Page 16 of Beautiful Dangerous

“Thank you.”

“This is a good business move, Olivia, believe me.”

I lean back against the wall and cross my arms as Olivia once more glances over at me, something Eddie doesn’t miss.

“You don’t agree, Lucca?” he asks, dragging deep on his cigarette.

“I didn’t think it was necessary, for the cartel to become involved in arms dealing.”

“Then it’s just as well it wasn’t your decision,” Olivia points out, our eyes locking for a moment or two, and then she smiles. But it’s a cold one, she’s making sure I get the message now.

“This is going to work for all of us,” Eddie continues, leaning forward and steepling his fingers together in front of him. “And, as far as you’re concerned, Olivia, the cartel itself doesn’t have to get too involved, if you don’t want it to. The club, this is what we do. We can deal with everything.”

“I prefer to stay involved, to some extent.” Olivia’s attention is now back on Eddie, an ex-military man with an air about him that tells you straight he doesn’t take any shit. “I want to know what’s going on, at all times. Is that clear?”

“We’ll make sure we keep you in the loop.”

Eddie casts a quick glance in my direction but I just raise a brow. He knows the score.

“Do we have any more updates on the Pino hit?” Eddie directs that question to me.

“Endo’s shipment from Bolivia is coming soon. The plan is to hit them on the way to the port.”

“Antonio and Emilio, they’ll be in that convoy?”

“They’ll be there. We have someone on the inside, one of our own men who’s a part of the group handling that deal, and it’s a big one. Endo French is an incredibly important client. The brothers want to be there themselves to check everything’s in order. We’ll know the exact route they’ll be taking, how many vehicles they’ll have, how many men there’ll be and, if by any chance things change, and the brothers don’t travel in that convoy, then we’ll have men – yours and ours – surrounding the Pino estate. One way or another we’re taking those bastards out, in two weeks.”

Olivia looks at me, and this time when she smiles there’s a warmth to it. “We take their shipment,” she says, turning her attention back to Eddie. “And then we take Endo French.”

“You think he’ll be okay with that?”

“I’ll make sure he is. We’re going to bring their business down, piece by piece, take everything from them, and expand the Delgado cartel even further. Which will benefit the club, too, Eddie. There’ll be territory for the taking.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“We never forget those who help us. Don’t think for one moment I’m not grateful for everything you do. And I haven’t just come here today to talk about the weapons shipment or taking down the Pino cartel, I have a proposition for you –wehave a proposition for you.”

Eddie raises an eyebrow and sits back in his chair. “What kind of proposition?”

“I want you to move further into the circle. The Devil’s Creed should be playing a much bigger role, you and the club are too important to be playing around on the sidelines.”

“How big a role?” Eddie’s eyes narrow slightly, he’s still a wary man. But he shouldn’t be,not in this instance. Olivia’s offer is a genuine one, we’ve been thinking about making this move for a while now. A move that will benefit us all.

“I’d like you to become part of the cartel. A division, if you like. You’ll be in complete control of this club, obviously, that won’t change, but, you’ll run more business alongside the cartel. You’ll be involved in more meetings, we’ll work together much more closely. Become partners, if you like. That way we can control a much bigger share of everything, even more so once we take the Pino clients, gain control of their business deals, and their territory.”

“We’ll control more of the border.” Eddie’s face breaks into a smile.

“Exactly.”

“Okay… I’ll need to take it to the table before I officially commit to anything, but, I like the sound of this.”

“Good.” She pushes her chair back and stands up. She’s finished now. This is over. “We’ll arrange another meeting soon.”

Eddie gets up and comes over to us. “What about Miguel?”

“I’ve spoken to him. I want the Tijuana chapter on board, too, obviously. That way we have both sides of the border covered. Talk to Miguel yourself, after all, you’ll be working together a lot more, if you agree to come on board.”

“It’s just a matter of club formalities. I don’t think anyone’s going to have a problem with this.”

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