Page 490 of The Sinner: James

He flickers them over my face, a smile growing on his lips.

“I’ll be damned... Do you fight as well?”

“Only if I need to,” I say.

He shows me to the seats, and I slide into one of the armchairs.

They sit across from me while the bodyguards remain standing. Oleg moves to the bar.

We trade looks, the men in front of me studying me as much as I study them.

“I want to buy Tiago Rossi from you,” I say without the slightest introduction.

Their eyebrows slide up at the same time.

“What are you talking about?”

I study their faces.

“I want him to work for me.”

They stare at me for a second before chuckling, entertained.

I look at them, unfazed.

“What makes you think he’s up for sale?” the dark-eyed man asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

Holding his gaze, I slink my hand inside my pocket and retrieve a cigarette.

Every warm body in the room jerks with apprehension.

I flick the cigarette up so they can see it and slide it between my lips.

“Let me ask you something... Aleksander,” I say around my cigarette as I light it. “Do you like money?”

I put my lighter into my pocket and lean back in my seat.

My head tilts back a little as I take a drag and look at the dark-haired man.

“I’d say you do,” I mutter, the smoke streaming through my nostrils.

I motion around the room with the hand clutching my cigarette.

“I run one of those,” I say, referring to their club. “It’s good business if you know how to set it up. The money you can make with one of these is many times over what you make off someone like Tiago Rossi.”

I take a slow drag, my eyes on them.

“I’m here to offer you a good deal. Right now, all you have is a missing man. You have no idea where he is.”

“We know where he is,” the blue-eyed man says.

A slow smile tugs at my lips.

“Then why don’t you go there and get him?”

His expression hardens.

“Let me tell you why...” I say after a moment. “You have no influence where he is, and you might get yourself into a war with the Russians if you try to claim him. That’s why you don’t make a damn move, only sniffing around, hoping he’ll come back and you’ll get a lead on where the money is. So right now, you can’t get the money, and you can’t get him. And here I am, offering you good money for something you no longer own. That is stupid money if you ask me.”

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