Page 142 of Nest of Thieves
“Don’t call me that,” I say, narrowing my eyes. “What are you playing at? If you have the ruby already, why ask me to get it back?”
“Because I needed to see how loyal you really were.” He rests his back against the door and tips his head. “Tell me, when did you plan on informing me about your little bank robbery?”
“It was none of your business.” And that’s true. I worked for him, but I was never told I couldn’t do my own jobs.
“Hmm. It is when your plans interfere with mine. So, what were you going to do with the cash?”
I grind my jaw, refusing to dignify him with an answer. “What did you do with the ruby?”
“Sold it to the highest bidder. I assume you got the pictures I sent your mates?” He pushes off the door and sits at his desk again.
“Do they know?” I ask, suddenly second-guessing everything.
“That I’m Laurence? Of course not. They also don’t know any of my other aliases. That’s the point of them, you know?”
“Why hide yourself?”
He leans forward, steel-colored eyes darkening. “I’m not hiding, Kitty. I’m managing an empire.”
I clench my fists. “You threatened my sister.”
“To motivate you. I admit, I thought you’d find me sooner than you did.”
“Why do you go by two names?”
“I go by many names. I heard you found my card.”
“But you didn’t answer. Whose number is that?”
“An associate of mine handles all of my business transactions. He informed me of your calls. I expected a little more from you, Jo. I trained you better.” He pauses, flicking his gaze toward the door. “I guess they got in your way.”
“What do you want? Is my family safe?”
“They will be.”
I blink, reining in my anger. “When?”
“When you kill your mates.”
thirty-five
JO
Silence stretches between us. Damien’s face is serious. He’s not joking. He wants me to kill them.
“They’re part of your pack.” By pledging themselves to Damien via the Atlantic City Knights, they’re technically in his pack. Why would he want to kill them?
“And? They messed up the bank job. They hid you from me. The 609 Vandals crept into our territory. Had they not been distracted by you and your cunt, they would have done a better job.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Is it? Were you or were you not distracting them?”
I mean. Maybe I was, but does that change anything? The Vandals would have hit Orion regardless of my presence. People still would have died.
“I’m not killing them.”
“That’s fine. I’m sure Tori’s baby has lived long enough.”
