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I give her a dark look, one that would have my men shaking in fear and waiting for their deaths. But not this woman. No, she just lifts her chin and glares back at me, completely unafraid. A small part of me admires her. “I think you need to remember who’s in charge here,” I warn her, my tone sharp and biting. “Or it will be you bleeding out on the floor.”
She doesn’t even blink at my threat. “Then you’d have to train a new housekeeper and you hate that. Besides, everyone else is terrified of you, and you like that not everyone will tremble at your feet.”
“And when did you decide this?” I ask.
She arches a brow and says, “The first day you didn’t kill me for talking back to you. Besides, why waste another bullet on me? Now, would you like me to pretend to fall to your feet and weep and wail for forgiveness, acting like you’re the devil himself, or would you like me to clean this up?”
“Just clean it up,” I snap, irritated that I can’t find it in myself to kill her for her insolence. It sets a dangerous precedent for my other staff, but considering I just killed a man without explanation, well, I suppose that will keep any rumblings at bay for a while.
Sofia snaps her fingers to her brow and barks, “Yes, sir!” Then she turns on her heel and whistles, bringing the maids in to get to work. The two women who come in are nothing like Sofia. Both are shy and quiet, completely avoiding my eyes. One of them especially is frightened, shaking as she works, and trying to seem smaller. Fine with me. I don’t need anymore attitude today.
So I focus back on my reports. Everything seems to be in order, though I see room for improvements. It seems that some of my men are getting lazy, and I can’t have that. I make a note to visit some of our locations, to make sure they know I’m always around. Always watching.
By the time we leave for our meeting, I’m more determined than ever to get my men in line. A little fear and intimidation are all I need to make sure my business is running at its best. I don’t have time for lazy bastards that think they can pull the wool over my eyes. When I climb into the back of my SUV with Dante climbing into the front, I pull out my phone and tell him, “I want a meeting set up with each division this week. And no one is to miss.”
“Done,” Dante replies. I don’t even need to look at him to know that he’s read into my intentions. And he’ll make sure those meetings are in places I can spill as much blood as I like.
I ignore text messages from those that I don’t care about. I don’t have time to waste on such things, and as far as I fucking care, they can bug someone else with their problems. I see a couple from a woman I occasionally fuck when the mood strikes, barely pausing at picture of her fucking herself with her own fingers. Considering the angle, she didn’t take that herself, which means some other man probably took it. Not that I care, she knows the rules. Besides, she was a terrible lay. I delete the photo and message her back that she needs to lose my number. Which of course results in multiple messages asking why. Begging for forgiveness. Saying I wasn’t meeting her needs.
All bullshit. If I was more like my father I’d kill her and be done with it. But that takes too much of my time and energy. Anticipation burns in my gut at what happens at my next meeting and the aftermath. If our contact tries to double-cross me or back out, well, I’ll make an example out of him and find someone with the stones to fill his shoes.
By the time we reach our destination, I’m more than ready to get this underway. I’m not a patient man and I have no time to delay. Especially with all the plans I have.
Dante comes around the SUV and opens my door, shielding me in case someone tries to do something stupid. As we walk inside, I raise my brow at how small it is. I glance at Dante, who just holds my gaze, waiting for the question. Instead, I ignore him. After all, there must be a reason he brought me here instead of the agreed upon meeting spot he told me earlier. But I won’t hesitate to beat his ass if he’s trying to pull a fast one.
I follow him through the small cake shop, not sparing a glance at anyone, and none of them look at me either. Good, it seems Dante was smart enough to make that clear before he brought me here. We walk out of the back door and I see an old steel door. It creaks and groans as Dante pulls it open gesturing for me to go inside. I enter, unsurprised to find two of my men waiting, and then leading me through a narrow and barely lit hallway.
When we finally emerge, the first thing that hits me is the smell of paper. I glance around the library. I don’t think I’ve ever set foot in here, and I can tell from the dust on some of the books, that many don’t come here anymore either. Which means we should have plenty of privacy. Good.
We make our way through the shelves. As I pass by an aisle, I am hit by something small. I stiffen, and my men round quickly, but I stop them when I hear a gasp and a frightened mumble, “I’m so sorry,” in a soft feminine voice that skates over me. I turn slightly, looking down to see a small slip of a woman, blinking up at me in shock, and a healthy dose of fear. And I’m not prepared for the feeling that hits me.
