Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 82847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
He’d been reading something when I walked in, and the second his eyes flicked up to look at me, he stilled. But he didn’t display the look of panic a lesser man would show. I helped myself to the chair in front of his desk. “Your men informed me I didn’t have an appointment, so I put them to sleep.” Just wanted to make a point, that I was an unstoppable force, that I could kill him right now if I wanted to. “In a few minutes, your other men will run into this room to stop me. But if I wanted you dead, you’d be dead already.”
He gave a quiet sigh and placed his papers off to the side before he sat forward, arms on the desk. “Say your piece, Wolfe.”
“I’m not working in the warehouse anymore.”
“You think you’re above that?”
“I’m not above a hard day’s work. But my skills and experience are wasted as a human dolly. I revealed that the man you viewed as an ally is actually an adversary, that he stole from you and then laughed behind your back. That he intends to bury you in the ground then dance across your grave. And you can’t even acknowledge what I did for you.”
He continued to stare, his fingers interlocked on the desk.
“And you still won’t.” I sat back in the chair. “I thought I was a stubborn man.”
“Perhaps you knew where the guns were because you put them there.”
“Don’t insult me.”
“Then how did you know they were stolen in the first place? Because none of my men would have told you that.”
I had no proof without sharing a secret far worse than being a spy. “I overheard your men talking. They didn’t know I was there. And it’s a shame that you keep me in the dark because I’m the kind of pit bull you never put on a leash.”
He didn’t need to blink as he stared at me.
I didn’t either. “Make me a part of the crew—or I walk.”
“You’re in no place to make demands.”
“Actually, I am.” I raised my voice. “Because you looked like a fucking idiot until last night. Your guns in some asshole’s warehouse while you wondered if they were really lost rather than stolen from right under your nose.”
His eyes immediately narrowed in ferocity.
“I didn’t ask you to trust me. I just want the job I applied for.”
He released his hands, and he sat back in his leather armchair.
“Something you should know about me—I don’t bluff. So meet my demand, or I walk out of here. I’m sure Leo told you how I raided that warehouse and took out the guards entirely on my own in less than five minutes. You don’t want to admit it, but you fucking need me.”
It was the first time he’d blinked in minutes. Then he continued another lethally long stare.
“Let me help you, Don Mancini.”
His men finally stormed into the room. “Don, are you alright?”
He slightly raised his hand and dismissed them.
I glanced at the watch on my wrist. “Took them three minutes to get their asses up here.”
“I don’t care for your arrogance—”
“And I don’t care for your prejudice, but here we fucking are,” I snapped. “I want a seat at the fucking table—now give it to me.”
Another long stare ensued.
The tension between us was stifling, like someone sucked the air out of the room.
“I’ll have your answer tomorrow, Wolfe.”
10
FRANCESCA
I was downstairs on the couch when I saw the headlights through the window. With miles between my villa and the next dwelling, I was out there alone, the stars so bright overhead it seemed like I was the only one on the planet.
The headlights disappeared behind the house then reappeared on the other side when the person parked at the front. I could see it drive by—a dark Range Rover.
I was in my pajamas shorts and a sports bra I wore while I did yoga, so I wasn’t expecting company. My heart did this weird somersault thing in my chest, and my fingertips went numb before my entire body became electrified in excitement.
Then he knocked three times.
I walked across the house and opened the door, seeing him on the other side in an unbuttoned long-sleeved shirt over a t-shirt, his ink climbing up his arms and down his wrists like black vines. He wore dark jeans and boots, looking like he was about to go out rather than get undressed.
Did he get hotter since I saw him yesterday?
His dark eyes retained their calm confidence, like he didn’t give a damn that he’d shown up at my door uninvited. Made himself right at home, did whatever the hell he wanted because this man did not give a fuck about anything. “I’m taking you to dinner.”
“Really? I don’t remember agreeing to that.”
“I don’t need you to agree.”