Page 17 of Ice & Steel

What did that mean? I stared at him, wondering how much I could push before he shut his gates.

“Supply of…what?” I whispered.

“Weapons,” he said.

I considered this for a moment, picking my words carefully. “For defense or for market?”

His brow twitched, like I’d surprised him. “Both.”

“That’s not good, is it?” I felt my forehead scrunch.

He shifted to the side and slid his arm around me, lifting me into his lap. The motion pushed at the plug and my spine arced, my muscles clenching. He slid his hand over my lower back and rubbed in calming circles.

“I have it handled,” he said.

I looked into those impenetrable eyes, but the iron bars had slid down. Shutting me out along with the world. I sighed, nestling my head against his chest. He stroked my hair absently as the highway flew by and we headed up to the riverside.

“Tomorrow night, Enza is coming to watch the boys again,” he said finally. “And I am taking you to one of my new hotels.”

I perked up, lifting my head. “Really?”

He kissed me. “It’ll be just about you, Liv. I’ll feed you, get you tipsy with wine, and do things to you that’ll make you blush the next morning. How does that sound?”

“As long as it’s with you, I don’t care what you do to me,” I said, not minding if I sounded desperate. He’d seen me desperate before and he liked it.

“Good,” he said, opening the car door and helping me out.

He led me to our front door and kissed me slowly up against the wall. When we broke apart, I tasted a hint of sadness between us. It felt like an impending winter, like the first scent of cold at the end of summer.

“Please, be careful,” I whispered.

“I will,” he said. “I’ll see you tonight. Don’t take the plug out of your ass, that’s my job.”

CHAPTER SIX

LUCIEN

At the downtown office, I found Peregrine sitting outside on the stoop waiting for me. He was in a full suit so I knew we were headed somewhere. I alighted the Tesla and strode up the walkway just as Cosimo’s motorcycle sped up the street. He followed Peregrine and I into the office and I slid the bolt over the door. I’d learned the hard way to keep both office locations completely secure.

“Alright, what’s going on?” I said, sinking into the desk chair.

“Mind if I smoke?” Cosimo asked, reaching into the inner pocket of his leather jacket.

I shook my head. Peregrine laid his briefcase on the table and flipped it open to reveal a pile of papers. His brows creased as he sorted through them.

“Is there a problem?”

“Yes…no,” he said, taking a blue envelope from the middle of the pile. “I have the papers you need to sign if you want to officially declare a run for governor. Have you looked at them?”

I shook my head. “I’m still discussing it with Liv.”

“What do you think?”

I shrugged once. “I’m on the fence.”

“Well, allow me push you off the fence. I have something else that needs to consume your time.” Peregrine snapped the briefcase shut and tossed the envelope onto my desk. “In fact, it needs to take priority over everything. I finally got a response from the weapons supplier and they said the shipments were offloaded to the wrong location. But on further inquiry, it doesn’t appear that explanation checks out.”

I cocked my head. “They’re lying.”