Page 17 of Beautiful Dangerous

Olivia smiles. “Good.”

“Pleasure doing business with you, Olivia. As always.”

They shake hands, and hug.

“Lucca will fill you in on anything else you need to know. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to get some air.”

She leaves the room, and Eddie frowns. “She okay?”

“It’s coming up to the second anniversary of Javier’s death. She needs this job doing, Eddie. It’s been too long coming.”

“I know. But this is the best way. We’ve played it right. How are you?”

“Same old.”

“You look tired. Babysitting your beautiful queen taking its toll, huh?”

“She doesn’t need babysitting, Eddie.”

“She needs protecting.”

“And that’s exactly what I’m doing. Protecting her.”

He leans back against the table, sliding his hands into his pockets. “So, the Pino hit. What are we talking here? Do I need to draft in men from other chapters? I can bring the Mexicans in, if we need to. Miguel will be more than happy to help, those bastards cost his brother an eye, and a shitload of product. Your old chapter wants to see thosecabronsbrought down just as much as the cartel does.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to have as much back-up as we can. Mention it to Miguel when you speak to him.”

“What about weapons? What are we bringing?”

“Everything you’ve got.”

“You sure you’re okay?” Eddie asks, and I frown. Of course I’m okay, why the fuck wouldn’t I be? “You look distracted.”

“I don’tgetdistracted, Eddie. That’s when shit happens.” I drag a hand through my hair and glance back at the door. “I should go make sure Olivia’s alright. You got everything you need for now?”

“Yeah. We’re good.”

“Okay. We’ll talk soon.”

“We will, brother. We will.”

Another quick handshake, another brotherly hug, and then I’m out the door, I’m eager to get to Olivia now. I don’t like her being out of my sight for too long, even here, where she should be safe.Shouldbe. Nothing’s guaranteed.

“Hey, Lucca, hold up a second!”

I stop and turn around to face Eddie. “Yeah?”

“Olivia. How big a target is she?”

“Since Javier’s death? A big one. They want her, too.”

“You need any extra protection, you just say the word. You got that?”

“I’m not going to let anything happen to her, Eddie. Not on my watch.”

That’s a promise I made to Javier. And it’s one I don’t intend to break, because doing so wouldn’t just endangerherlife, it would endanger mine, too…

Olivia

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