“I’m flattered.” Her mocking tone aggravates me. Then again, most things aggravate me these days. Blame my blue balls and the gorgeous woman beside me because it’s mostly her fault.
“You should be.” Wrapping my hand around the nape of her neck, I pull her face toward me. My lips smash against hers with force, and I press at the seam of her mouth, demanding entry. I lick the inside of her mouth and ravish her lips as my fingers wind through her hair, removing that restrictive hair tie. “New rule,” I say when I break our kiss. “You wear your hair down when it’s after hours.” I blatantly adjust the raging hard-on in my pants, wanting her to see it.
“Fuck off telling me what to do,” she calmly retorts, removing a fresh hair tie from her purse. I watch in a kind of hypnotic daze as she wrangles her hair into a messy bun, securing it with the tie. “I have an image to maintain as well as a reputation. The way I present myself has been strategically thought out.”
I don’t doubt everything Catarina does is strategically motivated or carefully considered.
“Besides, it tends to get in the way. I want to be able to look a man in the eye when I shoot him between the eyeballs.”
“Good to know,” Diarmuid says, appearing behind us. He flashes us a wide grin. “Ma’am. It’s a pleasure to meet you again.” Taking my wife’s hand, he brings it to his lips.
Smarmy fucker.
“I will refrain from returning the sentiment until I know what you came here to tell us,” Catarina replies, sliding off her stool when Diarmuid drops her hand.
“I respect that.” He turns to shake my hand.
“Let’s talk downstairs.” I grab my jacket and take my wife’s hand before leading the way. Diarmuid and his two men follow, and Ricardo and a couple of my men trail us down the stairs and into the shabby basement office that still reeks of piss, blood, and sweat years after it’s been cleaned out.
“You’re either with us or against us,” Catarina says, not mincing her words, the instant the door is closed behind us. “Which is it?”
Diarmuid smiles. “I like a woman who speaks her mind.”
She levels him with an impatient look as she sits in the chair behind the desk. I take one of the seats in front as does Diarmuid.
“We don’t have all day,” my wife says, and I smother a smile.
“I need assurances.” Diarmuid glances between us. “I am here at considerable risk.”
“Cut the bullshit, O’Hara, and spit it out,” I say.
“Lopez is planning to betray you,” he admits, telling me nothing I haven’t predicted. “He is going to broker a deal with The Triad and come after us.”
“Let me guess,” Catarina says. “He refuses to report to a woman.”
“You got it in a nutshell,” Diarmuid confirms, running his fingers through his reddish-brown hair.
“But it’s more than that,” I supply.
“It is.” Diarmuid stares me directly in the eyes. “We have enjoyed being our own bosses these past ten years. Now you’re asking us to report into you, and that doesn’t sit well with either of us.”
“We appreciate your honesty,” Catarina says. “But things change, and this is the way it’s going to be.”
“The question is, are you with us or is this a fishing expedition?” I ask.
“That’s not how I roll. I’m here because adaptability is the number-one rule in this business and only a fool would turn down such a lucrative offer.”
“The five percent is yours if you guarantee us your loyalty and help to eliminate the Mexicans and the Chinese.” Catarina drums her nails on the scratched surface of the worn desk.
“I need to take it back to my team, but I’m confident we can do business.”
“No.” Catarina leans forward. “We need an answer now. If you leave here without swearing loyalty, you are our enemy.”
Pride swells inside me. I can see how she has risen to the position she now holds.
Diarmuid looks to me, pleading with his eyes. I believe he is genuine, and he just wants to show respect to his advisers by tabling it for an official vote. I suspect he deals with a lot of crap because most of the people who report to him are much older, and the fact he’s a young gun probably sticks in their throat and leads them to question everything he does. That truly sucks. However, while I understand where he’s coming from, there are occasions when a leader needs to lead and make decisions without a vote. I know he has the smarts to realize that.
“You heard my wife. She’s the boss. What she says goes.” I drill him with a look, silently imploring him to do the right thing.
