Page 61 of Traitor

I had to stifle a giggle at that one as Teo turned quickly to place a kiss against my cheek.

“Well, at any rate,” Ronnie said with a sigh, “I’m calling because I want to talk about a truce.”

I furrowed my brow. Did he really just use that word?”

“A truce,” Teo said.

“Mhm. You know, that thing families come to when they want the fighting to end? I’d like to come to one of those with you.”

He clicked his tongue. “Suppose I’m even inclined to believe what you have to say right now: why a truce? Why now?”

“I’m old, Mateo. I’m tired, and I’ve got a selfish wife with selfish needs, and I’ve got three bratty little girls at home who are spoiled rotten thanks in no part to my selfish wife, and I can’t keep up this petty war anymore.”

He shrugged. “I never thought it was petty in the first place.”

He groaned. “Look, I didn’t know Lorenzo had your property at his place--.”

“She’s not property. She’s my lawyer. An employee. Your brother abducted one of my employees. I won’t just sweep that under the rug.”

“Well, from what he told me, Miss Pettigrew considered herself a prisoner in your house and that’s why she ran off with my half-brother.”

Teo snickered. “You didn’t know she had been taken, but you know her name?”

“Lorenzo talks a lot when he’s drugged. A fun little tidbit I’ve tucked away in the back of my mind for a rainy day.”

The thought alone made me shiver as Teo stood to speak. “I’m willing to meet you and discuss a truce. But, I’m still not certain I’ll take you up on it.”

Ronnie cleared his throat. “I’ll take whatever I can get at this point. And as a show of good faith, I’ll pay for the restoration of your businesses that were defaced and otherwise vandalized. Lorenzo acted without my consent or direction, and the reparations will be coming out of his already-docked pay.”

Teo looked back at me and I shook my head. All of this sounded much too convenient and much too perfect. He nodded at me before he drew in a silent breath, then he started talking again.

And after the two made plans on where to meet and when, Teo held out his hand for me.

“Come, my love. We need to dress to impress for this meeting.”

I took his hand. “You don’t really believe him, do you?”

He shook his head. “Not one damn bit. But, he’s trying his best to position us in a carefree, unguarded position. So, why not be guarded as fuck and still play into his hand?”

I grinned. “I like the way you think.”

He pulled open his bedside table. “Here, I want you to hide this in whatever you decide to wear.”

He held up a small pistol with extra ammunition and I shook my head. “I don’t feel comfortable carrying a gun on me like that. I want to dress to kill, and that means a tight little red number. Maybe while you’re wearing a matching tie?”

He growled as he wrapped his arm around my waist. “I love the way you think. But, I want you carrying this gun. I can’t always be there to protect you, and the people we’re about to meet up with won’t hesitate to hurt you at Ronnie’s command. I want you to be able to defend yourself if we get there and are split up. So, take it.”

I gazed into his eyes. “Is that really what you need of me?”

He nodded. “It is.”

I didn’t hesitate to take the gun. “Then, let’s get dressed to kill, handsome.”

25

Mateo

I couldn’t takemy eyes off Char as she came down the stairs. The knee-length, skin-tight, crimson red dress left almost nothing to the imagination. Especially in the pair of black-bottomed matching heels she picked out for the ensemble. Diamonds interspersed within rubies dangled from her delicate earlobes, accentuating a long neck I wanted to mark every inch of once we got home from this meeting.

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