Page 65 of When Kings Fall

He started pouring into his glass, telling me, “You certainly have my attention.”

“That was the goal.”

He looked me up and down. “I see you’re still dressing beneath your station.”

“I like to be prepared.”

“You like people to recognize that you’re always prepared for a fight.”

“I am,” I rebutted pointedly.

His lips quirked again.

He took a sip of his drink, then sat back against the booth, affecting an air of nonchalance, which I knew couldn’t possibly be real given the situation.

He was good, though.

Very good concealing his true feelings and intentions behind that proverbial mask of his.

“Your strategy may not be the optimal one, Levi. In fact, it can be unwise to give everything away up front, to allow people to know exactly what and who they are dealing with.”

“It can also be a deterrent. A formidable one.”

“Well, our philosophies differ. Something that may change in time as you come to see that your approach can be provocative rather than the deterrent you intend. However, that is not what you’ve called me here to discuss. So, we’ll get to it.” He took another sip of his drink, then told me, “I am investigating Malcolm Lynch and he is an enemy to me, not an intended asset or partner in any sort of business venture.”

“Why is he an enemy? That much I wasn’t able to deduce.”

I needed to understand his motives here in order to protect myself and my loves.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, Osiris has become heavily involved in arms trading since its revival. My father intends to partner with Lynch, desiring to acquire military grade weapons, far from the street level weaponry the Marchetti Syndicate deals in. It’s both dangerous and the wrong move for us. He’s getting into bed with madmen. Should it come to pass it will hurt the family gravely, setting us on a path that will be incredibly difficult to turn back from. I won’t allow it.”

“Wow, going against Marco… that’s a hell of a thing.”

“We do what we must to protect what’s ours.”

“Yeah. Yeah, we do.” I took a swig of my vodka. “So, how did you come to acquire intel on these operations? I couldn’t find it anywhere.”

And I was damned good.

“Only through the fact that it is my father who’s doing business with them. All their files were locked down, kept off the internet, only rooted to a local network connection. As I’m privy to the deal that was made, I was able to obtain the information.” He pulled something from his pants pocket and I saw a flash drive. “Unfortunately, I cannot get my hands dirty on this one. The stakes are too high if my involvement is discovered.”

“Hence, why you need me.”

“Precisely. Ensure that Roman is also involved. However, he cannot know of my part. Is that clear?”

“Crystal. Terms of the deal and all that.”

Nico Marchetti might have a really fucked-up side, but he was also known for never breaking a deal.

Fortunately, he knew me to be honorable too.

As he held out the flash drive to me, I took it, but then his hand clamped down around mine, stilling me.

“One more condition.”

I cocked an eyebrow.

“Caterina is off-limits.”

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