But did I do it anyway to remind everybody in this muthafucka who she belonged to? Yes.
And I’d do it again.
“I’ll think about it.”
Lorcan had stuck his phone between the seats twenty minutes ago, while we sat waiting on my grandda to emerge from Tadhg’s home.
She doesn’t listen.
My location is where you need to be.
I expected Blair to push her luck with Liam after Valentine’s day. And because he couldn’t push back unless they were in imminent danger, I sensed the irritation in his texts and made a detour to handle whatever the fuck she’d gotten herself into.
“He said you’d come running for her, but I’m impressed at how quickly. You might actually be as legit as they say.”
Blair flicked her gaze to Blake and then me.
“This is Demetrius Cannon,” she introduced slowly, trying to tell me something I didn’t want to hear. “A representative of the Ahmeti family.”
I knew who he was the second I walked in, Niamh’s description of him etched into my mind.
“Yeah, I don’t give a fuck about any of that,” I said, pushing Liam’s hand down to show I heard her loud and clear. “You got me here. Let’s start with returning my merchandise and I’ll forgo putting a bullet in your head.”
Blair wasn’t as reckless as Liam thought she was.
Her willingness to stand in front of a man she’d never met before and hear him out said a lot. To Blair, he was harmless for the time being.
His energy didn’t feel off to her and I was inclined to agree, no matter how annoyed I was with the bullshit he’d brought to my doorstep.
“Or,” Demetrius started, leaning against the side of the desk. “You can let me keep the guns and I’ll offer you something invaluable, something that should’ve been yours seventeen years ago.”
I didn’t have to look back at my grandda to know he was listening carefully now that what resulted in my grandmother’s death was on the table.
“What’s invaluable to me is already mine,” I told him, tipping to my head. “But I’ve always appreciated a good business deal. Let me hear it.”
I’d never had the freedom of ignoring the consequences of my actions. My grandda’s choice always stuck out to me, the consequences of his greed especially.
My only goal as head of this family was to keep the money flowing and protect the people I love. Spotting a good business deal was how I achieved the former and being the consequence of someone else’s actions toward my family, the latter.
Either he made me a deal I couldn’t refuse or I killed him in this church and dealt with the rest later.
“You’ve been working with the Constanzo’s for eleven years,” he said, cutting his eyes at Blair. “Their control of the iron pipeline is what got your friend’s dad killed.”
We were all privy to this.
“I put the two in his chest because his father asked me to,” he confessed nonchalantly. “Truthfully, I went into it with ulterior motives.”
Blair sighed. “You wanted the routes. And got them by doing something you knew he’d never want to get out.”
“Easy peasy. Or at least it was supposed to be. I caught wind of you, Blair Phillips…” he flicked his gaze to me. “She’s smart. A good tracker, too. I left her a trail all the way to New York and got in good with the Ahmeti family. That’s where I met Landell and your…” there was a slight chuckle in his voice when he looked at Blair again. “…brother.”
Invaluable.
There was our other connection, the one that linked her family to mine.
“I fucked around with your businesses for the hell of it…” he shrugged and for some reason I wanted to fucking laugh. “But what they want to do was… isveryreal.”
Blair snorted and even though I tried to stop it, the chuckle I’d been holding back left my lips anyway.