Seeing him in Vincenzo’s loft had been scary enough. But with my own underworld monster protecting me, I hadn’t had this same rush of awareness. The same feeling of facing an apex predator.
Well, I’m a predator too.And Liam needed legal counsel, which evened the playing field.
“Ah, there’s my lawyer,” Liam growled, leaning over his desk. His fists dug into the flimsy wood, making it bend under his weight. “We’ll see what she has to say about it.”
“Won’t do no good,” the other man sneered, tipping his chin up. “The motion is set to be heard this afternoon.”
I marched into the space, shoulders back. “What seems to be the trouble?”
“He says there’s a fecking problem with the permits.” Liam’s words dripped with acid.
“Let me see.” I spoke over the rude stranger, whose cheeks were mottled with purple rage.
Liam tossed me a folder. I managed to catch it without letting the documents slip out. I thumbed through them, ignoring the city official’s rant. It was instantly clear what was going on, but I scanned each page to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
“These documents were filed with the proper department,” I said calmly, interrupting the tirade. “The committee signed off on them three days ago. There’s no problem here.”
“Take that up with Judge Parker,” the official said, puffing his chest. “He’s put a cease and desist on all operations.”
“I’m not paying a fee to continue working when my paperwork’s in order,” Liam snapped.
“Nor should you.” I closed the folder. “I’ll see Judge Parker this afternoon. You said there’s a hearing?”
“Three o’clock.” The official looked pleased.
“Good, well, that will give you time to make up an excuse for why you’re trying to extort my client for a fee that doesn’t apply to his permits.” I dropped the folder on the desk. “Trying to force a chunk of the profits is an actionable offense, Mr.—?” I arched a brow, waiting for the name.
“Maddison,” Liam supplied helpfully.
“Thank you.” I took a step forward, drawing my shoulders back and staring the official down. “As I said, this is extortion. Otherwise known as blackmail. I can assure you, this matter can be bumped from a civil offense to a criminal charge very easily. I have several hours before I have to go see Judge Parker, and that gives me plenty of time to gather the information.”
“Well, now, wait just a minute!” Maddison held up his chubby paw, as if to stop me in my tracks. “I have forms that weren’t signed. That’s enough for me to bring in the authorities.”
“And what? Stop construction?” I laughed. “Not happening.”
“The cops are at the gate, boss,” Connor inserted from where he stood to the side of the room.
Liam bristled.
“Good,” I said quickly. “Bring them over, and I’ll personally see that Mr. Maddison is treated to a ride in the back of a squad car.”
“The forms,” the man said weakly.
“There was never any need for those forms, and you know it.” I planted my hands on my hips. “Now get out of here, call off your dogs, and I’ll see you this afternoon in court.”
The man scrambled around me, ducking out of the portable in a frenzied rush to escape.
I let out a short breath and plucked the file from the table. “Can I see any and all documents pertaining to this project? I need to comb through every step to make sure nothing was missed.”
“Have at it.” Liam stepped around his desk, shoving the keyboard in my direction. He took a seat in the folding chair on the opposite side.
I ran a hand over my hair—my drenched, limp hair—and folded into the rolling chair behind the desk. My short nails tapped against the keys as I began my search.
“He was all bluster, then?” Liam murmured.
“Mhmm.” I nodded, eyes scanning the lists of documents in the company’s server.
“Fecker’s dead,” Connor muttered.
