“Damn,” I said.
He smiled, leaning back in his chair. I could tell that he was enjoying this more than he wanted to admit, that sick bastard. In his mind, he was going to kill me as soon as this meeting was over. He just enjoyed toying with me.
That was what I was counting on. His ego was big enough to encompass the globe.
“So Wyatt, did you come here to beg for your life?” he asked.
“No,” I said.
“You didn’t? Seems like a stupid move, then, coming here.”
“I came to bargain for my life.”
“Ah,” he said. “I see. What could you possibly have that would allow me to let you live.”
“I’ll give you your daughter.”
That made him pause. “Why? I thought you were her ally.”
“I was. But when you sprang that trap, she turned her back on me. That’s why I was running from the city.”
“Threw you under the bus.” Arturo chuckled. “She thought you were a traitor.”
“She did.”
“I can see why she’d think that.”
“They never trusted me. I was always an outsider.”
“So you blame her, then, for this situation. You think she should have protected you.”
“Or at least offered me a safe house to stay hidden until this was all over.”
“Instead, she kicked you out and left you to fend for yourself.”
I nodded, trying to act angry, although I didn’t have to try too hard. The memory of that night came back to me, and it was all Louisa’s fault in the end.
“I was almost killed because of her, and now I’m done with all of you.”
“What are your terms?”
“Let me live. I’ll leave Illinois and never return. In exchange, I’ll give you Louisa.”
“How will you give her to me?” he asked.
“I’ll set up a meeting between the two of you.”
“Doesn’t she think you’re a traitor?”
“She does. That’s exactly why she’ll come.”
He paused, frowning. “Why couldn’t I set this meeting up myself?”
“She wouldn’t show. But she’ll listen if it’s coming from me.”
“Why?”
“Because we had . . . relations,” I said. “We grew close, until she believed I betrayed her. Now I really will betray the bitch and be done with all of this.”
“Interesting,” he said. “You think my daughter will listen because of your relationship with her.”
“She’ll come. And when she does, you can kill her. Without Louisa, the Spiders are nothing.”
“You think I’d kill my own daughter?”
I grinned a wicked grin, playing into this little charade. “Yes. I think you will. I think you’ll do whatever it takes to get control of the city back, because you’re losing, Arturo. You’re losing slowly but surely, and you know it.”
He stared at me without speaking for a few minutes. It was uncomfortable, but I didn’t back down. I knew that he was measuring me, trying to get a sense for whether I was lying or not.
I was only partially lying. Most of what I said was true, but my motives for getting him to that meeting were the lie. I didn’t want to give Louisa to him; I wanted to give him to Louisa.
“You’re playing a game here,” he said slowly. “I know that you are, but I can’t figure out exactly what it is. You have no reason to back Louisa. She nearly got you killed. And yet I don’t think you’re being truthful with me, or at least not entirely.” He sighed, pushing back and standing up. He turned his back to me. “This war has drained me, Wyatt. I used to be a young man, full of blood lust and excitement. The idea of war would have gotten me hard back then, and I would have gone through my days looking forward to the death and the destruction.
“Now, I’m not young anymore. I’ve slowed down considerably. I no longer want war. I want peace and prosperity for my people and for this city. I don’t want to hurt my daughter, but I see that I have no other choice. Louisa is my daughter, and she will never back down, not ever.”
He turned around and looked at me, and his eyes were sad. I was surprised, but there was a depth of feeling there that I never imagined Arturo Barone was even capable of.
The man was genuinely mourning the loss of his daughter. I was actually amazed.
“Set the meeting,” he said finally. “I will come, and I hope she does too. We will finish this. Peacefully, I hope, but violently if we must. I don’t want to hurt my own daughter, and so I hope she will listen to reason.”
“Good,” I said, nodding. I stood up.
“As for you, I will grant your request. But only if this meeting goes well. Otherwise, I will hunt you down and kill you.”