Page 83 of Roman

“Your money. I’m returning it. Unless Marianne skimmed off the top.”

“We gave her a hundred grand.”

I barked a dry laugh. “She took thirty.” I snapped my fingers. “Wire it to them. Now.”

Aldo pulled out his phone, tapping on the screen. “Done.”

The brothers exchanged a look, clearly perplexed.

“You are out nothing but a couple of useless men. Who sang the second they saw my gun, so no loss there for you. We are even on the money. I owe you nothing. Now the debt is yours.”

“What do you want?” Gregory asked.

“You stay on that side of the river in the US. You never come back here. You never take another woman from my territory. Or my brother’s. I find out you have been here, you have broken this olive branch, hellfire will rain down on you. On everything you touch. I will wipe you out, and there will be nowhere you can run. You have no idea the length of my reach.”

“Why?” they asked at the same time.

“My fiancée detests violence. I am doing this to honor her. She has suffered enough.” I paused. “There is one stipulation.”

“What?”

From my pocket, I withdrew a small rectangular box. I opened it and laid it on the table. “I cannot trust you to keep your word. You have given it before, and yet here we sit. You will allow us to embed these trackers in you. As long as you stay on your side of the border, they remain inactive. The minute you cross into my territory, I will know.”

“And if we refuse?”

“You will be leaving here in a body bag. And the people I have in position will move in and take everything you built. By tomorrow, the world will be rid of your memory and control.”

I sat back, crossing my legs. “Your decision.”

“You want us to believe you will not use this to track and kill us?”

“My word is not in question here. I have never broken it. I don’t care what you do as long as you stay away. And you will not use others to do your dirty work. You are done here. For good.”

“And there will be no further revenge?”

“To you? No.”

“To whom, then?”

My voice became cold. “Marianne must pay.”

“Her sister will allow this?” Gregory asked skeptically. “Women are softer.”

“Her sister will do as I say.”

His eyebrows rose at my harsh tone. Then he nodded. “We agree.”

One of my men came forward and implanted the devices. I refused to touch either man, and I knew Aldo felt the same. I would make sure Henry got a reward for doing so.

“How did you connect me with her?” I asked, curious.

“Our men saw you at her shop after the fire. It didn’t take much guessing.”

I thought about the fact that Effie had gone there on her own later that day. It was only divine intervention that stopped them from taking her from me. I drew in a long breath, keeping my temper.

“Your business in Canada is over,” I announced. “Do not return. Ever.”

They stood, and I held up my hand. “I have a bonus for you.”

“And that is?”

“Marianne. She took a flight to Vegas. I’m looking for her. If you find her, there will be no retribution for ending her life. In fact, I would consider it a debt fully paid, especially if she suffers.”

Gregory narrowed his eyes. “You are a cold man, Roman Costas.”

I shrugged. Marianne had ceased to be a person to me the moment she chose to set this plan in motion. She meant nothing to me, and she deserved to be punished. Effie would be horrified, but if it happened elsewhere, she wouldn’t hold me accountable. The bottom line was, I wasn’t going to give Marianne another chance to hurt Effie. She would try, I knew it as clearly as I knew the Santini brothers would find a way to break this deal.

And when they did, they, too, would die.

“Remember that,” I instructed them.

Without another word, I left the room.