It’s immediate.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” I triple-check with him while digging my keys and ID out of my bag.
As soon as my ID and keys are on the table, he swipes them up, then he sits back in his chair, looking like the cat that ate the canary. “I’m also very serious about rehiring you and asking youto step into a more senior role with us. After you’ve had a long vacation. I trust you will reach out to me when the time is right.”
And then there’s no acting involved. I burst into tears, making everyone in the restaurant look our way again. A job once this is done and dealt with is a dream come true.
He passes over a clean napkin, and once I’ve got myself more under control, I look back at him. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done. And are willing to do for me, Dr. Billings.”
“It’s me that couldn’t thank you enough. I’ll have HR send over a draft contract. You and I have a lot of lives to change and save, Quinn.” He gives me a very non-professional hug, feeling more like a fatherly figure.
“I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“Now you’re talking BS,” he says as his arms fall away. He collects all his things before looking at me. “Whenever you are ready and whatever you need.”
He heads over to our server and passes over enough money to pay for our breakfast meeting, as well as a hearty tip.
I sit back down, dazed at how this morning went and how neatly my time at the clinic has come to an end. It gives me a huge dose of confidence that stays with me during the rest of the day as I transition from the person I am to the person I need to be.
The next few days pass in a whirlwind of last-minute preparations and planning. No matter how many tasks I cross off my list, it’s hard to distract myself from the knowledge that the time for leaving for Russia is upon me. I stayed extra busy today, getting my hair done, a facial, shopping for necessities in the expensive boutiques I try to avoid.
It’s late at night when I finally stop for something to eat, at a McDonald’s, of all places. A fast-food restaurant is a strange place to feel like I fit in. All the other late-night diners lookand dress as different as you can imagine, but we share an odd kinship. No one looks strangely at my expensive Chanel suit or the atrociously oversized diamond engagement ring on my finger; I’m just another person dipping fries into a thick shake.
Chapter Six
SANTIAGO
“Where are you?” Valentine’s Italian heritage surges to life, his accent thickening. His anger sparks to an instant inferno, like it always does.
I paste on a smile before I answer him. “I mean this with the best of intentions, Valentine, but it’s none of your fucking business where I am.”
Ronin belts out a laugh from his end of the three-way call, his lilting brogue highlighting his Irish roots. He talks fast, making me concentrate on what he’s saying. “Trust me, Val, Santiago is hiding something.”
I check my mirrors, verifying the streets remain relatively quiet. I’m idling down the road from where a small fleet of SUVs, with a couple of hundred thousand dollars of weapons poised at the ready, are waiting.
“The deal was if you step foot in my territory…”
I look around me, wondering if Valentine De Luca is toying with me. I wouldn’t put it past him. I am practically in his city, after all, just across the river from his territory.
I’m mostly confident he hasn’t managed to add this small piece of no-man’s land to under his control. Yet.
The apartment tower I’m surveilling is the real-life version of “The Continental” that John Wick uses. Each owner who resides here is assured their anonymity is protected, and their safety is guaranteed irrespective of where their alliances lie.
Valentine barks, pulling my focus away from the entrance of the tower, back to him. “You are not to step foot...”
“Technically, I haven’t broken our arrangement.”
Ronin laughs again, louder.
His taunting is like waving a red flag in my face, and I react without my usual equable approach to life. “How is that wife of yours? Does she still talk about me, Ronin? She and I shared something special in Genoa.”
It takes him milliseconds to start snarling under his breath. That should have me reeling back and apologizing, but today, hearing him struggling not to explode is a welcome distraction.
“Watch what comes out your fecking mouth next, Santiago. You don’t mention my wife. You don’t say her name. You don’t pretend for a tick of the clock you know anything about her. That’s my only warning. I’ll burn you and every one of your fucking factories and homes to the ground before I let Keegan know you’re asking questions you shouldn’t even be thinking.”
I hear Valentine trying to muffle the sound of his own snicker. But he’s not quick enough to escape Ronin’s wrath.
“And you, you right cunt, shouldn’t be ’aving a go right now. I wouldn’t be too fucking smug at the minute, Valentine. You’re apparently about to have one of your shipments seized. You’ve got a rat, are you hearing me?”
