He tilted his head. “What’s that?” he asked, unamused.
“Saving the girls and women locked in a cargo ship here, in this city, at the docks.” Before he could say another word, I rose up on the balls of my feet and kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry about me, James. Collin isn’t going to hurt me.”
I slipped out of the closet and kept my head down to avoid Gwen and her baseball player. James didn’t say he was here, but wherever Gwen went, that dead man seemed to follow. I made my way into the kitchen, hiding behind waitresses passing trays of food to people before I slipped through another door.
It led into a secret room where a meeting was being held. A man put his hand on my shoulder, stopping me from going any farther. Smoke filled the room, and the lights were low. When I looked at the man, I couldn’t make out his face, but I knew he was one of ours.
“Get your hand off of her, or die where you stand, Nick,” Col said casually from his place at the table. He was willing to kill one of his men…for me. His back was to me, sitting in front of the mayor, Roman’s little brother, and two other men.
Nikki’s hand fell away from me, and I walked past him.
My demon held out his hand, not breaking eye contact with the man across from him. This was supposed to be a business meeting, going over the betting numbers from Fenway Park. However, Collin had other plans.
I accepted his hand, his rough fingers gripping my skin. The man was just touching a small part of my body, but I felt him everywhere. He pulled me onto his lap, my ass perched on his thigh as he sat back in his chair. The mayor looked me up and down like he wanted to eat me, Roman’s little brother, Anthony, just looked scared, and the other two men paid me no mind.
“Do we have an agreement?” my demon asked.
The mayor sat back, puffing his cigar as he tapped his thick fingers on the table. “You got some balls on you, kid. I’ll give you that.”
Collin chuckled. “Let me rephrase. Youwillagree to the terms I have laid out for you, or you will loseyourlimbs.”
The room was silent, the men shifting in their seats. Honestly, Anthony looked like he was about to piss himself. I bit the inside of my cheek. Collin had always been a smartass. I feared that if my demon didn’t get his way, we would be having a Dahmer style barbecue.
I shuddered.
Collin’s hand slid up my spine to wrap around the base of my neck, his thumb sweeping over my skin. It was a possessive touch, one that had my nipples hardening.
“You have no right to speak to me that way, boy.”
“Another word, mayor, and come re-election, you won’t be on the ballet,” he growled.
“We’ll do it,” Anthony said. His voice was weak and timid, but he cleared his throat and repeated himself.
“Ant—”
The boy held his hand up. “Romano has been in power too long, and his son was a pussy, according to my brother,” he explained. He looked at me. “I am sorry for his behavior towards you last night. He was a pig.”
I was pretty sure my jaw was on the floor.
“What the hell happened last night?” the mayor asked.
“The same thing about to happen here if you refuse,” Collin drawled.
Ten minutes later, Collin had Bostin in his back pocket.
Chapter Sixteen
Collin
“Col, I have to tell you something,” my angel whispered to me once we got into the car.
Her voice was off, but then again, she had been on edge since we stepped into the mayor’s home. My eyes shot up to the rearview mirror to find Nick looking at me. He nodded after a moment and the partition rolled up, providing us privacy.
I sat back in my seat, the lights of Boston flashing through the windows as we passed by. Karina was sitting to my side, close to the window, as if afraid of me. My thumb stroked my bottom lip as my eyes trailed down the length of her dress.
“What is it, Karina?”
She wasn’t looking at me. No, her baby blues were focused on the city, her hands folded tight in her lap. She was on edge.
