Page 6 of Ravaged
“No one said anything about harm,” Derek said. He tilted his head. “Come on, Dahlia. What type of business do you think we run?”
Her hands fidgeted, unable to settle.
“But you do know that your payments have been late,” Gerard said. “And I’ve let that slide. And we’ll forget about the late payments,ifyou give us his daughter. But if you don’t…” Gerard leaned back and took a sip of the scotch. “I’m afraid we can’t make any promises about the state of the business.”
Dahlia wiped her forehead on the back of her hand, tan makeup streaking her skin. “I sold it to Roland Price,” she said.
Ah, a new angle. “Ma’am, with all due respect,” I said. I bared my teeth in an evil smile. I didn’t care about Dahlia, and I sure as hell didn’t respect a woman who sold others’ bodies like a commodity and lied about it. Threatening Dahlia meant nothing to me. In fact, I enjoyed it. “I would hate for something to happen to the club before the ownership completely transitioned,” I said. “Could make the deal fall through.” I broadened my shoulders. “You’re going to want our protection.”
She swallowed and her spindly fingers tightened around the glass. After a few moments, she finally spoke, her words hoarse, “I can’t let you take her outright, but if you convince her to leave the club in anormalway,” she whispered, her eyes darting around again, “when no one would notice, then I can’t do anything to stop you.”
A pain in the ass, but a fair request. “A silent retrieval,” Derek said.
“We can be quiet for an old friend,” Gerard said, his teeth gleaming.
“Thank you, Gerard,” Dahlia said, letting out a breath.
“And I assume once the deal is finalized with Price, you’ll send him our way?”
“He’s turning it into a nightclub,” Dahlia said.
“Still, I’d like to meet the man,” Gerard said coolly. He stood, and Dahlia met his stance. “As always, it’s a pleasure doing business with you.”
“Likewise,” Dahlia said, the hesitation evident in her voice. She showed us out.
The drive on the way back was silent, each of us contemplating in our own worlds. The Adler house was situated in an older neighborhood, though their property stretched over several acres in the very back. It had been in the family for generations. The Adler brothers all had their own apartments and houses in the city, but much of the business took place here, on the grounds.
As for me, it was my home for the foreseeable future.
“Clara can show you to your room,” Gerard said, glancing around. “She’s probably in the garden.” I turned to wait in the sitting room, but Gerard turned around to face me. “You did good, son,” he said. “You convinced Dahlia.”
I expected Derek to ignore the comment, but he gave an appreciative nod too. “Good work.”
Was it a front to be courteous to me in front of Gerard, to seem like the good, obedient pet? Whatever the reason, it was irritating. It would have been easier to dismiss Derek if he were more protective of his station, but instead, he mimicked his father, owning the assumed position. The little prick.
“The servers know you,” Gerard said to Derek, and Derek nodded. “We’ve been to the club a few times before,” Gerard explained to me, a wide grin on his face. “Which is why you’ll have to secure Teagen.”
Silent retrieval. That’s what Derek had called it. “Secure Teagen?”
“Pretend to be a club member. Take her to the private rooms. Seduce her. Then promise her enough money to retire, so that she’ll leave the club grounds on her of her own volition.”
They wanted me to be the bait to lure the server out of Dahlia’s territory.
“Technically, they’re not allowed to meet club members off property,” Derek explained. “So you may have some trouble.”
“Money tends to persuade them,” Gerard said with a gleam in his eye. No doubt, the Adler family had plenty of that. “I trust you to take care of it.”
“Wil may be jealous,” Derek said, smirking.
Gerard smiled. “Let him be. The servers already know him.”
If a well-known Adler, like Gerard, Derek, or Wil, tried to convince a server to leave, then that would be suspicious. All Adlers had a reputation around them, a deadly one. But because I had no presence in town, I was a decoy. I didn’t like the thought of duping an innocent woman into the trenches of crime, but it was part of the new world I had chosen for myself. If I had never killed back home, I wouldn’t be here right now.
But I had killed someone. And if I played my cards right, this new world would be the best opportunity for me.
In the end, I trusted myself more than my half-brothers to take care of it.
“When do I leave?” I asked.
Gerard answered a text, then looked up from his phone. “Tomorrow night,” he said. “Dahlia says she’s on schedule to perform. She’ll be playing the harp.”
