AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A short laugh escaped my lips. I cut the engine on the Camaro. “Since when do you care about the truth?”
“How can I make an informed judgement without your version?” Talia slipped the shades completely off and settled her back against the passenger door so she was looking straight at me.
I held her scrutinizing gaze and considered my words carefully. “Given my childhood, I quickly developed skills my uncle deemed necessary for my future as the head of a shipping empire. Uncle Isaac was already quarreling with Gustave when I was brought into his house. Cargo rights, mostly. When my uncle died, one of my first acts as head of our house was to ensure all...undesirable activities were ended. Gustave wasn’t keen on that policy change.”
“What happened in your childhood to give you such a jump on this path of ill repute?” Talia quirked a brow.
“As a feral dog on the streets, I learned about survival.”
“The streets?” Talia jerked slightly, eyes wide.
I enjoyed her surprise, despite the discomfort of this conversation. All the horrid details surrounding my childhood were something she’d not yet earned the right to know. Swallowing hard, I answered, “Yes. And that’s all I am willing to say.”
Talia nodded. “I thank you for the consideration, Drakos.”
“Constantine.”
A peal of laughter slipped from her crimson lips. “No, no, I don’t think so. Not yet. It’s Drakos until we consummate this marriage.”
“Or butcher?” I didn’t mean to sound harsh, but it was unavoidable.
Talia winced. “If the shoe fits....”
I wonder what she’d think if she knew I was an assassin.She didn’t seem to mind that I’d earned the moniker as a fearsome smuggler in the underworld. I flexed my hands over my thighs. “Look, I want to change the subject.”
“Mmm,” Talia said, turning back toward the ocean view. From her enchanting profile, it was hard to tell what she was thinking.
“I want to offer you a job.” I watched as surprise flickered across her features. “You need something to do, and after your performance with the dinner party, I think you’ve earned it.”
“There are few jobs available for women of the underworld,” she breathed, still focused on the Pacific Ocean.
I shrugged. “No one will stop me.”
“What kind of work?” she asked, and I tried not to read into the hope I heard.
“First, let me ensure there is no illusion in your mind as to what I do.”
Talia smirked. “You’re the butcher. Your reputation precedes you.”
It hurt. I knew what I was; I knew better than anyone what’d I’d done in my career of violence. But to hear her say it with such flippancy sent an ache through my chest.I want to be better...for her.
I shook that thought away. Voice hardening, I said, “Yes. And I was compensated well for my services to several big kings in the mob.”
“I bet.” Talia ran the tip of her finger over her chin, absently looking over the car’s hood.
“I have a club; it’s a valuable property, and my business advisers recommend I tear down the structure and sell it. But, with the proper management and some renovations, I think it could be given a new life.”
As I spoke, I heard how metaphorical I sounded. This could be Talia I was talking about. Could she be given a new lease on life? I hoped so, because that was my new goal. To show her there was more to life than being a tool for the nefarious manipulations of another.
“You want me to manage a club for you?” Talia whipped her body toward me. “How the hell do you figure I qualify for that?”
“Easy.” I grinned, leaning forward. “You threw the best damn dinner party any of the Ita Shipping associates have seen in years.”
Talia scoffed.
“I’m serious, princess. You can do this.” And my buddy James Black owed me. He would lend me the resources to ensure her club was the most successful in my portfolio.
“If I do, what do I get out of it?”
