Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
I still didn’t like it.
It was hard to focus on greeting everyone when she was all I cared about. I shook hands, made myself a drink, and just to keep up appearances, tossed a couple bills on the stage and received a smile in payment. I grabbed a cigar and lit up before I dropped into a chair next to Demetri. “How’d you fare?”
“Lost eight thousand to his asshole.” He nodded toward Julio.
“I hear he cheats.”
“I’m starting to wonder the same thing.” He nodded toward Dante and Scarlett, who talked to others across the room. “What’s her story?”
“She’s Dante’s daughter.”
“I know, but why’s she here?” he asked as the cigar remained in his mouth. “With an ass like that, she belongs onstage, not here in the crypt.”
It took all my strength not to say anything. Not to react. To just sit there and do nothing. I took a big drink of my scotch and let the booze do its work. My eyes watched her move across the room, watched her carry herself like she belonged there. Then she did the unexpected, pulled out a couple bills from inside her bra and walked up to one of the strippers. She shoved a wad of cash inside her G-string then walked away.
Every man in the room froze at what she’d just done.
If I was hard, so was everyone else.
She smirked as she walked to the table, knowing she had everyone’s full attention. She took a seat at the table, away from me like she didn’t know me. She grabbed one of the cigars and lit up like she’d done it several times before—even though I’d never seen her smoke. One arm was crossed over her stomach, while the other elbow was propped on her wrist. She closed her eyes as she savored the taste of the cigar then released the smoke from her mouth. “I love the smell of cigars.”
Was this the same woman I was fucking?
Dante took the seat beside her. “Let’s talk numbers, gentlemen.”
They all gathered around the table, and we began our discussions, the women still dancing even though no one was watching.
“I’m not happy with this month’s numbers.” He surveyed everyone at the table. “And I want to know who’s responsible.”
“The dip was minimal,” Julio said.
“I don’t care how minimal it was,” Dante snapped. “There shouldn’t be a dip at all.” His charismatic energy was gone, replaced by the ruthless authoritarian who insisted he never had enough money. Even all the money wasn’t enough.
“I told you costs were going to rise,” Julio said. “The police need a bigger payout if they’re going to crane their neck away so hard.”
“If they want their families to live, then they don’t need a higher payment,” Dante said simply.
My eyes immediately shifted to Scarlett, surprised she wanted to be involved in a business like this. To make threats to innocent people, even if they were a bluff. But she smoked her cigar like this was fine.
“If anything, our costs should be declining,” Dante said. “You guys are the street rats. You’re selling drugs on the street, not pushing piles across international lines. Your distribution costs should be stable.”
“It’s not that simple,” Julio said.
“It is that simple,” Dante said, raising his voice slightly. “If you’re skimming off the top, I will find out about it. And you know what will happen when I find out about it?” He looked at Julio head on, the veins in his temple starting to pop. “Remember Tate? That’s what will happen.”
Dante had stuffed him in a full oil drum, kicked him over the edge of a dock, and then shot the barrel, making it explode while he was trapped inside it.
My eyes shifted to Scarlett, wondering if she knew what her father referred to.
She had no reaction, so it was hard to know.
The room went silent, taking the threat seriously.
“Julio and Demetri would never skim off the top,” I said. “I’ve been working with them a long time, and they’re honest criminals.”
Dante turned his gaze to me, blanketing me in his ferocity. “Honest criminals? Interesting paradox.”
“They wouldn’t betray me by betraying you. If profits have declined, it’s because production costs have risen and they’ve moved less product. That’s all.” I wouldn’t let Dante torch my existing partnerships, not when I could attest to their goodness.
“So you vouch for them?” Dante asked. “Personally?”
“Yes.”
“So if they do fuck me over, you’re the one who ends up in an oil drum?” This meeting hadn’t been about him and me, but it had suddenly turned into that. His hatred for me seeped through his tone and poisoned his words.
“Sure,” I said. “Why not?”
His eyes narrowed on my face.
Dante stared at me hard for several seconds before he turned back to Julio. “I want next month’s sales to be better. Do you understand me?”