Page 86 of Inside the Wicked

I hand it over and pat Rhett’s chest. “See? Job done.”

He shakes his head, with a huff somewhere between amusement and incredulity. Our fingers link as we follow Silas in.

“I can’t tell if I’m proud of you or concerned for you.”

“It’s your role as my boyfriend to be proud, and your job as my bodyguard to be concerned.”

Rhett presses a kiss to my temple as we walk, and the music grows louder.

“When do I get the upgrade to husband for real?”

“When my left hand feels a diamond heavier.”

He chuckles, and it’s the most genuine sound of happiness he’s made since I got him back. He squeezes my waist. “That’s a fair bargain.”

We wind up the spiral stairs to Silas’s personal level of the club and find him already reclining in his usual spot on the sofa, facing us. He finishes the last drag of his cigarette and leans toward the ashtray on the table as he flicks his gaze up.

Silas tips his head, and one of his men lean in to hear his request. As Rhett and I sit on the sofa opposite him, everyone on the level starts to leave.

I cross my legs, angling toward Rhett, who claims me with a hand over my thigh. As the men leave I cast a look over the balcony, and I’m stunned to see a glass panel rising from the ground. It’s one-way tinted glass. No one below is able to see us, but we can still see them. I shift with a note of caution at why it’s necessary, until the glass screen drowns out a lot of the music, leaving only a distant beat.

The bartender comes over with a tray, setting down three glasses, then he’s the last to leave.

We’re alone with Silas, save for one guy lingering at the back wall. I wager he’s Silas’s right-hand man.

“We didn’t expect such exclusive treatment,” I say lightheartedly.

With the screen and the emptiness, this space feels more like an elaborate office.

“With what we have to discuss, I won’t take any chances with anyone leaking information. I don’t like mess in the midst of a well-crafted plan.”

My eyes flick to the guy in the shadows across the room.

Silas says, “That’s Julio. He doesn’t have a tongue to speak, but even then, he’s been my guy for a decade. I don’t say this lightly—I trust him.”

I’m curious about how he lost his tongue, but it’s not appropriate to ask.

“Now, you have this one night to convince me to trustyou,Kaiser. And if you don’t, my saving you from Lanshall will become a worse fate than if you were still there.”

CHAPTER 32

Rhett

We’re sitting at the complete mercy of the most notorious family in the underworld. I knew the gun I had would be taken if we made it inside, and my cock is still semi-hard from how sexy Ana’s stunt was with it. It terrifies me to see her confidence in all this, but I’m also overwhelmed with awe for her.

I don’t have my earpiece in as we were scanned and checked before we could follow Silas in, and I expected that too. I’m placing a whole lot of faith in Ana alone that we’ll emerge from here with a powerful alliance, not a bigger target on our backs.

It’s just me, her, and Silas Balenheizer.

“You know, when you hear of the president’s daughter falling for an infamous criminal, so much so that she puts her own life on the line and steps out of her topside life to save him, the obvious question is, what the fuck does this guy have to offer her?” Silas reaches for the dry martini, sliding it across the table with eyes on Ana. “But I get it. I didn’t until right now. Apart, no one would guess you two were a match. But together, it’s undeniable you’re far more than that.”

Everything Silas does and says has a motive. I don’t take the appraisal as a mere compliment, nor do I give a fuck about his thoughts or feelings regarding me and Ana.

“Your driving motivation for this is Kenna Radley. Why?” I ask.

It’s dangerous to assert myself like this with Silas, but from my assessment of him so far, the only way he communicates is with fire on fire.

“Motivation? No. Make no mistake, Kaiser. I don’t entertain such radical ideas as overthrowing two very powerful cartel lines on a whim because of a beautiful woman seemingly tied to one of them. I’ll admit, I find her fascinating, alluring. I would have been thrilled for her to have joined us, and you would have found me in better spirits. But this is between us. A highly risky business deal if we find everything aligns between us.”

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