Page 33 of Reluctant Surrender

“Be a good girl, or else, angel.”

He didn’t say what ‘or else’ meant, but I had a sinking feeling by the end of the night, I’d find out.

Chapter 16

Lukas

Sammy Bertonelli agreed to meet on neutral territory, a public restaurant on Michigan Avenue. There was no fucking way I was going to his townhouse, and he wouldn’t have agreed to meet me anywhere I had full control either.

We had one of the party rooms all to ourselves. The manager of the restaurant, Martin Crosby, greeted us and ordered several plates of appetizers for the room. Though they all sat on the table completely untouched.

“When your cousin ran things down here, we never had trouble.” Sammy knocked on the tabletop, his thick gold pinky ring clanking against the wood.

“Piotr had his good side.” I nodded in agreement. So far, the only perk to him was that he’d left the Italians alone. “But what brings us here tonight really has nothing to do with my cousin, or even me, isn’t that right?” We needed to get to the heart of the matter so we could resolve the issue. The man’s pride had been wounded, and it was going to take more than an apology and handshake to fix that.

“You’re right. It has to do with some girl, Maggie Dudek.” He leaned back in his chair and steepled his hands. While I was flanked by Patryk and Janusz, Sammy sat with two of his own at his sides. The dim lighting of the room made it harder to see every nuance of his expression, but when he said Maggie’s name a dark shroud washed over his features.

“We can cut to the chase, here. I’m aware of the situation between the two of you.”

He raised his brow. “So, you know she’s a thief. You know she tried to kill me in my own home.”

I recalled the micro gun Maggie had shown me and suppressed the laugh. That thing wouldn’t have hurt him unless she’d been right in front of him. He was in no real danger, but I could concede having a gun pulled on you in your own home would be insulting.

“She had no idea it was your poker game. The guy who hired her didn’t tell her that. She wouldn’t have taken the job if she’d known,” I explained, not that it would matter much, but he needed to know her intention had not been to insult him.

“From what I hear, she’s made a name of herself. Men want to play with her because she’s good at cards, but not great at winning. She’s fun to look at while they take her money.” His tone took a turn. It was a test to see my reaction if he edged toward insulting her.

“She won’t be playing cards anymore.” I ignored his taunt. “I understand the trouble she caused, and you want to make an example of her, but that’s a bad idea.”

“Why’s that? I can’t have people thinkingla puttanacould insult me and my family and get away with it.”

“Because if you hurt her, you’ll be insulting my family. We’ve kept out of your way all these years, and we’ve all made a lot of money. There’s no reason for us to go toe to toe now. Not over something like a poker game.”

“You’re willing to go to war over this girl?” He narrowed his eyes. “She means that much to you?” I was handing over a vulnerability by expressing Maggie was more than a girl I was fucking.

“She’s not to be touched,” I said firmly.

“And the next time she shows up at one of my games? I should let her steal from me then too? Maybe I should just give her a fucking pot of gold when she walks in to make it easier on her?”

“She’s done playing cards,” I assured him. “She’s not a concern for you anymore.”

“And how do I know this?” He leaned forward. “What’s to stop her from doing exactly as she has been doing? Even if you’re enjoying yourself between her legs every night, she has no reason to be loyal to you. Or to this agreement.”

I pressed my palms into my knees. Maggie was on the outside of our world. She had no true protection, not enough to save her when she’s done something so insulting, so aggressive toward the Bertonelli family. He wanted assurances and there was only one way to keep her protected from this moment on.

“Because she’s to be my wife,” I stated flatly. “Once we’re married, her only loyalty is to me.” Aside from that, Sammy going after my wife would be an obvious act of war. And even if the other families cared that she’d provoked him with her little pistol, they’d side with me. Wives and families were untouchable. To go against that unspoken rule would be a declaration of war.

Sammy sank back in his chair, his jaw worked from side to side. He probably wasn’t expecting that answer from me. I was a little surprised by it myself, but what needed to be done, needed to be done. I wouldn’t allow anything to happen to Maggie. If he touched one hair on her head, I’d fucking hunt him down and kill him with my bare hands.

“Let’s talk retribution then.” He waved toward the door. Immediately it opened and another round of drinks were brought in. “There’s a spot on the west side of the city that’s held by a small Russian family. They don’t have any big ties to anyone, but they’ve held the corner on underground gambling and liquor distribution. I want it.”

I waved away the decanter of whiskey as it was offered to me.

“What do you want from me?” I had nothing to do with the Russians, and I wanted to keep it that way. Until I had a firmer grasp on Chicago, I wasn’t looking to make things more complicated.

“I want your backing.”

“As far as I knew, you were into the gambling, but you haven’t touched liquor.” I tilted my head. “Why do you want that line now?”

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