Page 117 of Devious Kingpin
I shook my head. Why in the fuck was I even thinking about that? I didn’t give a shit about Kian. Some Brazilian drug lord. I was done with all men in the underworld.
Liar, I thought. To which the sensible part of my brain yelled,Shut up!
“I didn’t say anything,” he remarked dryly. Lovely, now I was losing my mind too.
“Not you,” I said through a tired sigh. “I was talking to myself.” His brow rose but he didn’t say anything.
“Is this your car I banged into?” I asked.
“Rental.”
“Well, send the bill to Dante DiLustro,” I uttered, my husband’s name on my lips tasting bitter. “Feel free to mark it up.”
“So generous of you.” He was mocking me, no doubt. It wasn’t as if the guy needed the money.
“Back to the original question,” I said, taking a small step back. You could never be too cautious with drug lords. Well, Kian was the brother of a drug lord. But whatever—tomato, tomahto. The point was, just look at the one I married. He was certainly no Boy Scout. “Why are you here for me?”
He watched me wordlessly and I found myself fidgeting, my fingers gripping the material of my shirt. Correspondence via email or text was easier to handle—it let you hide behind an unknown, cryptic number. Or maybe not, considering he’d learned my identity.
“I have one more name for you,” he declared and I stiffened. I hoped he didn’t know, but somehow he wouldn’t be a very good criminal if he didn’t bother to trace his clients.
“You knew all along it was me?” I questioned and his reply was a curt nod. “Why do you run your security-slash-background agency?”
“What else should I do?” he questioned.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Your brother’s cartel. Considering you’re a drug lord and all.”
A sardonic breath left him. “I’ve never been called that before.”
I rolled my eyes. “Probably not to your face.”
He tilted his head. “Probably,” he agreed. “Maybe I got out of the cartel,” he remarked casually. “Maybe I passed that on to someone younger. Or maybe I haven’t gotten into it like my brother.”
I scoffed. “Right.” His dark eyes flashed with something, although I couldn’t read the expression. Not that I cared right now. “So, the name,” I said. “Might as well give it to me. Although next time, please don’t bother with a personal delivery.”
“See, that makes me want to deliver it that way from now on.”
“I swear, you men are annoying the shit out of me today,” I said through gritted teeth. “Just give me the name and be on your way.”
“You won’t like it.”
I swallowed. “Why?”
He didn’t answer, just handed me an envelope. I took it.
“Reevaluate your priorities, Juliette.”
That was all he said, and before I could utter another word, he left me standing in the middle of the street. He didn’t get into the truck I banged up. Instead he went to the sidewalk full of pedestrians.
I blinked and the man was gone.
* * *
As the sun set, I finally made my way to a hotel.
I pulled up at the first one I spotted. Luckily for me it was The Ritz-Carlton.
Parking Dante’s Rover out front, I grabbed my purse and let the valet park it, heading for the reception desk.
