Page 30 of Revenge & Ruin

“I’m sure I could still make it worth your while.”

I shove down the fluttering feeling in my chest.

“I wasn’t lying when I said my brother wanted war. In fact, I think it’s very possible that you owe me a favor. He wouldn’t have stopped at only taking your life. Your precious Dante was absolutely next on his list. Him and that insane redhead.”

Something visibly cools in Teo’s expression, even through the pixels on the screen.

“He would have been dead before he could touch them,” he growls back.

“Perhaps. Perhaps not,” I concede. “Either way, I think it’s in both our best interests to stop that from happening, don’t you agree?”

“If I don’t, will your reinforcements allow us to leave here alive?”

This time, I let him hear me chuckle. “I think you know the answer to that.”

“What do you want?”

“Dinner, eight o’clock tomorrow,” I all but sing, basking in the shocked expression on his face. “There’s this gorgeous place on Mia Park.”

“You want me to…take you to dinner?” he asks uncertainly.

“Of course. I think our next discussion about the future of our organizations should be done face to face, don’t you?”

The Elevenat Mia Park isn’t just gorgeous. It’s a Michelin-star restaurant that is more exclusive than even our private poker tables, with a waiting list that could leave you hanging for years.

This makes it quite convenient that the head chef is in a tremendous amount of debt to the Prince’s Hand, courtesy of said private poker tables.

I walk up the steps confidently, my short cream dress perhaps slightly scandalous in comparison to the other restaurant’s patrons attire, but they turn a blind eye. This is my domain, after all.

That’s the beauty of old money. Having it means that people are far more forgiving and, frankly, far more interested in getting on your good side.

“Mademoiselle,” the host greets me, almost bouncing in his excitement. “It is an honor that you will be dining with us again tonight.”

I hum noncommittally, “Is my table ready?”

“Why, of course. Please follow me,” he abandons his post entirely to escort me through the extravagant room, leaving more than a few disgruntled guests behind in his wake.

“Your guest has already arrived,” he comments softly as we weave around the tables. I note more than a few eyes on me as I go. Not-so-subtle husbands stare with longing in their sad little eyes.

One glance around the room tells me all I need to know. There’s no one here of my caliber this evening. A pity, really. I was really hoping I might be able to rile Teo up a bit.

I glance back at the host. He isn’t entirely unattractive, really.

But as we arrive at the private table at the very back of the room, the thought begins to feel laughable.

Another reason for bringing Teo Vitale here was to disarm him. I’ve read his profile. His parents left him penniless, and he had been a charity case within the Moretti family for seventeen years. Sure, he’s inherited the Guild’s wealth now that he’s don, but…but he was supposed to be uncomfortable in a place as extravagant as this.

Yet there he is, casually sipping red wine as if he was born with a wine glass in his hand. He seems entirely unperturbed by our surroundings.

“I hope you weren’t waiting long,” I greet him as casually as I can.

But my mouth instantly dries when he turns those endlessly dark eyes on me.

It’s unfair, really, how beautiful he is. His long hair should look scruffy, not tasteful, as it curls almost to his shoulders. His nose and jaw are refined in a way that even the ancient Greeks would struggle to recreate in their sculptures.

It also doesn’t help that he looks me up and down with that desperately hungry look in his eyes.

For the first time since suggesting this plan, I suddenly feel nervous that I might fail.

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