Page 21 of Lane (East Dremest Mafia #5)

LANE

“You ready?” Sheldon asked. He stood in front of me, rubbing my shoulders as if he were my coach and was getting me ready for a fight. “You’re in the big league now. The boss is counting on you to bring home the dough. If you fail…” He drew his finger over his neck.

“What the fuck?” I yelled and shoved him away. “You’re supposed to build my confidence, not make it seem like Jordan’s going to take me out when we return.”

Sheldon shrugged.

“God, you’re an asshole.”

“Ignore him,” Kayli said. “It’s the best thing you can do.” She winked at Sheldon.

Jordan ordered three guards to be on me for the meeting today. Raiden was with me regardless. Sheldon, just in case he was needed to calm the buyer down. He also had some potent stuff up his sleeves. Literally, I saw the vials and syringes. And Kayli because she wanted to go for the ride.

She dressed very girl next door today. A pair of dark jeans hugged her hips but not too tightly. She wore a white T-shirt under a light pink puffer jacket. Matching pink boots completed her outfit. Her blond hair was pulled back, and makeup was light. She was lethal wrapped in faux innocence.

Raiden gripped me by the waist, drawing my attention to him. “Eyes on me. Go over the game plan with me again.”

Fuck, I was falling for him and Alton. Every day, I gave another piece of my heart away.

Here Raiden was trying to get me in the right frame of mind and making sure I knew what to do.

I’d seen Jordan work deals but this time I was going alone.

Another test. Another way for Jordan to make sure I knew what the fuck I was doing.

“We’re meeting with Ethan at his office in West Dremest,” I began.

“He owns a company that makes packaging products. Ethan already buys guns from Jordan but wants to purchase more.” I had a list on my phone.

If anyone else saw it, it wouldn’t make sense, but I was aware of what every word meant and what item it referred to.

“And?”

“Jordan gave me a number I can’t go below. If Ethan doesn’t want to do the deal at a price we’ll accept, we walk. If he tries to threaten us because Jordan isn’t there, I’m allowed to draw a bit of blood in revenge because no one takes advantage of Jordan.”

“Right. Are you ready?”

“Yes, but I have to take a piss quick.” I rushed from the room to relieve my bladder. I shouldn’t have had that third cup of coffee.

Last night, after dinner with Alton’s family, we came back to Raiden’s apartment and stayed up half the night fucking.

I didn’t give a shit about sleep. When I woke this morning after only four hours of rest, I wanted to close my eyes and go back to sleep.

Caffeine was the answer, and now my bladder had reached its limit.

Hopefully, I didn’t have to go when we were at the buyer’s building.

“Were you successful in closing the deal?” Jordan would inquire.

“Yes, after I peed for the fourth time, and Ethan asked if I had a medical condition. He had a urologist he could recommend, by the way.”

I zipped up and washed my hands, using the water on them to brush my hair back. The slacks and shirt Hartley had made for me were exquisite. They fit perfectly. I’d caught myself repeatedly running my hands down the navy sweater, just to feel how soft it was.

“No more coffee for you,” Raiden said as I exited. He gripped the back of my neck. “Let’s go before the boss asks why we’re not on the road yet.”

I reached for my coat and put it on. “Right. I forgot he could track our phones.” Not him per se.

Barry could. It was a way to find our location if need be.

Barry didn’t sit behind the security desk and monitor our every movement.

At least, I didn’t think he did. He’d get nothing else done if he did that.

In the garage, Raiden slid behind the wheel, Kayli sat up front, and Sheldon and I sat in the back.

“Watch this,” Sheldon whispered before Raiden had a chance to put the Navigator into gear. “You’re going to do just fine,” Sheldon said, looking out of the corner of his eye at the driver’s seat. “If anything happens, squeeze my hand. I’ll be with you the whole time.” He took my hand in his.

I didn’t have a chance to react before Raiden turned in the seat and wedged himself between them to grip Sheldon’s leather jacket. “I will fucking kill you if you touch him again.”

Sheldon released me and repeatedly smacked Raiden’s hand. “Don’t fuck with the leather. Grip my shirt, not the jacket. I need this when I ride.”

Raiden glared at him. “Then you should have worn something else. I’ll kick your ass, Sheldon.”

“Yeah, yeah. And I’ll stab you with a needle. Whatever.” He rolled his eyes.

It was my turn to reach for the man next to me. Unlike Raiden, I grabbed Sheldon’s Henley, bringing his face to mine. “Threaten my man and I’ll cut off your balls. Poisons or not, I’ll hurt you first.”

“What is wrong with you two?” He pried my fingers off him. “Neither of you can take a joke.”

“Oh, I can have a great time,” I told him. “When it comes to Alton and Raiden, I’ll cut you for threatening the people I care about. Remember that.”

Sheldon straightened his shirt and faced forward. He was still calm, but his jaw ticked. “Christ, Kay, put that shit away.” That was when I noticed Kayli videoing us with her phone.

“Where’s the fun in that?” She winked.

