we pay you. With our contacts, you'll save money on stock too. If you make a few changes, your profit margin will increase too."
"You've got it all worked out, don't you?" I mock angrily.
He calmly nods. "Yes."
"Only you didn't take into account that I don't want to launder money for criminals, much less use your contacts to get a better price on alcohol."
"Boss, we've got two more stops to make tonight," one of the men from the hall says.
Frustration bleeds through Atlas's blank mask. "We'll talk later."
Later never.
Finally, he leaves my office and I follow, locking the door behind me. I skirt around the wall of men in my hallway and head to the bar. Walking to the end, I signal to Willow to release the lock on the access.
Betrayal eats at my gut like acid. I go behind the bar and straight to the till. Feeling so brittle, one wrong word or touch will shatter me into tiny glass fragments of my former self, I avoid the bartenders and barbacks.
If there wasn't Lenny to look after, I could tell them all to go to hell. Especially Atlas. The lying, conniving snake.
But it's not just me. If I want to keep Lenny where he is, I can't afford what Atlas and his crew will do to bring me in line. A fire in the bathroom. Armed burglary. Things that will not destroy the club but will cost me enough and cause enough fear to make me amenable.
For my own sake, they could burn my club to the ground. I wouldn't pay a single cent to a man who used his body and my weakness for it to manipulate me into giving him access to my knowledge and my business.
Because it isn't just for my sake, I open the till and pull out most of the large bills. Leaving a few along with the smaller ones so my bartenders can continue to make change, I shut the drawer. I stack the money together and exit from behind the bar.
Ignoring his lackeys, I walk over to stand directly in front of Atlas, getting closer than I have since he walked into my club.
Glaring up at him, I offer the stack of money. I make no effort to hide what is happening. If the Hades Brotherhood wanted to keep this little extortion agreement a secret, Atlas and his crew should have waited to approach me until the club was closed.
For a breathless second, he makes no move to take the money. A curl of hope unfurls inside me. Maybe he's going to say this was all a mistake. He'll tell Theo and the others my club is off limits.
Atlas's hand comes up and those ridiculous pipe dreams turn to ash.
"You told me there was a dark ember left of your soul, but there is no smoldering fire there, just darkness," I hiss.
He flinches, but the hurt I see in his expression must a trick of the club lights. A heart as dark as his can't feel pain.
I smack the cash onto his palm and immediately yank my hand away. Or try to.
His fingers curl around mine too fast for me to pull back and his other hand comes down over the top of mine. "It's going to be okay,ílios mou. You'll see. I will protect you."
I flinch when he calls me his sun. Of course, he didn't listen to me when I told him not to. I can't stand having my hand trapped between his. Because even knowing what I know, the electric connection between us is not gone.
My fury only seems to heighten it.
"Those words might mean something if you weren't stealing my money to pay for that protection." I jerk at my hand.
He lets me go.
I look at Theo. "Nuovi Inizi is closed on Sunday. Come by at three and knock on the back door if you want your payment."
Theo looks at Atlas, but his boss is looking at me and I amnotlooking at him.
"I'll be here at three," Theo says finally and Atlas doesn't correct him.
The last tendril of hope dead inside me, I turn and walk away from them without another word.
