Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
The one in the middle stared at me harder than the others, like he had an imaginary knife to my throat. He had tattoos in the corners of his eyes.
“We have two options here. We can let bygones be bygones and continue our partnership that has flourished for twenty years—or we can start a war. What do you want to do? Avenge a family member who crossed us or make money hand over fist?” I scanned them all, looking for reactions and weaknesses.
None of them looked at one another. None of them whispered to one another. They seemed to have had a game plan before they’d walked in. The one in the middle had his mouth covered with his hand, but he dropped it to speak. “An apology would be nice.”
“An apology for what?” I asked coldly.
Dante turned to me but didn’t say anything.
The man scooted forward to the edge of his chair. “We asked for ten percent—and you disrespected us.”
“Ten percent is awfully generous when you aren’t a part of this business.”
“Our product has allowed you to have a business,” he snapped. “It’s a small price to pay to stand on our spines. My cousin would still be alive if you’d just honored the request.”
“No,” I barked. “He would still be alive if he hadn’t threatened to rape my wife and nearly broke her nose. That’s why he’s fucking dead. And I’d kill him again—right in front of you—for what he did.”
“Axel.” Dante spoke under his breath.
The Colombian’s stare remained composed, but there was a flare to his nostrils he couldn’t restrain.
“However,” Theo said, jumping in to mitigate the damage I’d caused. “We would like to offer the ten percent and include you as a partner in the business going forward, as a sign of respect and sympathy. Business would continue as it always has, but you’ll receive a bigger piece of the pie. Do you accept?”
My temper had gotten the best of me, but I couldn’t see straight when it came to Scarlett. I would always remember her bloody face because it was carved into the backs of my eyes. The image appeared in my dreams, in the quiet moments as I sat in front of the fire, in the times that I felt at peace. It was a sick torment.
Their spokesperson looked down at the fire, slouching back into his chair, arms hanging down in a relaxed pose.
If he tried to negotiate for more, he would be denied, so I hoped he wouldn’t waste his time with that.
“If you’d just offered this in the first place, my cousin would be alive right now.” His eyes lifted to look at me, daggers in that stare. “All you had to do was agree, but you chose to be arrogant.”
“Christian had a lot of other threads he could have pulled to get what he wanted,” Dante said. “He could have left the meeting and withdrawn his product until we were forced to come to the negotiation table. Trying to take the business, along with my daughter and me, was not the right hand to play. Don’t blame us for your cousin’s foolishness. What happened was tragic, but we are in no way responsible for the bloodshed. The smart thing to do is move forward and continue this business arrangement. It’s obvious we need one another. We need you as our supplier, and you need us as your biggest client. Let’s learn from the past and not squander millions because of our tempers.”
Moments like this reminded me that Dante wasn’t completely useless. Unlike me, he could keep his temper, or at least halt it until the appropriate moment. When his eye was on the prize, he was focused like the point of a laser.
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.”