Page 9 of Queen Of Dark Money

“That’sexactly whatI’mtelling you,”Spectreagreed, his fingers still flying a mile a minute.

“Everyman has a weakness,”Stonecontinued, his tone even and calculating.Icould see the wheels turning behind those hard eyes, and an involuntary shiver ran down my spine. “Wejust have to find his and exploit it.”

Kingcleared his throat, quirking a brow at his intel expert. “Weknow his weakness.Itcomes in the lovely form of his daughter,MissCatrionaSinclair.”

Spectreturned his tablet around and passed it toStonefirst, since he was nearest.Asthe screen made the rounds, he picked up whereKingleft off. “MissSinclairis five foot ten, a mere hundred and thirty-five pounds, and every inch the elegant, meek socialite her father has raised her to be.Herdaily schedule is predictable and typical for a woman of her upbringing.Sheis slated to attend a gala event with her father this week, and another in two weeks’ time, in honor of his re-election campaign.Weassume his pending re-election is built on the anti-crime platform.Hencethe reason he’s targeting all of us.”

Itook the tablet fromRafewith a sigh, my eyes glossing over the small dossier the fuckers had put together for our benefit.Itwas all so impersonal, but the picture of her caught my eye as the others continued.Ionly caught a word here and there asIstudied her eyes, so broken, so empty.Shelooked like a shell, something pretty to hold on his arm at political events.

Howmuch she must have seen over the years, to have such a look of jaded defeat in her pretty green eyes so young.Shecouldn’t be more than twenty-five, if that.Anddear gods, a strong wind might blow the poor thing over.

Andyet we were supposed to use and exploit this girl to get at her father?

Thethought sickened me.

“Shelooks like she could use a fucking burger,”Imuttered under my breath, handing off the tablet to the waitingSoldier, his quiet grunt of thanks the only noise the man made.Louder, to the room,Ivoiced my opinions. “Idon’t know what you expect us to do here.We’rejust the money farmers,King.Wearen’t hired hands.GetyourWildCardsto do that shit.”

King’ssmile widened at my displeasure. “Ah, see, that’s where you’re wrong.Atthe end of the day, you’remorethan just money farmers.Ifthey track us down, they track you down, too.Andimagine if our portion of your illicit incomes dries up.Thenwhat?Sure, you could subsist off the solid, honest business income alone.ButIhave it on good authority thatDominichas just secured a solid contract with an exporting company in theNileValley, and they’re interested in moving some very rareEgyptianartifacts that could make or break his business.Rafe, you’re poised to take over the lead position in your firm, andIknow they’ve been eyeballing the idea of making you a full partner soon.River, you just invested in three new clubs in this town, and two the town over–PortWylde, wasn’t it?Andlet’s not forgetStone.Youhave two not-so-aboveboard diamond mines overseas worth more than you’ll ever make on your own.Didyou boys know that the police and the justice department, should they link us to you, would not only seize your possessions, including the diamond mines and clubs, but they would also ruin your reputation?Saybye-bye to fancy import/export contracts and that sweet, sweet partnership.”

Fuck.

Hehad us there.Itwas literally our balls over the fire just as much as his in this situation.Andhe fucking knew it.

“Whatdo you want,King?”Ispat, already aggravated enough to forget that usually,Rafehandled the negotiations and logistics withKinghimself.Iwas too irritated and too keyed up to care who was generally in charge. “Sinceyou clearly have our balls on the spit, ready to roast.”

Iexpected their leader to open his mouth and speak.Togive us an ultimatum.Butit was his bitch instead who stepped forward, a wicked sparkle in her eyes as she ran her fingers lazily throughKing’shair and giggled almost brokenly.Weall watched in stunned silence as the fucking stone-cold man melted under her touch, tilting his head to give her the floor.

“We’regoing to targether.Andwhen we have her in our hands, we expect you all to hold her hostage until we bend theDAto our demands.”

Dominicburst out in raucous laughter. “I’msorry, you want us tobabysitasocialite?”Heglanced fromKingto his woman, then back to their de facto leader. “Dowe look like adaycare centerto you?”

Gattfrowned, rising from his seat at the end of the bar. “Whatyou look like is a bunch of ungrateful idiots who think this is a free train.Andnews flash–it’s not.Weall work together.Ifwe fall, you fall.Simpleas that,cazzo.”

MyItalianwas rusty, but thanks to the two immigrant girlsI’dhired last year fromSicily, not nonexistent. “Whothe fuck you calling adick,buddy?”

Hiseyes grazed up and down my sprawled frame, as if measuring me and finding me wanting.Thedistaste in his eyes was plain to see, butIcouldn’t be fucked to give a damn what he thought of me.Hewas inmyclub, and it was about time he remembered it.

“Clearly, you all need a moment to discuss the options–”

Thistime, it wasStonewho spoke up, his voice a low growl. “Whichare, of course, keep hold of a hostage for you while you exploit her father, who just happens to be targeting your criminal enterprise for his re-election campaign, or go down in flames at your sides.”Hisire was evident in the scoff under his breath. “Boy, you gave us a whole lot to think about there, didn’t you?”

Kingraised his hands in an‘it’s out of my hands’motion, which only made me want to punch him more. “You’rea smart bunch of boys.I’msure you’ll make the right decision.”

Hiswoman, whoIpegged as the natural leader of the bunch now, quirked a brow and smiled in my direction. “You’vegot til the end of the day, gentlemen.Atwhich point we will assume you’re out, and we shall act accordingly.”

“Andjust what is that supposed to mean?”Rafechimed in, caution laced with worry in his voice.

“Now, now,Weatherston, a lady never reveals her secrets.”Shetapped the side of her nose playfully, aCheshiregrin working its way over her lips.Shereminded me of an unhinged young lady who used to work for me–I’dhad to fire her after a customer got handsy, and she stabbed him with a fork in retaliation.Butthe two of them shared a few key features–the strong, cold look of determination in their eyes, the crazy tilt to their smile, and that laugh that sent chills down your spine.Youcould just tell from the tone of it that they’d both seen far more than their fair share of the world’s fucked-upness, and lived to tell the tale.

Ididn’t want to tangle with a bitch like that.

“Andhow, exactly, are we supposed to keep this girl under wraps and contained when the four of us all have our own hectic lives?”ThisfromDominic, the oldest of us.

Theusually-quietSoldiershuffled forward, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he stared us down in contempt. “Thehowis up to you.Itis of no importance to us.Theonly thing that matters is that youdo.”

Andwith those words, they filed out of my club and into the night air, leaving the four of us sitting there with our pants around our proverbial ankles, wondering what fucking wrong turn we’d all taken in life to get tangled up as money launderers in a racket as chaotic as theKings’Syndicate.

Weshould have expected this.

---