Page 118 of The Protégé

I knew Carlos was watching me from the camera.Bastard.If he wanted a show, I’d give him one.

The third man charged at me with a fist, which I blocked. Then I pounded three punches into his face. A tooth flew out of his mouth and clanked to the floor. He reached for a knife on the counter by his plate and came at me. I blocked it with my forearm, grabbed his other arm, twisted it, and yanked the knife into my hand. Then I stabbed the knife into his thigh.

A scream erupted, and the other men stood back.

“Don’t fuck with me.” I shoved him away, and his comrades caught him.

Cross Tattoo tossed a towel to the injured guy to stop the bleeding.

“¡Mata el jodido pendejo¡!”the wounded guy shouted to his friends in Spanish. He extracted the knife from his thigh.

Kill the fucking asshole!

“Debes cuidarte esa herida antes te que mueras desangrando, cabrón,”I replied and was grateful for all those years spent learning multiple languages.

He should take care of that wound before he bled to death, fucker.

The men appeared shocked that I could speak their tongue. I didn’t want to waste time and walked up to the camera, looking right into it.

“I’m not here to fight. I’m here for a decent proposal, but if you’re not interested, that’s fine. Sam’s body was found recently.I doubt he fell off a boat. Perhaps The Trogyn have something similar planned for you.”

Then I turned my attention to the men, glaring at me with violence. “Do you think I came here alone? If anything happens to me, or if I don’t inform them of my safety, there will be a swarm of armed men charging in here for bread and milk.”

It wasn’t a lie. I’d alerted my team of my whereabouts. But I had exaggerated on swarming in for food. This visit should have gone smoothly, but Carlos was probably too terrified of people looking for him now.

As I headed to the door, Carlos appeared from an aisle. “Let’s go to the back and talk.”

He wore a gray suit looking like a man in charge, but his face was strained with anxiety. The fatigue in his eyes told me he hadn’t slept much.

Inside a room that smelled of leather and cigars, Carlos gestured me to a brown leather chair. I sat back, watching him at the mini bar counter.

“What do you want to drink?” he asked.

“I’ll pass, thanks.”

He walked over with the bottle of whiskey and a glass, settled on the couch, and poured two fingers, gulping it down.

“I apologize for my men’s behavior. They’ve been on edge lately.”

“Seems like you are too.”

He flicked me an annoyed look. “Why are you here?”

Leaning forward, I held up two fingers. “One, Elena no longer owes you anything. That debt is void. I looked at your contract, which was signed by her father. Nowhere on it does it say the debt must be paid by his family.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but I held up my hand. “Your lawyer can argue the clause on the contract, but no judge willagree with you. Especially the ridiculous late fees. If I were you, I wouldn’t want the spotlight on your illegal business right now.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw.

“The debt is a minor issue compared to what’s troubling you. Am I right?”

He flared his nostrils.

“The second reason I’m here is because you and Samuel Donatello concocted a life insurance scheme to steal money from a bank.”

I didn’t go into details that Stockholm Bank was owned by my family.

“Sam did it all on his own.”

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