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“What are you doing up there?” I ask him.
“Checking out the building before you guys go in. Everything looks clear.”
I look over at Bash. “This is expected, right? He can’t just come to New York without meeting with you.”
“It would be normal, except the invitation was for Nico, not me,” Bash replies, his expression tense.
As Dante types away, the ding of an elevator gets our attention. A tall, thin Asian woman with board-straight platinum blonde hair, pale skin, and red lips approaches the SUV. She has on a tight black dress that looks like you could only take three-inch steps at a time and a giant black floppy hat and sunglasses.
She stands at the window and waits as Nico inches the glass down.
“You may come inside now,” she says with a low, smooth English accent.
Nico puts his hand on the handle and looks at me. “Do not leave my side.”
Before I can roll my eyes or respond, he opens the door and helps me out. I would normally argue, but I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I was glad to have him here with me.
We’re taken up to the 65th floor of the building. The doors ding and swing open. We enter the large modern structure through the elevator with Bo, Tao, and Bash. We have Kai and Dante stay back just in case. We enter an all-white hallway, surrounded by bright lights.
She swipes a badge that leads us to another hallway, then uses her fingerprint to bring us to a waiting room.
“Mr. Goh will be with you in a moment,” the fashionable woman says before disappearing behind a set of fingerprint-accessed double doors.
None of us sit.
A faint hum grows closer, and a robotic device rolls in with a tray of coffee on top of it. None of us take anything. I could tell by everyone’s faces we were all thinking the same thing. We all follow it with our heads as it exits. Robots are freaky.
“This isn’t going to be like a meeting with us or the Outfit—no sudden movements,” Nico reminds me.
“I am very aware of who is on the other side of that wall,” I whisper.
The corners of his mouth tilt up as he pulls me closer to him. Before he can say anything, a man who looks to be in his late thirties appears from the same doors the woman had just gone through.
“Mr. Goh is ready to see you now.”
Bash moves first, then me. Nico, not far behind, places his hand at the small of my back. Another man is waiting. He doesn’t say anything, just turns to lead us down the hall as the first man trails us.
Both men have to scan their key fobs at the same time for the doors to open. We follow into the large office with floor-to-ceiling windows of the city. They must be renting this place.
The woman who greeted us is also in the corner. They have three guards standing on each side of the room. An older Asian man with graying hair stands behind a large gray desk, safe to say I know who he is.
“Look who we have here.” His gaze locks on mine expectantly.
I know what he’s expecting. Instead of cooperating, I square my shoulders back. The man smirks, but his nostrils flare with disdain at my dismissal of our customs.
He’ll have to kill me before I ever bow to him. It’s not like he intended or offered the gesture. If he’s not going to respect me enough to uphold our customs, why should I? I hold the same title as him.
“The Liu heir. And the great Nico Delucci. Welcome—and I guess congratulations are in order.” He sits and gestures to the chairs in front of him. “I’m Caishen Goh. Sebastiano, what a pleasant surprise.”
“You know the rules, Goh,” Bash replies coldly.
Caishen waves dismissively. “I would’ve gotten around to it.”
“An honor, Mr. Goh. What are we doing here?” I ask, walking toward his desk with Nico by my side.
Neither of us move to sit.
Caishen laughs. “Such hostility. Then again, I wouldn’t expect anything less from someone who grew up without parents.”
