Page 171 of Dark Love

“Now can we get back to the business at hand?” Talon’s eyes shift between the two of us.

I nod, but reserve the right to change my mind.

“Good. Then we’re going to work together on this. Max, you’ll meet with his squirrel and see what you can do to facilitate the information retrieval. Then you’ll assist Vex with squashing this ring.”

“This wasn’t an offer to team up. I came as a courtesy to provide you with the information needed to protect your family. That’s all.”

Talon leans back against the ornate desk. “And we appreciate that. But if this group is as large and organized as you say it is, you’re going to need help. We should bring Kamenev in too. He’s got contacts everywhere.”

So much for keeping this small and quiet. “If a single word of this operation gets out—“

“I know the danger. Aleksei understands how this works.”

Of course, The Bratva King understands. The Bratva traded in people for generations. It’s only recently that they’ve been moving away from it.

My phone alerts me that someone is at Dahlia’s door. “One second, I need to check this.” My body moves towards the door as I pull up the video.

Dyce!

Dahlia doesn’t know Dyce, does she?

Maddox talked to her.

Why can’t anything be simple?

That woman is testing my patience and my nerves. She’s going to say something.

Dahlia opens the door.

We need to have a discussion about that too.

It doesn’t take Dyce long to wheedle her way into Dahlia’s house. I’m going to lock that woman in a closet and throw away the key until all of this is over. Maybe I’ll ship her out to some hick town in the middle of the woods. Then the only thing she can irritate is the wildlife.

“Is everything okay?”

No. “It’s fine.” Maybe I should punch Max before I go over and chuck that woman out of Dahlia’s house.

Max raises an eyebrow at me, which I ignore, barely, and shove the phone back in my pocket. Let’s get this done. “I don’t trust Kamenev.”

“Most people don’t.” Talon nods. “But we’ll bring him in any way.”

“You trust him that much?”

“With the lives of my family.”

That’s high praise from a Vincenti. They trust no one with family and kill if you even look at their family in the wrong direction. I half expected retributions for wailing on Max, but Talon seems to think we’re funny. “Fine. But everyone reports to me. And no one makes a move without my say-so.”

Max snorts. “No one tells Kamenev what to do.”

“That’s the deal. I walk away now if you can’t work with it.” They both know I will. If I say I’m going to something, it’s as good as done.

“Agreed. I’ll arrange a meet with Kamenev as soon as he’s back in the country.”

I nod.

“Where should I meet your hacker?”

There’s a gleam in Max’s eyes. He’s going to try to steal Shock from me. “Wednesday at three my office.” Shock rarely gets up before noon.

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