His eyes opened wide. “No, sir. Both you and your father have been good to me. I couldn’t do it any longer.”
Maybe spending time with the lovely Catherine had already made me go soft. Just thinking about her pushed me to the point of insatiable need instead of acting on necessary business. I’d fucked her long and hard, indulging and feasting in a frenzied state. Yet it obviously hadn’t been enough.
I’d captured a glimpse of the same darkness inside of her that I’d known in myself and that had fueled the intense need. Yet she remained an enigma.
Decisions. Decisions.
“If you don’t know who ordered you to blindly steal from me, then you can’t help me.” I turned away, accepting a lesson that needed to be learned.
“I’ll find out for you. I’ll do what it takes.”
Just before reaching for my weapon, I took a deep breath. “And how do you propose to do that?”
“I’ll find a way.”
He meant what he said. I fingered the gris-gris once again before opening the package. Very slowly, I poured it onto the ground while Jimmy watched in horror and Jarvis continued to be amused. “Then that’s what you’re going to do, Jimmy. For now, you do nothing more than follow their instructions and provide me with the date, the time, and their demands.”
His breathing remained labored. “Yes, sir. You won’t regret this, sir.”
“I hope I won’t, Jimmy, because if I do, the next bag of gris-gris will be shared with a family curse. That’s when you will learn what true black magic is all about. Take him back to his house and ensure that you aren’t followed.”
“Yes, sir,” one of my men answered, immediately grabbing Jimmy before the kid fell to the ground. Jesus. Why did they always sob?
My hesitation brought a look of confusion on Jarvis’ face. “May your daughter recover, Jimmy. No one and no family deserves the wrath that cancer brings.” Hell, I surprised even myself.
I was finished with him. Any further act of punishment would render him useless. As soon as I walked away, Jarvis was immediately in step.
“Showing mercy. Something new.”
“Don’t fuck with me,” I hissed. “Make a few phone calls. Find out about where his wife works and the hospital where the kid is staying. Find out everything you can about the owners of the companies and this cancer trial.”
“Are you asking me to keep his family safe?”
I’d reached the driver’s door before I bothered answering. “I’m suggesting we ensure our game piece has everything necessary to fulfill his task. Nothing more. Nothing less. And more than before, I need to learn everything I can about Catherine. She’s hiding something and I don’t like it.”
“You’re determined to keep her. Is that wise?”
When I looked at him, he threw up his hands. “Fine. I’m sorry I asked.”
“She is by far the most infuriating woman I’ve ever met.”
He chuckled. “Maybe that’s good for you.”
“Fuck you.” As soon as I said the two words, once again I was taken back to thoughts of her. I fisted my hand and glared atthe cemetery as if maybe there was something to the art of black magic. I certainly needed to understand why I was risking so much over a woman. One woman who’d already driven me crazy. All I could think about was fucking her. Even now, my cock was hard as a rock. Fuck. I was losing control, something that hadn’t occurred in years.
“I’ve changed my mind about Ms. Devereaux.”
Before I climbed into the car, I threw him a look. “Careful, my friend. I’m in a shitty mood.”
“What? I was simply going to say she’s having a positive effect on you. Maybe not your mood, but certainly your humanitarianism.”
“If you’re suggesting I suddenly have a heart, you’re wrong.”
“I wasn’t talking about your heart, Alex. I was talking about your soul.”
He should know better than anyone that I had no soul and there was nothing anyone could do, including a beautiful woman, to change me.
For better or for worse.
