Page 21

“Good, take it out, and pay attention. If your head isn't on tight, shit can go wrong.” Stopping, Nick fixed his suit and adjusted his tie. “When Antoine gets here, don't say shit to him. I'll do all the talking, I don't want either of you chirping in like fucking canaries in the background. Understood?”

Agreeing, Birch and I walked only a few yards and took our position on the dune. Leaning over, Birch whispered in my ear. “He's a little more tense than usual today. I don't know if that's because of Antoine or mom. I hate not knowing, I never know what to say.”

Stroking his arm, I kept scanning around us. “I'm sure it's because of your mom. You saw how he looked at the sun right? He fucking hates it.”

“Stay focused.” Nick snapped his head in our direction, glaring at us like we were kids again. “Don't make me ask you a third time, there's no room for error here. Antoine isn't someone I trust, he's a sneaky little fucker. And sneaky little fuckers are as trustworthy as a starving fucking rat.”

“If you don't trust him, why did you agree to do business with him?” Birch kicked the sand, watching the parking lot, and the road in the distance.

Tossing Birch a crooked eye, his father snarled. “Why the fuck do you think? It all comes down to money, it always does. Money is the only thing that matters, even if it can make a man go mad.”

His eyes glistened with black stars, as his lips shifted into a hard frown. There was something about the way he said it that made my heart pause for a brief second. He was looking at Birch, but it felt like he was talking to me.

I couldn't explain why, I couldn't rationalize the fear that struck a nerve and made my knees tremble as I stood sinking into cold sand. All I could do was feel it as it crept up my calves and coiled around my gut like barbed wire.

Crushed shells crackled in the distance, and the sound of an engine bled into the ocean breeze, perking my ears. Reaching behind my back, I pulled my gun out and held it at my side. It was strange, I should have felt safe with my gun, but I didn't.

Having it felt like the threat was more real, like the chance I might have to use it was heightened by a thousand. Nicholi had started demanding that I carry it. It seemed to go from a form of protection to a constant piece of flare I was expected to wear.

Most of the time I would just throw it in my purse and pretend it wasn't there. I didn't like having the heavy steel with me every second of every day. I got it, I completely understood the reason for needing it. But that didn't mean I agreed with it.

When I took it out yesterday it was on impulse, a knee-jerk reaction that I didn't have time to think about. I wanted to embrace that, to see myself as a fearless woman, a warrior to the trade and soldier to the game.

It didn't matter how much I tried to convince myself, I would never be the soldier Nick expected me to be.

Who the fuck am I? Why is this so hard? Why does it feel so wrong?

Holding it today was eerily un-welcomed. This was happening, and there was nowhere for me to go. All my time in the office, during formal agreements and conditions, was a mere crack on the surface. Today I was standing in the belly of the beast, its heart pounding in my ears, feeding the anxiety running through my body.

Maybe I hadn't taken all of this as seriously as I should have.

Maybe my denial of the danger left me weak. . .

Knowing and seeing were two different things completely. Stories explained the truth I was living in, but being a part of the movie wasn't going down as easily.

Swallowing hard, I glanced at Birch with a nervous frown. His skin was illuminated under orange rays, bronzing his skin like a Greek god. His eyes twinkled under the fading sunlight, and for a split second, I forgot about what we were there to do.

He had done it again, pulling me into his presence and making the rest of the world drift away. The beach had gone silent, the danger no longer crashing on the rocks and making my insides shake. I was grounded, standing firmly on my own two feet.

Our eyes connected and he reached for my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. With a single nod, he placed his attention back on the men that were making their way to the meeting spot.

Voices echoed across the beach, filling the starchy air and prickling my skin. Squinting my eyes, I could see three figures bobbling and moving through the sand.

“Nicholi, my friend, long time no see.” An older man walked up, holding out his arms. “How the years have built a wall between us. How are you?”

The man was much older than Nick, possibly his mid sixties. His head was bald on top, with a think layer of gray hair wrapping the bottom of his skull. Small beady eyes matched Antoine's, and his large, bulbous nose was a replica of Collin's, who was standing on his right.

Is that their father? It has to be.

“Georgio, good to see.” The two men shook hands, both of them wearing fake smiles. “I didn't expect to have you joining us today. Antoine didn't mention this when we spoke.”

“Yes, well, I wasn't going to come, but my son made it sound worth my while.”

“Did he?” Nick asked, tilting his head and looking past Georgio to Antoine. “And how is that exactly? Because our deal is still the same, nothing has changed.”

Stroking his jaw, Georgio kept his eyes firmly on Nicholi. “Are you sure about that?” Glancing over his shoulder, he looked at Birch and myself with a sick smile. “Because I heard things very differently.”

Curling his arms behind his back, Nick teetered on his heels. “So he told you how disrespectful he was during our meeting? How he antagonized my daughter,” he said, giving me a quick look and pointing at me. “And how she had to knock him down off his high horse?”