Her eyes are a dark, mousy brown, her nose small, and her lips plump and soft. She has no make-up on and her olive colored skin keeps her from looking too pale. Her hair is a thick, dark brown, almost black, and hangs loosely around her face and shoulders and well past her ample breasts. And I have an instant image of it wrapped around my fist as I pushed her to her knees and fucked her mouth. I’m instantly hard, but ignore it. No, this creature is far from the women that usually catch my attention. She’s exotic looking, but seeing her, I know she’s innocent. Yet, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to see her sin in ways that would make the devil himself stand up and take notice.
“All good,cara,” I tell her, stepping aside to allow her to pass. My men stiffen further, no doubt thinking me crazy, but this woman isn’t going to hurt me. No, she’s clutching the book in her hand so tight I’m surprised the spine doesn’t crack under the pressure. And when she scampers past, she stays as far away from me as possible, lowering her head so her face is obscured. She acts as though she is a little mouse trying to be unseen. Except, I have seen her, and now I’m intrigued.
Still, one can’t be too careful. I look at Tommaso, tell him quietly, “Follow her, but do not engage, and make sure you’re not seen.” He nods, moving without a word. That leaves me with Dante, and my other guard, Davide, as we continue on to our final meeting place.
When we enter the small room, the man I’m speaking with is already there. I keep my face clear, calm as I take him in. I know exactly who he is, and a small sense of triumph fills me knowing I’m going to get what I want.
Eion Fitzgerald is a large man, with dark red hair and green eyes. He’s harsh and seasoned, and if it wasn’t for the fact that my men will never listen to an Irishman, I’d have lured him away years ago. Still, the fact that he’s loyal and now meeting with me means something’s changed and I want to know what. I can use the information for myself.
His green eyes are cool and calm on me as he waits for Davide to pat him down. Eion’s face never changes, and he waits until Davide steps back and nods at me that he’s clean. I move to take a seat at the small table in the corner, smooth out my pants and then look at Eion tensely, unspeaking as he sits across from me. There are no windows in this room, no way for anyone to know who is in here, but his unease pleases me.
Finally, Eion says, “There is a shipment of guns coming into the docks for Seamus to distribute from our men in Ireland. It will come on a private yacht owned by Seamus’s cousin, Sean, who isn’t in the family business. But he lent the yacht to his wife, who is the daughter of one of Seamus’s top bosses over there, and who will make the drop. Seems to me, with this information you can take it off his hands and score yourself a nice profit along the way.”
I say nothing, mulling it over. I dabble in most anything, including guns, and it’s well known that the Gallos have excellent products. And this gives a way for me to force myself into the market and take over. Still, this is one of Seamus’s top men. “Why?” I ask simply. There’s some kind of motive here, and I wonder if he’ll have the balls to tell me the truth. I can find out, but a man telling me himself will let me assess his truthfulness. I can’t stand lies, but in this business, it’s par for the course.
Eoin’s eyes go icy, and my interest piques. It’s the look of a man who has lost all care, and is exacting revenge. His jaw hardens, and his fists clench on the table, and finally he says, “He raped and killed my wife.”
Not what I was expecting, but that’s not enough for me, “So all of this over a woman?”
His eyes go from icy to hot in a flash, that Irish temper making his face burn with it. “I wouldn’t bloody well expect you to feckin’ understand,” he seeths, his Irish brogue thick. Dante and Davide inch closer, but I wave them off. This man may be angry, but he’s not stupid.
“Enlighten me then,” I order calmly. “Women are a dime a dozen in our world, and while I understand she was your wife, you have sons, and you have a job that gives you access to any women you wish. Are you willing to risk your death over one woman should Seamus find out what you’ve done?” Love has always been foreign to me. I’ve never loved anyone. Not even my parents. My mother spent most of her time drugged out of her mind to cope with being married to my father, and my father only married my mother because it was arranged. There was no love there, and probably for the best.
Eoin glares at me. “You don’t know what it’s like to go home every day to a woman that doesn’t care about the blood on ‘yer hands and takes care of all the things you don’t have time for. Someone who could be your light in a world that’s so damn dark you can barely see ‘yer way out at times. And while she and I were forced to marry in the hopes of securing her family’s loyalty, we grew to love each other, and Seamus saw that. Saw that I would do anything for that woman, and he decided to test me. So he sent me on a job, then took her, raped her, and killed her. All to test me. A man who worked tirelessly for years and never had a blemish on my record. So it’s simple. He took somethin’ from me, I take somethin’ from him.”
“And you’re willing to die to avenge your wife?” I ask him again.
