Page 21 of Blood Money

“Because you’ve staked your claim?”

What had Vito heard? “You know that’s not an option.”

“Right. No hands on the merchandise.”

Was my brother trying to get murdered? “No hands on men or women who owe us money.”

He snorted. “Because Pops thinks we’re as easily seduced as he was.”

I took my eyes off the road long enough to let him see how pissed off I was. “Shut your mouth. You know that subject isn’t up for discussion.”

“Are you telling me you like that rule?” Did he ever stop trying to push my buttons? “It’s not like we have to cancel the debt because we want to fuck a guy while he pays it off.”

“I just want to get Liam’s money.”

Vito huffed. “I think you want a lot more than that.”

A growl slipped out as I thought about another man touching Liam.

“What was that?” Vito asked.

“Nothing.” I had to learn better control around Liam and, apparently, discussions about Liam.

“Uh huh. I’m still waiting for you to tell me about him.”

Stick to the facts. “He borrowed more than he could ever pay back. I found a way for him to make good on his debt.”

“You didn’t offer him more money so we could pull him in even deeper?”

“No. That’s your sort of game.” I glanced at the speedometer and realized I was going well over a hundred miles an hour. Anger always gave me a lead foot.

“Are you telling me you didn’t want to bind him to us?”

Could he just shut the fuck up? “No. I wanted to get paid.”

“What does he look like? He must be hot if he’s succeeding as a dancer.”

I waited a moment to respond, knowing if I bit his head off he’d only push my buttons more. “It doesn’t matter. There are rules. I don’t break them.”

Vito snorted. “You break a hell of a lot of rules.”

“Not the ones Dom sets.”

Vito drummed his fingers on his door, and I immediately pressed the lock button for the windows. He loved to open them, let the wind ruin my hair, and hang out the window like a lunatic. “So you’re telling me you haven’t even touched Liam?”

“That’s right.”

“Interesting, because rumor has it you spent a whole lot of money getting him all prettied up to start his gig at the club.”

I should never have done that. “That’s business.”

“The clothes? Strippers don’t need a lot of clothes.”

“Who told you what I bought?” I needed to find out which one of my employees couldn’t keep his mouth shut so I could shut it for him.

“I don’t snitch on my sources, but they’re not going to tell Pops. If that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I need you to drop this, okay. Liam’s not our usual client. He’s in over his head, he’s got nothing, and maybe that reminded me of what things were like for us.”

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