Page 118 of Beware of Dog

But then the logic kicked in: if these three disappeared, then their crew would know who was responsible. Cue the gang war.

He sipped his second drink, and watched Kat get up to make introductions.

~*~

Prince and Mav stayed seated, a power flex: we’re too important to stand and shake your hand;youcome tous. Prince even leaned back in his chair and lifted his drink to his mouth, gold rings flashing in the rosy, Old World lighting of the lamps.

“Hector Ruiz,” Kat said, voice going uncharacteristically formal. He always sounded like he’d just woken up from a nap and wasn’t happy about it, but now his voice pushed out sure and strong. “Prince and Maverick. Guys, this is Hector, head of the Tres Diablos.”

Mav’s mouth quirked in a smile that didn’t touch his eyes. “Pleasure to meet you.”

Prince looked the man up and down, and a muscle ticked in one cheek. It wasn’t a smile, but conveyed amusement. “Hello. Please.” He gestured with a glass. “Have a seat. You want something to drink?”

Ruiz hesitated a long moment, expression set in tense, unhappy lines, before finally pulling out the chair across fromMaverick and settling into it. “Scotch,” he said, like a challenge, chin lifted.

Prince nodded and turned to Kat. “Get the man a scotch.”

Kat went to do so, and Prince gestured to an empty round-topped table. “Your men are welcome to sit as well. Have drinks.”

“No,” Ruiz said. “They’ll stand.”

Prince regarded him a moment, clicking the ring on his middle finger against his glass. He did smile, then, and not in a friendly way. “Shall my men stand, too? And Maverick’s?”

Taking it as a cue, Shep shoved his chair back from the table, legs screeching gratifyingly over the hardwood, and stood. Pongo popped up next, then Toly, cursing in Russian under his breath.

Topino stayed seated, but one of his hands disappeared under the table, and Shep knew he had a grip on his gun.

The two thugs turned at the sound, hands hovering at their hips, where their own guns were no doubt stashed.

Shep grinned. “You wanna play quick draw?”

“How about,” Maverick said, calmly, “we all sit down, have a drink, and hash things out like the rational businessmen we are?”

The nearest thug, the larger of the two, caught Shep’s gaze, and his eyes were the flat black of a shark. If they were alone together, Shep knew, the man would try to kill him and think nothing of it. Shep didn’t even register as human in his view.

Like hell was Shep going to blink first. Ruiz barked something in Spanish, and the thug turned away.

Shep grinned to himself—until he caught Mav’s gaze and earned a single brow lifted in rebuke. He sat back down, and the others followed suit.

Kat placed Ruiz’s scotch before him, and then crossed the room to sit with Reese and Tenny. When the two thugs sat at adifferent table, it meant they were flanked on all sides by Dogs and mafia boys, and Shep felt a little better.

Prince smoothed the open halves of his expensive jacket and sat back in his chair, hands spread on the table in a visual bridging of the two parties. “Thank you for coming, Hector. I think it’s important to handle this situation with diplomacy.”

Ruiz shifted in his seat, shoulders drawing up toward his ears. His head jutted forward on his neck as he addressed Mav. “Diplomacy? Three of your men tied up two of mine and threw them in the back of their own van! They threatened to kill them!”

Shep searched for, and was rewarded by Tenny’s eye roll across the room.

Mav sipped at his drink, expression mild. “They apprehended them, yeah. Outside of a young woman’s house, where she and her family have been living in fear. My men spoke to yours, and then they let them leave, didn’t they?”

Ruiz shifted again and let out an angry huff. “They had no right.”

“Mr. Ruiz,” Prince said. “From my understanding, your crew is relatively new in town.” He waited for acknowledgement: a tight, reluctant nod. “I know you’re still finding your footing.”

“My footing is fine,” Ruiz hissed through his teeth.

Prince took a deep, measured breath. “Respectfully speaking: if you were fine, you wouldn’t have come in this room with such a chip on your shoulder. There’s a hierarchy here,” he pressed on, holding up a palm when Ruiz tried to interrupt. “The Lean Dogs are the top. They earned that spot. You heard of Abacus? Three years ago? The Dogs ended them. My organization and the Kozlov bratva work alongside them, as allies. But it would be downright stupid to pit yourself against the Dogs, and you don’t look like a stupid man, Mr. Ruiz.”

Shep could only see the guy in three-quarter profile, so he couldn’t read his expression aside from the clenching of his jaw.He picked up his scotch and took the sort of sip that meant he probably didn’t like scotch.

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