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The Colombian considered the offer in silence before he straightened in his chair. “I accept your offer.”
“Great,” Dante said. “We are glad to continue this partnership?—”
“But I want him dead.” The guy continued to stare at me, aiming a bullet at my face without a gun. “An eye for an eye.”
I knew there would be some stupid stipulation. The Colombians were all about family, and to think they would let Christian’s death go unpaid was unrealistic. But asking for my head was more than unrealistic—it was ridiculous.
“I shoot him—and we have a deal.” He looked to Theo and Dante for agreement.
I knew Theo wouldn’t fold on me. This would work out perfectly for Dante, however.
“Then we have no deal,” Theo said. “The only reason Axel was there was because his wife called for help. You can blame Axel for pulling the trigger, but his actions were reactionary. Christian was the one who instigated the whole thing.”
“You’re prepared to lose this partnership?” His eyes flicked back to me. “For him?”
“Yes,” Theo said immediately. “It’ll take time, but you can be replaced. My brother can’t be.”
He looked at Dante next. “You agree with this?”
Dante remained quiet for several seconds, his eyes on the bonfire, his legs crossed. “It doesn’t matter whether I do or not. I’m outvoted.”
“I still want to know your answer,” he pressed, like he picked up on the tension between the two of us.
Dante gave a sigh. “I know my daughter cares for him…so no.”
I wondered if that was really his answer or if he was being diplomatic because his vote didn’t matter anyway.
The man gave a nod then clapped his hands against his thighs. “Then our business has concluded. Hopefully you can find a supplier to fulfill the demand.”
“And hopefully you can find a client who can move product the way we can,” I said. “It’d be a shame for all of that to go to waste.”
The men rose from the chairs then left the terrace, moving between the buildings to the entrance of the villa so they could pile into their cars and drive off.
We sat there, rigid in our seats, our muscles stiff from the cold. Minutes of silence passed.
I texted Scarlett because I’d promised I would.Meeting is over. I’ll head home soon.
Her message was instantaneous, like she’d been staring at her phone, waiting for my dots to appear.Thank you.
Dante was the first to speak. “Well, that was a shitshow.”
“They’re bluffing,” Theo said. “We can always find a way to make more product, but they can’t sell in this territory without being butchered. They’re walking away from a lot of money solely out of pride—and that’s fucking stupid.”
“Doesn’t matter if it’s stupid,” Dante said. “If this isn’t a bluff, it’ll set us back a year.”
“They’ll cave,” Theo said simply.
“And if they don’t?” Dante asked.
“We’ll shoot Axel in the head,” Theo said sarcastically. “Problem solved.”
Dante gave a sigh.
“I agree with Theo,” I said. “It’s a bluff.”
“A stupid bluff,” Theo said. “Like we’re going to really shoot you.”
“It’s not about Axel or revenge,” Dante said. “It’s a power play.”
