The Wedding Pact (The O'Malleys #2)(82)
It took her entirely too long to understand what the hell he meant. “You want me to come with you now?” She shot a panicked look at her father, but he was no help. “But I need to say good-bye to Sloan and Keira and—”
“That’s what a phone is for.” Her father’s expression didn’t so much as twitch. “If you’re going to be difficult, I’ll have Mark come in here and carry you out over his shoulder. Why don’t you save us all the indignity of throwing a tantrum and act like an adult?”
He’d just sold her to further his business arrangements, and he wanted her to act like an adult. Only the knowledge that he’d follow through on his threat without batting an eye had her finding her spine and shooting to her feet. “Then, by all means, let’s not make a scene.” Neither man flinched at the venom in her voice.
“Wonderful.”
She ignored Dmitri’s offered elbow and strode out of the room, nearly hitting Aiden with the door as she came out. “I hope you’re happy, big brother.”
His green eyes went wide before he schooled his expression. “What’s going on?”
“Father’s handed me off to Dmitri. So I won’t be your problem anymore.” She ignored the way he flinched and strode for the front door. She wasn’t surprised when Dmitri met her stride for stride without seeming to hurry. She glared. “I expect you to send men over to collect my things before you cart me off to New York.”
“I’ll see it done.”
He was so…unflappable. Stone cold. It made her want to poke at him, but instinct said he’d respond in a way she wouldn’t like, so she didn’t. Instead, she followed him out to his car and into the backseat. He closed the door, sealing her into the silence of the limo. She started to shake and wrapped her arms around herself to cover up the involuntary movements.
Oh God, what am I going to do?
James couldn’t shake the nasty mood that made him want to punch something. It was a bad place to be in because he had important shit going on tonight. Meeting the flesh traders without his head on straight was just asking for trouble. He met Michael in the kitchen. The man leaned against the counter, hunched over a cup of what smelled like coffee. “Morning, boss.”
“Everything a go for tonight?”
“As good as it gets. I have men posted at the transfer spot making sure we don’t have any surprises when the time comes.”
Smart. He poured himself a cup of coffee. “I get through tonight with money in my pocket and without getting shot, and you’re getting a bonus.”
Michael gave a toothy grin. “Just what I live for.” He slurped his coffee. “I’m going to check on the boys. Unless you need something else?”
“Go.” He waved the man away. There was nothing to say to Michael that he didn’t already know. A good leader delegated when possible, and his second in command had proven he was capable of handling whatever shit arose. Michael had barely been gone thirty seconds when Ricky sauntered through the door.
“Hey, James.”
He set the mug down. “Ricky.” It’d only been a few days since he let his little brother out of the basement, but there had been no incidents. It was almost too much to hope that that would continue for the next few days until he left for California. He wasn’t about to let his guard down—Ricky was rarely up before noon, let alone at this early hour. He wanted something. “What can I do you for?”
“The deal you have going on tonight. I want in.” He held up his hands, not that James was rushing to jump in and fill the silence. “Just hear me out. I brokered this deal, and I busted my ass to get the contacts in place so that these two would trust us enough to bring the shipment in. I deserve to be there.”
Considering he didn’t trust his brother with the women at Tit for Tat who voluntarily worked the darker aspects of their trade, he sure as fuck wasn’t going to trust him with a container full of terrified refugees in God only knew what state. That being said, it wasn’t like he was going to send Ricky off without someone to watch his back—and make sure he didn’t do anything shady. James would be there to ensure things stayed on target, and he wouldn’t look the other way if his brother tried something. Maybe this would be the thing that would get them started on a better path.
Or maybe Ricky was just waiting for him to lower his guard so he could slit James’s throat.
He took another drink of coffee, watching his brother over the rim of his mug. “If I say yes—if—then you follow orders. I don’t care if I tell you to strip down buck-ass naked and run through the street, you do it with no questions asked. Understand?”