Page 209 of Money Reigns
I don’t blink.
I don’t back down.
I’m not about to break because some mobster glares at me.
“What is that Inn worth to you, Beaumont?” he asks sharply.
My jaw works. He studies me like he already knows the answer.
“You seem interested in the Baker family,” he adds, voice cool, probing.
I could lie. I should. But I don’t.
“It’s for Olivia. Her family owns the Inn and she’s mine.”
Something flickers in his eyes—brief, telling. He steeples his fingers, leaning back. Then a low, dark chuckle rumbles out of him. “You gave away your biggest weakness that fast?”
Heat spikes through me. My hands fist on the armrests.
“Your biggest weakness just left the room,” I snap. “Don’t act like we aren’t the same here.”
His jaw ticks. Just barely. But I see it.
Silence stretches, heavy.
Finally, he leans forward, voice colder than before. “What do we get in exchange for letting the family off our books?”
“How much do you want?” I grind out.
Santo shakes his head slowly, like I’ve offended him. “We don’t need your money. We have our own. You know what we want.”
My heart stutters.
The Parker Building.
“I can give you any other property,” I counter, grasping. “Any other building.”
“We don’t want any others.” His voice is final.
I stare at him, fury and dread clawing at my ribs. Grapple, calculate, fight; then finally, the word tears out of me. “Deal.”
Santo smirks, victory sharp in his eyes.
“But call off Ronnie,” I add quickly, leaning forward. “Send his ass back here. He doesn’t need to be a lingering reminder.”
Santo’s brow furrows. “Who?”
The door opens. Vasilisa slips back in, barefoot now, a smear of pale blue paint drying across her fingers. She drifts toward Amato like she belongs nowhere else.
“Ronnie is a guard,” she explains gently. “He’s the one who collects the funds.”
She hesitates, eyes flicking down before lifting again, sheepish. “I started painting, but then I came back… and I was eavesdropping.”
Confessing like a child who knows she’s done something wrong.
Amato exhales slowly, closing his eyes for a beat. His jaw clenches, then eases. When he opens them, he looks at her with something softer than I thought a man like him was capable of; like even her guilt is something he’ll forgive.
It rattles me.Monsters don’t look at women like that.
