Page 53 of Claiming Veronica

Me: No danger here. Just bored rich people and I am watching you.

Veronica: Oh, so a slow night for you.

Me: Pretty much. Maxim and Luther want to each other.

Veronica: Not a shocker. Surprised you don’t want to both of them.

Me: It’s like you know me.

I smirked at my phone, quickly pocketing it before Maxim caught on. He’d returned to the central part of the warehouse. His eyes were still scanning the area, his mind likely running through every possible scenario for the night. He probably had to be like that—always two or three steps ahead of everyone else.

“So, about Spato,” Luther said, cutting into the moment, his voice tight.

I didn’t miss the slight edge to his words. Luther apparently didn’t want Maxim to kill Spato, but Spato was a problem for Maxim, meaning he had to go.

“He’s done,” I said, my voice final. “Non-negotiable.”

Luther sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, his jaw clenching in anger. “Yeah, I figured. He was good for business, though.”

Maxim’s cold smile returned as he stepped closer to Luther. “Your business will be just fine without him. The kind of money you’re attracting now… you can afford to cut him loose.”

Luther hesitated, but only for a second. “Fine. He’s out. But don’t expect me to be happy about it.”

“You’ll live,” I said, mimicking the same dry tone I’d used earlier. Maxim gave me an almost approving look, while Luther just shot me a glare.

Maxim didn’t waste any more time on the small stuff. He checked the room layout, walked through it again, and asked concise questions before declaring that he had what he needed.

“This is well-designed,” he said, almost to himself. “Enough visibility for the spectators, but still enough privacy for the important clients. And with the security in place, no one should be able to interfere.”

Luther nodded, clearly pleased that Maxim seemed to approve. “Yeah, we’ve got it locked down. No surprises.”

“The cage will be live-streamed,” I told him. “During the fight, it’ll be on the entire time.”

“Any other areas that will be on camera?” Maxim asked.

“Just the red carpet there.” I pointed to where the fighters would walk down from the locker room to get to the cage. “That area and the chairs alongside will be on camera when the fighters come in. I’d avoid that.” He nodded.

“We good here?”

I was anxious to return to Haverboro, where I could handle the Reed situation. Maxim and I had discussed it in the car, and we’d agreed that the best course was to find this Doug and eliminate the threat.

“Yeah, we’re good,” Maxim said. “I’m glad I got a sense of the place, so there isn’t any unnecessary drama or disruption to your business. I want to be respectful.” The words were so insincere that I burst out laughing.

“Okay, pal. Let’s get a move on.” I shook my head at him.

The idea that Maxim Volkov gave a shit about disrupting our business was hysterical, but I’d give him points for at least giving it a try. Honestly, I wouldn’t be that upset if things went sideways. A few months ago, my priority would have been the integrity of the fight and the business. I would have laughed at you if you’d told me that I’d change my mind.

Now, Veronica was important to me if her family needed something that took precedence over my business. I had enough money to last my whole lifetime. Being away from her made me realize how little I wanted to do that. I didn’t want to waste any time with her. I wanted all of her minutes, hours, and days.

We said our goodbyes and left Luther to set up at a table while he made some calls. As we headed out the door, I watched him run his hands through his hair with agitation and then yell into the phone, slamming a fist onto the table. That was interesting. I wasn’t sure what was happening with Luther, but something certainly was.

I settled into the passenger seat of the Rover Maxim insisted on driving. I pulled up the camera feeds, flicking through them as he aimed us back toward Haverboro.

“Anything wrong?” Maxim asked cooly beside me.

“Nope,” I answered. I wasn’t overly inspired to share my concerns about Luther with Maxim. I guessed that he was just pissed off about the whole business with Spato, but he might be angry that I’d offed Victor. Either way — Maxim wasn’t my friend, so I kept quiet.

I scrolled to the cameras at the house. Veronica was now in the kitchen with Reed, but she was chewing the edge of her thumb like she did when she was nervous while popcorn popped in the microvave. I fired off another text.

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