Page 4
Story: Unbroken
She grinned. “No one says no to Danny.” She wriggled her fingers. “I’ll be in the waiting room.” She slipped out the door of his office.
His balls ached to follow.
“Wait,” he called. “What number do I—”
The phone chimed on the smooth wood of his desk. Toth cleared his throat and picked up the chunk of black plastic. He was being played. Savannah had been used to rope him into accepting the meeting, and Danny had known when to call. The syndicate leader was a step ahead.
Another blinding red flag. These weren’t people to tango with.
“Toth Holmes speaking,” he said, after answering the call and pressing the phone to his ear. Anger simmered beneath the surface of his words, but he wouldn’t show it. Wouldn’t give these people the advantage of knowing they were already in his head. His throat expanded with unspent fury, making his shirt collar shrink around his neck.
“Mr. Holmes,” said Danny. “Thank you for taking my call.”
As if I had a fucking choice.His tongue itched to snap out the words. “My pleasure. Your daughter mentioned you’d like to propose some work.”
“Yes, indeed I do.” He dropped his voice. “Is Savannah in the room?”
Toth frowned, curiosity bubbling inside him. “No, she stepped out. Should I get her?”
“Nah, I’d rather she not know about this. I’d like to hire you to be Savannah’s bodyguard. Just for a week. I’ve got some business that could... affect her welfare if certain rivals got wind of it.”
Toth blinked and tugged at his tie, loosening the material. “Uh, I’m not sure we can fit anything in our agenda at this time, sir.”
“You haven’t heard the details,” Danny said, in a mildly chastising tone. “I’ll pay you fifty thousand for the week. Surely you can clear your schedule for that.”
Seconds ticked by.
Never in a million years had he guessed the job would involve Danny’s daughter. Ever since Rami had befriended the syndicate leader’s son, a few months ago, Toth had seen Savannah only in passing. He really shouldn’t give a damn about her. Not only was she too snotty and bossy for his liking, she was also dangerously fucking hot. On that basis alone he needed to keep away. Screwing around with Savannah was a quick way to find himself at the mouth of Danny’s gun.
But the idea of someone harming Savannah in an act of revenge made his blood thicken. If this involved some kind of rival gang, as Danny had insinuated, the threat was more than just a potential gunshot wound to Savannah’s head. They’d torture her. Cut her up into pieces and mail her parts to her father one by one.
Toth closed his eyes in an attempt to block the nauseating image. “I need to know what kind of threat you’re concerned about.”
He grimaced.
No, no, no.
What a stupid reply. The last thing he needed to know was anything else concerning this job. There was no way he could work for these people.
Danny’s breath was the only sound on the other end of the line. He was likely deciding how much he could trust Toth. “Like I said, I have business that some... organizations might have an issue with. I don’t want Savannah in the crosshairs.”
“Excuse me for being blunt, Mr. Carrington—”
“Danny.”
“Danny,” Toth echoed. “Don’t you have your own team that would be more fitting for this kind of thing?”
“Normally, yes. But I’m quite certain our unit has been compromised, and until I find the mole, I need my daughter safe. No one can be trusted right now.”
“So why the hell would you trust me?” Toth retorted.
“Because I don’t know you. And the fact that you’ve already refused my offer once tells me exactly what I need to know about you.”
“And that is?”
“If you wanted to harm my family, you’d have jumped at the opportunity to work for me.”
Toth pinched the bridge of his nose. Jesus. Here he thought Danny couldn’t take the hint. Turns out his refusal was what had made him the best candidate. Shit. He had to figure something out. Find a way to say no. One thing was for sure: there was no fucking way he was working for Sinners Cartel.
His balls ached to follow.
“Wait,” he called. “What number do I—”
The phone chimed on the smooth wood of his desk. Toth cleared his throat and picked up the chunk of black plastic. He was being played. Savannah had been used to rope him into accepting the meeting, and Danny had known when to call. The syndicate leader was a step ahead.
Another blinding red flag. These weren’t people to tango with.
“Toth Holmes speaking,” he said, after answering the call and pressing the phone to his ear. Anger simmered beneath the surface of his words, but he wouldn’t show it. Wouldn’t give these people the advantage of knowing they were already in his head. His throat expanded with unspent fury, making his shirt collar shrink around his neck.
“Mr. Holmes,” said Danny. “Thank you for taking my call.”
As if I had a fucking choice.His tongue itched to snap out the words. “My pleasure. Your daughter mentioned you’d like to propose some work.”
“Yes, indeed I do.” He dropped his voice. “Is Savannah in the room?”
Toth frowned, curiosity bubbling inside him. “No, she stepped out. Should I get her?”
“Nah, I’d rather she not know about this. I’d like to hire you to be Savannah’s bodyguard. Just for a week. I’ve got some business that could... affect her welfare if certain rivals got wind of it.”
Toth blinked and tugged at his tie, loosening the material. “Uh, I’m not sure we can fit anything in our agenda at this time, sir.”
“You haven’t heard the details,” Danny said, in a mildly chastising tone. “I’ll pay you fifty thousand for the week. Surely you can clear your schedule for that.”
Seconds ticked by.
Never in a million years had he guessed the job would involve Danny’s daughter. Ever since Rami had befriended the syndicate leader’s son, a few months ago, Toth had seen Savannah only in passing. He really shouldn’t give a damn about her. Not only was she too snotty and bossy for his liking, she was also dangerously fucking hot. On that basis alone he needed to keep away. Screwing around with Savannah was a quick way to find himself at the mouth of Danny’s gun.
But the idea of someone harming Savannah in an act of revenge made his blood thicken. If this involved some kind of rival gang, as Danny had insinuated, the threat was more than just a potential gunshot wound to Savannah’s head. They’d torture her. Cut her up into pieces and mail her parts to her father one by one.
Toth closed his eyes in an attempt to block the nauseating image. “I need to know what kind of threat you’re concerned about.”
He grimaced.
No, no, no.
What a stupid reply. The last thing he needed to know was anything else concerning this job. There was no way he could work for these people.
Danny’s breath was the only sound on the other end of the line. He was likely deciding how much he could trust Toth. “Like I said, I have business that some... organizations might have an issue with. I don’t want Savannah in the crosshairs.”
“Excuse me for being blunt, Mr. Carrington—”
“Danny.”
“Danny,” Toth echoed. “Don’t you have your own team that would be more fitting for this kind of thing?”
“Normally, yes. But I’m quite certain our unit has been compromised, and until I find the mole, I need my daughter safe. No one can be trusted right now.”
“So why the hell would you trust me?” Toth retorted.
“Because I don’t know you. And the fact that you’ve already refused my offer once tells me exactly what I need to know about you.”
“And that is?”
“If you wanted to harm my family, you’d have jumped at the opportunity to work for me.”
Toth pinched the bridge of his nose. Jesus. Here he thought Danny couldn’t take the hint. Turns out his refusal was what had made him the best candidate. Shit. He had to figure something out. Find a way to say no. One thing was for sure: there was no fucking way he was working for Sinners Cartel.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107