Page 359 of Rage

“I did notice he knew little about my company.”

“That’s putting it mildly, I’m sure, since the only thing Bart cares about is getting high.”

My lips snap shut as soon as the words leave my mouth. Shit! Shit! Shit! I shouldn’t have said that, not to a client and not when the paperwork hasn’t been signed.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Rossi. That was uncalled for.”

“You have a bad habit, Ms. Copeland. One that pisses me off to no end.” He takes a step closer. “One that I’ll spank your ass for later.”

Heat shoots through my body, and at the same time, my brain screams ‘danger.’

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“You’ll see soon enough.” He puts a respectable amount of distance between us. “Have a good day, Ms. Copeland.”

He walks away without another word. When he’s gone, I sink into my chair, exhaling.

What in the hell was that?

Chapter Two

Gideon

My finger taps on the top of my desk as my right-hand man, Raul, tells me all the reasons this is a bad idea.

When he realizes that I’m not listening, he sighs.

“I’m not going to talk you out of this, am I?”

“No.”

“Why her?”

“Why not?”

“You know what I mean. Why go through all this to get the woman who you believe betrayed Boris?”

“Why not?”

“Dammit, Gideon, this isn’t funny.”

“Am I laughing?” I wait a beat. “I know what I’m doing.”

Raul is silent, which isn’t always a good thing. He lets me act on my impulses and then is there to remind me he was right when the shit hits the fan. This isn’t one of those cases because IknowI’m right.

Wren Copeland killed my best friend, and now she must pay.

Raul stands. “I can see I’m not going to get through to you.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Let me leave with this parting word. Wren isn’t the one who killed Boris.”

I jump to my feet, pulling my gun on my second in command. To his credit, he doesn’t even flinch. Not even with my finger hovering over the trigger.

“Tread carefully.”

“She didn’t kill him, Gideon. Her father did. Just remember that before you punish her.”

---