Page 80 of Hart of Vengeance
“Whatever, man. Look, I’m tired. My body has been through hell, and right now I just want to spend time with my girl.”
“I thought you wanted your record wiped clean?” Travers asked.
Denim blanched.
As much as I despised Duke, I couldn’t fault Denim for not wanting to send his brother to prison.
Travers started for the door. “The offer still stands.”
“Travers,” Denim called.
I couldn’t see Travers’s face with his back to us, but I would bet he was sporting a smug grin.
“I’ll take your offer with one caveat,” Denim said.
Travers pivoted on his shiny loafers. His expression was blank. “I’m listening.”
“What if I can get you someone else?” Denim asked.
“Unless this someone else has something to do with gun trafficking, it’s of no use to me.”
Denim shoved his free hand through his hair. “Give me two weeks to get you someone better before you revoke the offer.”
Travers considered Denim. “You’ve got one.”
“Or what?” Denim asked.
“The offer is gone. And maybe I’ll arrest Duke by then.”
Denim flinched. “On what charges?”
“Now why would I tell you that?” That smug grin I was sure he’d had earlier was front and center. “One week.” Travers sauntered out like he’d won the war.
Denim roughed his hands through his hair. “Fuck my life.”
“I bet Travers is lying about arresting Duke. Just the way he said ‘maybe’ sounded like he’s hoping he can arrest Duke. Or he wants to scare you and Duke until you both crack.”
“Enough about Duke. I want to look at you. Where were we? Oh yeah.” He leaned in and kissed me like a man possessed.
At that moment, Travers, Feds, gangs, Duke, violence, and almost getting killed flew out of the room. I was right where I wanted to be.
25
Denim
Iroamed the sprawling penthouse for nothing more than to expend some pent-up nerves. I hadn’t wanted to leave Jade, not after the kiss we’d shared. But I’d gone ahead and opened my big mouth and told Travers I would get him someone else he could skewer other than Duke. I wasn’t sure I could come through within a week or if Duke would agree to help me, but I had to try. I had to get Tito out of the picture. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about Jade’s safety—or mine for that matter—and above all else, I could have the murder conviction wiped from my record.
Dillon stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the cityscape. “I wouldn’t want to live here. The view is great, but this place is lifeless. Does Duke even spend time here?”
I checked down the hall. “I think with a woman’s touch, it would be warmer and more inviting.”
The doors to the other rooms were shut. I was tempted to snoop to see what Duke had in those rooms, like a desk, filing cabinets, or some clue that would tell us more about our brother—the same brother I felt like I barely knew anymore.
But I decided not to go digging. Duke wasn’t beyond throwing me out the window. I also suspected Duke had hidden cameras. I didn’t see any in the living room or kitchen area. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t hiding the cameras in his recessed lighting or some James-Bond-type device that looked like a normal fixture or piece of furniture.
More importantly, if I wanted him to trust me, I had to make sure my actions were aboveboard in case he was watching us.
I joined Dillon, skirting the island and then the dining table. The fall weather was slowly morphing into winter, and I couldn’t wait for the snow. I wanted to cozy up to a fireplace in a log cabin in the mountains with Jade and hibernate for the winter. Now that was a perfect idea if she would only take me back. We still hadn’t finished our conversation since we’d been rudely interrupted by Travers, and then Dillon had walked in.
