Page 20 of Hearts Of Darkness

“Not now,” I say irritably, shaking him off. “Let me take this call. Emilio’s waiting.”

“Since when have you ever given a damn about that? Emilio can wait a while longer.”

“Fine…then talk.” Leaning back in my chair, I start drumming my fingers against the desk.

“Eve Miller,” he states, moving to stand in front of me, his gray-blue eyes drilling into mine.Two words I’m learning come with a shit load of complication.

My drumming slows and then stops, but there’s never a flicker of a reaction on my face.

“You’ve completed your dossier then?”

“You’re playing with fire,” he says, echoing my own thoughts.

I laugh, but it’s a hollow, empty sound. “I’m betting you couldn’t find the first fucking thing on her, Grayson. There’s not a single item in that document that’ll shock me. She’sas wholesome as they come, a real American homegrown sweetheart. I assume this is about her father, or rather her father’s occupation?” I glare at him, daring him to confirm it.

“That surprised me, I’ll admit,” he says, gazing back at me steadily, but there’s a trace of anger there now. We don’t keep secrets from each other, not when it comes to business. “I’m not so bothered about him, though.”

“Oh?” Now he’s piqued my interest. “Tell me quick. I need to deal with my asshole brother.”

“Do you remember a man called Myers?”

Myers, Myers…I roll the name around my head a few times. Nothing of note springs to mind. “Who is he?”

“Was. Small time dealer in Miami. Thought he could make it with the big boys until he got in our way. Irritated you, if I remember rightly, which never leads to a happy ending. You ordered a hit on him five years ago. Sent me to do it. Before I could pull the trigger, he went to ground with a suitcase of blow and three prostitutes. He died in a hospital bed two weeks later.”

What a way to go.

“And I give a damn about this lowlife because…?”

“Miller isn’t Eve’s birth name, Dante. It’s Myers, remember?”

He stops talking then out of respect. I’m more than capable of connecting the dots, or rather decoding the imminent warning signs myself.

“You sure about this?” My voice is like stone.

“Eve and Ryan were siblings. No doubt about it. And that’s not all—”

I hold up my hand. “Let me get rid of my brother.”

Truth is, I need a few moments to dissect this revelation. So, our lives have intersected before, and I’ve been the cause of untold pain for her. That’s not sitting well with me. That’s not sitting well at all.

“Emilio,” I snarl, hitting the speakerphone button.

“Dante.”

One word. That’s all it takes to make the nausea rise up from the pit of my stomach. Just one fucking word in that slimy rasp of his. My brother’s accent is far more pronounced than mine. He never felt the inclination to leave Colombia, while I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there. That’s until our father insisted I put in a return appearance before my hate exited the back of his skull.

I set up residence in Africa not long after to conduct my side of the business. The distance suits me. Certain dealings force me to visit Colombia from time to time, but I limit these as much as I can. There are too many memories lying in wait for me there, and I prefer to spend as little time in the company of my brother as I can.

“You better be covered in bullet holes,” he hisses, dispensing with the pleasantries. “Why else would you leave that DEA scum alive?”

The heat rushes to my fists. My red mist is descending fast. Unreasonable doesn’t cover my brother… I’ll happily chuck in sadistic and paranoid, too.

“Well?” he taunts. “Is there a priest by your bedside reading you your last rights?”

“I just bought you Garcia’s head on a plate,” I tell him coldly. “You should be kissing my ass for that.”

“I don’t like loose ends. It looks careless.”

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