Daniel doesn’t look like he thinks this is very funny.
“Overthisgirl,” he corrects.“And you don’t usually risk your own life for it.”
I poke one finger into his shoulder.“If you think that, it just means you’re not paying attention.Maybe I need to rethink the raise I was going to give you.Stay out here.Keep your mouth shut.I’ll be back once I’ve finished negotiations.”
He glowers like he likes this even less, but I don’t give him a choice.I turn and gesture to Dom’s guards, then walk through his front door, surrounded by his men, like I know exactly what the fuck I’m doing.
And the truth is, I do know what I’m doing.I’m here to negotiate a purchase.
And if Brooks is being as much a pain in the ass as I suspect she is, then I’m guessing Dom will be more than ready to sell.
We walk through the foyer, which is just as horrible and overdone as I remember, past the staircase, and into Dom’s office, where I find the man himself behind his desk, looking like he’s cosplaying as Lucifer.His still-dark hair is swept back in waves, with a mere sprinkling of salt at his temples.His skin is smooth as a baby’s and still wrinkle free, despite the fact that he’s literally old enough to be my father, and when his eyes turn to me I see that they’re just as black as they’ve ever been.I think briefly of the portrait of Dorian Gray, that painting that took decades of aging upon itself to save its real-life subject from the years, and wonder whether Dom has started practicing witchcraft to stop aging.Maybe voodoo.
I’m guessing a deal with the devil, myself.I’ve never met a man more willing to sell his own soul than Dominick Landry.
Though it’s far more likely he sold someone else to the underworld and kept the benefits for himself.
“Dom,” I say smoothly, walking forward.“It’s been a long time.”
I decide I’m going to be friendly and put my hand out to shake, but he looks at it with disgust and turns away.
So I guess we’re not being friendly, then.That suits me just fine.
“Not long enough, though I have to admit I’m surprised it took you this long to call me,” he mutters, his hands behind him and his stare on the window, where the sun is coming up over the wall around his house.“After all—” He turns and gives me a disgusting, lascivious smirk.“—I do have your girl.”
For the millionth time in my short life, I think that I’m going to have to kill Dom Landry.I’m going to wrap my hands around his neck and squeeze until something cracks, and I’m going to watch the light go out of his eyes, enjoying every minute of it.The last word he’s ever going to hear is going to come from my lips, and it’s going to be Brooks’ name.
But only after I get what I want.
“You do, and I want her for the night,” I say, ignoring his insinuation.Or maybe playing into it.“I’m here to broker a deal for that.”
He’s displeased at my refusal to take the bait he laid out, and distrust flickers through his eyes.Good.I like when I take men by surprise.
“Just like that?”he asks.“It’s dangerous to let me know what you want, you know.Hasn’t your father taught you anything?”
Now that’s a low blow, and my hands clench into fists at the lack of respect.The outright insult.I take a step forward, put my fists on his table, and lean in.
“Be careful, Dom.You have something I want and I’m asking nicely to do a deal for it.You and I both know that I have more money and power in my little finger than you do.I don’t have to come to the table for Brooks.I could take her by force, and spend very little effort to do it.But I’m more interested in being friendly than being enemies.For right now.That could change quickly if you don’t watch your tongue.”
It’s a bold move, and I know it—especially if he already knows I was at the port last night, fighting with some anonymous enemy over a shipment of girls Dom never sent.
But I’m betting he has less power than he pretends.And that he’s desperate for money.He might live in one of the largest houses in the city but he’s still depending on money his father made for the family, and everything I’ve seen points to him still working for someone else.
The mysterious business partner.The one pulling the strings.
Dom doesn’t have the power, here.And whatever that business partner is paying him probably isn’t enough.Dom is a selfish, greedy man who likes power and money more than anything else.I’m offering him both.
He just needs to reach out and take it.
He sneers like he can hear every thought racing through my brain.“What the fuck do you want with my daughter, Boudreaux?To keep fucking her?”
That’s not unexpected.After all, he found us fucking at the port and must realize how close we are by this point.Hell, chances are good he’s been using her as bait this entire time, just to come to this moment.
“You want your whore back, is that it?”he continues.
I’ve changed my mind.I’m not going to choke him to death.I’m going to cut off his dick and watch him bleed to death with his own cock stuffed into his mouth.
“She’s not as impressive as you think, you know,” he says.“All mouth, no brains.”He gives me a considering look, then, and leers.“Although maybe that’s exactly why you like her.Big mouth is an asset on a girl like that, isn’t it?”
