Page 80 of Trouble

I stepped aside and the Russian walked in. His gaze roamed the living room before landing on me once more. “I believe you said the matter was of someurgency?”

“Yes. My brother—my twin—is being held by my father, William Steel. I need to get to him before it’s toolate.”

The Russian arched an eyebrow at me. “We are assassins, Mr. Steel. We do not rescue people. If you do not have a target for me, you have wasted mytime.”

“We do have a target,” Audrey said, her voice sharp. “William Steel. But we need him dead before he kills Liam’s twin. An organization with a reputation like yours is capable of working within time limits, I’msure.”

The assassin cocked a brow at her. I wrapped an arm around her and stared him down, ensuring he knew she was under my protection. But he didn’t take offense to hersharpness.

“We do. For the rightprice.”

“And that is?” Audrey asked, sounding every ounce the businesswoman she’d been trained to be. An errant thought that she could do quite well for us once we’d taken control of London again flickered at the back of mymind.

“What is thedeadline?”

Audrey glanced atme.

“Two hours. He’ll want to display Louis to the Perkinsons and the other families to show them the true power of his wrath before he kills him,” Isaid.

“Then our price is five million pounds,” the Russian said. “Upfront.”

“I can get you five hundred thousand up front. The rest I won’t be able to get to before he’s dead,” I said, a knot of ice forming in my gut. Of course they wanted upfront payment—it’s why our father hadn’t managed to secure the hits on us. If that payment had made it to them, we’d be having an entirely different meeting with the ??????s than we currentlywere.

“The price is five million up front,” he repeated, voiceimpassive.

“Five hundred thousand now—six million and five hundred thousand after,” Audrey said. “You know it’s a better deal than what you’ll get if you turn us down. And you know the Steels are good for it, especially after their father is gone and they inherit theempire.”

The Russian narrowed his eyes ever so slightly at her. “The ??????? do notnegotiate.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Audrey countered, as calmly as if this had been a regular business meeting. “You are an organization who takes monetary compensation for your services. I am certain you will want the best price possible for your work. What we are offering is the best price. The alternative is you leave here with nothing—an outcome neither party will be pleased with. I take it you already expended some effort getting past William Steel’s men guarding this building? It would be a shame if that was invain.

“Of course, the alternative is you take the deal, and the guaranteed seven million we are offering, and everyone benefits. Well, everyone but William Steel… Tell me, did you not have a business deal with him fall throughyesterday?”

The assassin stared at Audrey with a blank expression for three long seconds while the silence stretched between us, and my adrenaline spiked as I prepared myself to defend her, gunshot wound bedamned.

Then he turned his head to look at me. “How much for thewoman?”

Audrey went pale as a sheet next to me, but despite the circumstances, I couldn’t hold back a grin. “Sorry, she’s not for sale. I plan on marrying her once this matter with my father issettled.”

“Pity.” He looked back at her, his eyes sliding up and down her curvy figure once. “She could be useful.” He looked back at me. “Seven million. Five hundred thousandnow.”

I shook his hand, suppressing a wince as the firmness of his grip sent bolts of pain up my wounded arm. “Deal. Waithere.”

When I left the room to find the five hundred grand Louis and I’d stored away in case of an emergency, Audrey practically stuck to me like glue. Once we were out of earshot in the kitchen, she whispered, “Did he… did he really offer tobuyme?”

I smirked. “Sure did. You should be proud—it takes a lot to impress a??????.”

“But why?” She still sounded horrified, but I guess she wasn’t exactly used to a world where human flesh was traded as commonly as drugs and weapons. Not that we’d ever partaken in the slave trade—even mafia Families had limits, and that one even our father hadn’tcrossed.

“Who knows? Either he wanted you to do business negotiations for the organization, or he found your bossiness as hot as I do. Wanna ask him?” I playfully lifted my brows before I knelt down to reach up under the cabinet that hid our safe. It was a bitch to get to, but it was well enough hidden that no one would think to look for itthere.

“God, no!” She was silent for a little while while I struggled with thecombination.

“Liam?”

“Yeah,love?”

“You said… you planned on marryingme.”

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