Page 81 of Whatever It Takes

“Go on,” he growls in an almost comically thick Boston accent.

Briar has no accent.

They’re siblings.

That seems strange to me, but ultimately, it doesn’t matter.

“My name is Easton, I’ve worked with several of your Boston predecessors. Although, not directly with your family.” I pause, taking a drink of the bottle of water I left for myself. Pandering to useless assholes always makes me thirsty and moody. “What I do is simple. Inevitably, jobs you don’t wish to task to someone in-house will pop up. You farm those out to my company. It can be anything from making a pesky witness disappear to an army of mercenaries at your back during a precarious business deal.”

“Why would I need that?” he asks, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Perhaps you don’t.” I shrug. “Only you can decide if you would benefit from my services. It’s a yearly contract. Base rate is fifty thousand per month. We can negotiate a number if you require higher than what our standard package entails.”

“You’re fucking crazy! No way am I paying fifty grand for whatever you’re peddling.”

Briar sits on the edge of the bed, facing me. Her leg bounces, betraying her anxiety, but I give her a reassuring smile as Keir’s hand lands on her knee. She’s gagged with one of my ties, and her hands are loosely bound behind her back.

The daft woman attempted to ask me to give her a black eye to really sell that she’s a prisoner.

She still owes me a trip over my knee for that ludicrous comment.However, I’m trying to be understanding because I can recognize how she was conditioned to fear her father and brother.

“That’s perfectly fine,” I say calmly as I refocus on Titus. “Now, keep in mind, if we don’t come to an understanding, I’llhave no choice but to reach out to other operations in Boston. Those services you could have at your back are then working against you, but I understand financial constraints can be an issue.”

“I’m not strapped for cash, I’m just not interested in your bullshit.” Titus bares his teeth, shaking his head. “You’re done wasting my time.”

“Before you go”—I wave a hand for Calder, who places the thumb drives on my outstretched palm—“I seem to have run across something that belongs to you. In good faith, I’d like to return it…” I go on to describe what’s on the drives. It makes him look like an inept leader to have no idea of their existence, but that works in my favor, since he’ll be able to verify that everything I’m saying is true.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Titus mutters. “Yeah, I’m sure you’re going to hand them right over. What’s the price for deleting the copies you made?”

My amusement must be evident on my face. It seems Titus is not as foolish as I made him out to be in my mind, which is a good thing. It will allow this to go swiftly. “I’m willing to negotiate a two-for-one special. Don’t move. I lied. I actually have two things that belong to you.”

Every fiber of my being rebels at referring to Briar as anything but mine, but this is all for a purpose.

Standing, I walk around the small dinette to where Briar now stands. My hands land on her hips, giving her a reassuring squeeze. She still looks terrified, so I bend, kissing her forehead in silent apology for what I have to do next.

“Sell it, and he’ll be dead in three days,” I whisper against the shell of her ear as I gather her hair in my fist.

She yelps, and I drag her around to where the camera is pointed at the chair I started in. Even with the gag, I’m surethe microphone picks up her grunts and sobs as she pretends to struggle.

Leaning her over the table, I shove my dick against her ass as I face her directly at the webcam. “Titus, you’re not great at keeping track of your things.”

Or his people and their shady business deals, but that only benefits me.

His jaw falls as Briar begins to fight in earnest.

I quickly pull her away, growling, “Take her.”

Using my hand on her hip for support, I lift her and move out of the camera’s view.

Briar’s sobs make my blood boil as she buries her face in Keir’s chest.

I still have a fuckhead to set up, so I exhale heavily, roll my shoulders back, and straighten my tie before returning to the camera.

Taking a seat, I paint on a disinterested facade. “Now, would you like to negotiate, or should I move on to one of the other Boston families?”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Briar

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