Page 62 of I Would Beg For You

“Then we have a problem on our hands, and I’m hoping you can help me make it disappear.”

I sit up straighter in my chair, the hairs on the nape of my neck raising with alarm.

“Naomi’s in danger?”

“Thad Billings tried to assault her today.”

I jump to my feet, a roar coming from my throat. “He’s a dead man!”

“He is,” Declan confirms. “Or he will be. As soon as he’s found, I can arrange to have him delivered to you.”

A red haze of anger is clouding my sight and making my blood pound. I’ll kill the figlio di puttana myself! But some of the words Declan just spoke make it past, cooling the bloodlust and making sense and rationality prevail somewhat.

I sit back down in my chair and smooth the tie in front of my shirt as I settle back and force in a deep breath.

“You don’t get your hands dirty,” I say.

“Literally, no.”

But any other way, he does… The pieces start to click in my head. I’d heard of Declan Reeves. Heir to an old fortune from Boston, heralded as king maker in certain circles. I thought the title pompous, yet now, it seems fitting. He might not be a crime boss per se, but he has people working for him, and he makes and breaks a lot of different things in a lot of different places.

“It is what you do, though,” he states. “Among other things.”

Everyone worth their salt in this part of the States knows who I am. No one’s ever asked me to confirm it aloud, though.

“Among other things,” I state.

“And she’s worth it.”

I nod. “She definitely is.”

“Good.”

“We done?”

Reeves laughs. “Far from it.”

“What more do you want?”

“Do you know why Billings felt he could take liberties with Naomi?” he asks, tone sharp and cold.

“I don’t need to know why. He’s dead either way.”

He rolls his eyes at me. “Stop being such a Romeo.”

I’m tempted to reach across the screen and bash his head onto the table. Who does he think he is?

“Listen to me, and listen carefully,” he continues. “Dominic Billings is a man at the end of his tether, financially speaking. He’s borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, and the powers that be are letting this continue. But it won’t last forever. He’s backing Joel Smith in his run for Governor for this reason.”

“So, Governor Smith will be amenable to helping out once he’s in?”

“So, the money will be unlocked once his son marries Smith’s daughter.”

My gut tightens, and something curdles in my belly. As much as it pains me to admit it, I’m not seeing the whole picture. “What do you mean?”

“Naomi is rich. My father left her a trust fund which unlocks when she turns twenty-five or when she gets married, whichever comes first. It was thirty million dollars when he died. Who knows how much it is now with all the interest accrued.”

The sour reek is now in my throat. “Thad Billings thought he could do to Naomi what Joel Smith did to her mother?”

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