He glances once at Siennabefore shifting his attention back to me.
“I hear you’ve got something that needs moving.”
“I do.” I match his cool tone. “High-grade. No serials. Coming in clean and tight. Not too flashy, not too messy. You’ll barely know it happened.”
“And you want to use my pipeline.”
“I want a trial run,” I clarify. “One shipment. See how it goes. If we both walk away satisfied, we will talk more. If not, we pretend this never happened.”
He tilts his head, thoughtful. “You do your homework?”
“On?”
“The woman at your side.” He steals another look at Sienna. “I don’t talk business with people I don’t know.”
Meaning she’s not in the game. She doesn’t belong at this table.
“End of next month?”
Angelo raises one eyebrow. He was expecting me to ask Sienna to leave the table.
No one tells me what to do or who can sit at my side. If I trust enough that she won’t blow me out of the water with the cops, she’ll sit wherever I want her to.
Not that I believe she wouldn’t, but she’d have a hell of a time doing it. It’s the least of my worries right now.
“We still need to talk more details,” Angelo presses, “and my time is limited tonight.”
I nod, flicking a glance toward Artem.
“Take her back to the penthouse,” I order.
Sienna’s mouth opens, but Artem’s already standing, and I can see her weighing her options. Cause a scene in front of the Italians, or deal with me later.
Sure, I made her come for not listening earlier. I don’t jack off guys who double-cross me and owe me money, so she’s an exception.
One I’ll need to handle carefully.
She chooses wisely, rising to her feet, heels clicking furiously as she stalks out of the VIP section with Artem close behind her.
Good.
Now I can focus.
Angelo watches the scene with a calm, unreadable expression, then leans forward slightly. “She gonna be a problem?”
“Not for you,” I answer easily. “She’s my issue.”
“Personal or professional?”
I give a dry chuckle. “Ask me again next week.”
He nods with a smirk. “Good luck with that, Volkov. Women are trouble, but the best kind.”
I’m not sold on that yet, but I let it slide.
We get into the specifics: locations, drop points, and personnel. Angelo wants a neutral zone somewhere quiet. He also wants his guy to inspect the shipment ahead of time.
I agree, because I don’t deal in shit, and I have nothing to hide. We set the date, the route, and the cargo details.