Raiden gave Sheldon one last glare before righting himself in his seat and getting us on the road.

We didn’t talk the entire way there. I was no longer nervous about having the meeting without Jordan there.

I was still pissed at Sheldon for threatening Raiden.

Would Sheldon hurt any of Jordan’s employees? Not without explicit permission.

Sheldon was a good guy. He was always nice to me, liked to roam the halls at night like a ghost, and was tortured over Forest. Sheldon liked to have fun, that much was obvious.

He enjoyed riling others up. Oleander was used to it.

When the two of them were together, they fed off each other.

I guessed that was what happened when you grew up with a best friend.

I wouldn’t know. I had no close friends. I had no friends at all.

West Dremest appeared a lot like the eastern side, with a business district, residential areas, small businesses, and unappealing parts that people avoided if they could.

Jordan didn’t rule here, but the Dremests and Altairs—Perry, not Jordan—donated enough money to help rebuild the worst of the areas.

We stopped in front of an office building. There was a lot of reflective glass with the company’s name emblazoned on the front in red.

Everyone got out but me. I fixed my hair while I waited for Raiden to open my door.

As far as the people at this meeting were concerned, I wasn’t with one of my boyfriends.

I was with a trusted guard. I had to play the part of Jordan’s second-in-command.

What was the saying? Dress for the job you want, not the one you have.

Considering I had none and wanted to work at Jordan’s side, I only dressed one way—how Hartley told me once I gave him my preferences.

I walked inside with Kayli in front of me and Sheldon and Raiden at my back. Kayli popped the gum she chewed and made her way to the reception desk.

“Well, aren’t you adorable?” she said in a sweet voice to the man behind the desk.

He quickly stood, but his foot caught on the chair in the process, and he nearly fell. “H-How can I help you?”

“Mr. Everhart has a meeting with your boss, the big one, not who you report to.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He looked down at a screen then lifted the phone to say we were here. “If you’ll have a seat in the waiting area, they’ll be right down.”

“Thank you so much, sugar.” She spun, leaving the man’s mouth to hang open.

“You’re evil,” I whispered.

“Absolutely.”

None of us chose to sit. Instead, we stood near the corner so no one could sneak up on us. Raiden had his eyes on the outside, always watching, waiting for someone to attempt to hurt me.

“Mr. Everhart?” a burly man said as he approached.

“That’s me.” I stepped forward.

“Follow me, please.”

The four of us entered the elevator, making the employees going upstairs wait. The doors opened on the top floor, and we exited to an office area with cubicles on the main part of the floor. Offices lined the perimeter.

Heads turned our way as we walked past. I kept my eyes straight ahead. We were shown to a conference room with black leather chairs and a glass conference table.

A man in a suit walked in a minute later with a guard at his back, who closed the door behind them.

“Lane, it’s nice to meet you.” The man in the suit extended his hand, which I shook.

“Ethan, I presume?”

“You presume correctly. Let’s get right down to business.

This isn’t my only meeting today. I know what Jordan has, and I know what I want and am willing to pay.

The question is, how low is Jordan able to go in his price?

I won’t allow him to take advantage of me.

It’s bad enough he didn’t think it was worth his time to show up and sent you in his place. ”

“Please don’t speak to me as if I’m some lackey Mr. Altair sent here.

You know my name, which means you did your research.

If you didn’t, then you’re a foolish man who probably shouldn’t buy expensive firearms. You’re right, I’m here in place of Jordan.

Make no mistake, I have the full authority to accept or decline any deal with you.

I won’t be played, and I’m not here to bullshit.

Do I make myself clear?” Huh, I kind of liked this super powerful side of myself.

He gave me a stiff nod.

“Good, let’s get to it.”

We worked for the next half hour. Ethan listed the weapons he’d like to purchase, while I did a mental calculation of how much they would cost Jordan to obtain and how much we could mark them up to make the deal worth our while.

It wasn’t a small price. Then again, Ethan already did business with Jordan. This wasn’t news to him.

It took another fifteen minutes for us to come to an agreement. I stood first after shaking his hand. No one would look down on me.

“I have to say, you’re nothing like I’d imagined,” Ethan said.

“Really? What did you picture?”

“I’d heard a lot of rumors about you but none of them had you this cutthroat.”

“Yes, well, I call upon whichever side of me is needed. Since you decided I was beneath you when you walked in, you got the side who wasn’t going to take any of your shit. Now if you’ll excuse us, I have other deals to broker. Good day.”

Before he could say another word, Raiden was at the door, holding it open for me. We filed out, past the watching eyes, to the elevator we rode down to the lobby in, where the man behind the desk drooled over Kayli.

It wasn’t until we were in the SUV and down the block that I let out a sigh of relief. “Holy shit.”

“You did good,” Sheldon said.

“Better than good,” Raiden cut in. “You did amazing. Jordan’s going to be happy.”

A smile stretched my lips. I passed another one of Jordan’s tests. I closed the deal at a fair price for Ethan, while we also made a decent chunk of cash. It was a great day.