AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I understand vengeance,” I said and crossed my arms, pretending to contemplate what she was asking of me. “But why now?”
To my surprise, Lia didn’t answer. Her gaze found mine and she asked, “Are you going to help me or not?”
A bolt of irritation went through me and I had to clench my jaw to keep from backhanding her. What an absolutely insolent little woman she was, talking to the mobster boss even though she barely deserved to kneel at my feet.
Oh, I’d have fun breaking this bitch into a million pieces. See how she’d sass back when I take her to The Cathouseand teach her how to respect men like me.
Something in that must have shown in my face because Lia’s shoulder rose a fraction even as she tried not to waver in her demands.
“Alright, we’ll cooperate,” I said and strode around my desk. Fishing in a drawer, I found a burner with a charger and slid it across the desk. “Keep that charged and on silent. Wait for my call.” I sat down and gave her a long look. “Call me if anything changes — if you think you’re in trouble or need help. We’ll get you out.”
“That’s it?” Lia asked as she took the phone and tucked it in her bag. “What should I do now?”
“Go back and convince Michaelson that you can still be trusted,” I said. “We’ll be seeing each other soon enough, though. Don’t you worry.”
As Lia looked down at the phone, I glanced over at Bertie and shared a small smirk with him.
Our plan had worked out better than either of us could have imagined.
Michaelson had finally fucked up and given me an opening. He’d never see it coming either, not when this blonde had him wrapped around her little finger.
She’d be the one to shoot the bullet that stopped my enemy’s heart.
And then nothing would stand in my way.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Ty
Walking into my home office, I found Daniel sprawled on the couch and staring at a book, a glass of scotch in front of him that looked barely touched. I cleared my throat by raising an eyebrow, but Daniel didn’t react.
“Dan,” I called out. Nothing. “Danny.”
Daniel started and closed the book, setting down his drink. “When did you get home?” he asked and rubbed his forehead, then frowned at his watch. “It’s pretty early.”
“Meeting didn’t go too long,” I said. “The Russians still don’t know shit.”
“Hendrix covered his tracks well for once,” Daniel said dryly. “Guess the threat of revenge from the Bratva would do that.”
“Something like that,” I said and rolled my shoulders, worn out from the long day. Sure, things had ended early but I’d been up since four a.m. “Where’s Lia?”
A flicker went through Daniel’s eyes. “She didn’t text you?” I shook my head, a slow creep of unease coming over me. As my face pulled into a snarl, Daniel held up a hand. “Calm down. She probably lost track of time with Sara. I’ll call.”
“Why the fuck did you leave her alone?” I demanded.
Daniel paused, pulling out his phone and gave me an incredulous look. “You said she didn’t need a guard. You said Hendrix wasn’t going to retaliate, and we took care of Ryan White and everything else.”
“I left her with you. Wasn’t that a clear enough hint?” I spat. “God, what if she’s in trouble? How could you—?” I broke off.
I’m panicking.I pressed a hand to my frantic heart, smashing against my rib cage and tried to ease the tight compression around my lungs.What the hell?All I could think was that the worse had already happened to Lia and, once again, I couldn't protect her. The thought of something happening to her nearly killed me.
A light knock came from behind me. I spun around, a hand going to my holster, when all of my panic melted and I could breathe again.
“Lia!”
“Hi, you,” Lia said with a bright smile. Her eyes moved to Daniel. “Hey. Thanks again for all your help today.”
I glanced back at Daniel and a flicker of surprise went over me. I’d never seen my cousin so absolutely stunned. He stared at Lia as though he couldn’t believe his eyes.
