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“Scare her?” Kaviathin snickered. “Not my intention. Besides, she’s not a child. She can only be a few years younger than you, and you are definitely not frightened right now, are you?” He raised his eyebrow.
I lifted my chin, looking directly into his eyes. “No, I’m not afraid of you. But I’ve had to overcome a lot to get to this point.”
His gaze traveled over my neck and down my arms. I felt exposed, like he could see every little cut, scar and bruise Ryzen had given me. His jaw clenched, and he rapped his knuckles on the table. “Goodacre will get what’s coming to him. My team is on top of it.”
“Your team?” I chided. “You mean your Mafia street soldiers?”
He smirked, shrugging his shoulders, but didn’t answer.
“Why were you outside my company a few weeks ago? I saw your car. Don’t pretend it wasn’t you.”
He shrugged. “Irrelevant.”
“It’s completely relevant.” I leaned forward and put my elbows on the table. “I’m responsible for over fifty employees, and I need to keep them safe. So why were you there?”
He sat in silence for a moment, swirling his wine around in his glass. “This issue with Ryzen showing up is a concern. I’m not confident your little band of vigilantes can keep my sister safe when she’s on your property.”
OK. He was deflecting now. Had he been there to keep an eye on Milliani? Why wouldn’t he just say that? I sighed and closed my eyes for a moment. If I had learned anything about Kaviathin, it was that he loved to play games. And this was just another game to him.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think your sister wants anything to do with you. She’s very safe at work. I can guarantee that.”
He glared at me, his eyes darkening. I had hit a nerve. Good.
“I love my sister dearly, but she has some issues. You don’t know her. It would be in your best interest to remember where she comes from.”
One of his men came to the table and placed a red bag tied with a big black bow next to Kaviathin, then left without saying a word.
“Two of my men will be placed at your store when Milliani is working. This is to ensure her safety, not to impede yours.” He said it so matter-of-factly, like I didn’t have a choice.
I laughed and leaned back in my chair. “No fucking way. I would never allow that. Cian would never allow it. Not happening.”
Kaviathin pressed his fingers to his lips and stared at me. You couldn’t read the look on his face. Blank, devoid of emotion. “Fine, outside the store then.”
Cian would not like this. Hell, I didn’t like it. “They can stay in their cars out on the street.” It was a compromise I was willing to make at that moment. Besides, if Ryzen showed up, then the extra “security” might come in handy.
“Good, it’s settled then.” Kaviathin clapped his hands together and pushed the red bag towards me. “A gift for you. An engagement present I was planning on dropping off, but since you’re here…”
I eyed the bag suspiciously. A gift from Kaviathin, probably one of the most dangerous men in the city, was not something I really wanted to accept. “There better not be a horse’s head in there,” I muttered.
He roared with laughter, and I startled at the loud noise. “You watch too many movies. I’m not as dangerous as you would like to believe.”
I scoffed, not trying to hide my disdain. “You shot Cian for no reason. That sounds like a dangerous man to me.”
“An old score settled.” He shrugged, watching my face closely for a reaction. “Ah, you don’t know.”
“Don’t know what?” I rubbed my palms against my jeans, the temperature in the room seeming to go up fifty degrees in twenty seconds. He was fucking with me, that was all it was.
“Some secrets are better left hidden in the past.” He said it so casually, as if that was the end of the discussion.
“Cian and I don’t keep secrets from each other.”
“Oh, my mistake.” Kaviathin smirked, and I debated reaching across the table and smacking the smug smile right off of his face. “Take the gift. You might need it again.” He gave me a pointed look, and I had to stop myself from asking the million questions running through my mind. I grabbed the bag and walked away without saying another word.
“What’s in the bag?” Valik narrowed his eyes when I got back to our table.
“Just forget it. Let’s pay and get out of here.” I pulled out my wallet and looked around for the server.
“Oh, they said it was already paid for,” Sophie said with a huge grin.
