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“Tell him I’ll give him a call in the morning?” Logan takes one step into the car.
“Sure, Logan. He’ll be interested to hear that I saw youhere, of all places.”
Logan clears his throat. “Ah, well. It’s quite late, Mr. Accardi.”
“Especially for a man of your age.” Marcus takes Logan’s hand and helps him into his car, leaning down into his space. “Take care of yourself. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in older men, especially those who have such high-stress positions as you.”
“Thank you for your concern.” Logan pats Marcus’s hand still in his. “I’ll be sure to rest well.”
“See you soon.” Marcus straightens and shuts the car door.
Logan’s security waits until Marcus backs away from the car before sliding into the front passenger seat, and then the car drives away. All under Marcus’s watchful eye.
And then he turns to me.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
His lip curls in disgust, like he can’t believe he’s deigning to speak to me directly. “Where’s Zarina?”
“Not here.” I search the crowd, his driveling posse of fuckboy mobsters, and frown in faux confusion. “Where’s Dan?”
He grinds his teeth, and god, I wish I could smile at that. “You know, I pity you.”
I almost snort.
“You bit off more than you can chew—with me, with her. You think you can tame a girl like Zarina Gallo? She needs a firm hand. I would’ve given her that, but now…” He shakes his head like he pities us. Too bad he doesn’t know I had her well-in-hand only minutes ago. “Now I only have an iron fist ready to crush you both.”
“All I smell is fear, Accardi.” I finally allow myself to grin, slow and malevolent. Only a little man with a little ego seeks to control others, to use violence to get his way. “You’re rank with it.”
His eye twitches. “Zarina will be mine, sooner or later.”
“Zarina belongs to herself alone.”
Marcus laughs. “See you at the party, Tamayo.”
“I assume you’ll dress as Tweedledum?” I snipe.
He lunges at me, but his soldiers yank him back by the arms as Darius and Gemma step ahead of me. Too bad, honestly. I’d much rather he start a fight so I can end his blip of an existence. Marcus tries to shove his people off him, but they don’t let up, chanting, “Not here. Not yet.”
Marcus finally yanks free and squares up to me, nose as close as he can get with Darius’s hand on his chest. “You’re just acockroach,” he spits. “A pest allowed to live by the grace of the Cardinal Families. We can eradicate you at the snap of a finger, Andrea Tamayo. Remember that.”
“I prefer termite.” I lean in, closing the gap between us and holding his glare with my own. “You all have sat still in your mansions, ignoring the people beneath them, for too long. Do you know what happens when you don’t treat a termite problem quickly?”
Marcus doesn’t answer. And he isn’t meant to.
“The foundation collapses, Marcus.” I straighten and brush off my shirt, as if being so close to him has sullied me. “You’ve left the foundation unattended for decades, cozy in your towers. I can’t wait to watch it all crumble to dust.”
Darius shoves him back into the waiting arms of his men.
“Get home safe, Marcus,” I call as I turn my back on him. One of the highest insults I could give. “Daddy wouldn’t want you out too late.”
ZARINA
The lights burn too bright, buzzing over my sensitive skin. I hug the blanket tighter to me. Angie clomps down the hallway in her platform boots, Pat at her hip like some white-blonde puppy with their tongue out and eyes hopeful. If I had focus to spare, I’d snort.
But I’m too busy memorizing the path we’re taking.
Because this is a maze—literally—hidden under the Den of Inequity. White walls and concrete floors and no markings to be seen as Angie turns us around and back again. I draw the path on my thigh and repeat the turns over and over in my head.