Page 78 of Bitter Queen (Advantage Play 4)

“I’m not sure I could accept the repercussions of that decision,” I answer carefully.

“It would be easier to just use Dominic’s phone to convince Reed to meet him. With a bullet to the back of his head, your problems would be over.”

“But they wouldn’t. I’d still be labeled as a dirty Fed.”

He leans back in his chair. “So, you’d be willing to be my inside man, but you’re not willing to let the Romano family get rid of Reed for you? You’d rather involve Dominic and risk having your plan backfire?” His amusement is palpable, but I don’t blame him.

It does seem ludicrous.

With a sigh, I explain, “If I choose to stay and become a Romano, I’d be on the run constantly. I’d always be looking over my shoulder, waiting to get arrested for shit I didn’t do. But if I take the chance to clear my name, I could be free.”

“Could,” Kingston emphasizes. “There’s no guarantee.”

“No. There’s not.”

“But you want my permission,” Kingston concludes. His chair creaks slightly as he shifts his weight to get more comfortable. Like this conversation isn’t eating a hole in his gut the way it’s eating at mine.

“I respect you, King. We might not always see eye-to-eye, but I think you have a knack for seeing the bigger picture and are able to play your hand better than anyone I know. So yeah, I want your permission.”

He stays quiet and inspects my proposition from all angles while never relieving the pressure of his stare.

After a few long seconds, he lifts his chin. “Fine. You can talk with Dominic and find out what your options are. But you do not move forward until we both agree on a plan. We clear?”

Pushing myself up from my seat, I tap my knuckles against the hard surface of his desk. “Yeah. Thank you.”

29

Q

As I wrap my hair in a towel after drying my bare body from the shower, my skin prickles with awareness.

Someone’s watching me.

Glancing over my shoulder, my heart leaps in my chest before evening out just as quickly when I recognize the culprit.

“Hey, stranger,” I greet him. “Where have you been? It’s late.”

With his shoulder against the doorjamb and his arms crossed over his chest, Diece scans me from head to toe, so I do the same to him. He looks good in his white button-up shirt that’s rolled to his elbows. A loosened black tie hangs around his neck, and a pair of dark slacks complete the ensemble. He definitely couldn’t star in a Hallmark movie with a scowl like that, but it doesn’t stop my mouth from watering.

“I was collecting intel,” he answers me coolly. His tone screams indifference with a hint of restraint. The combination makes me pause.

With my head cocked to the side, I prod, “For?”

“For catching Sei.”

“Any luck?”

His jaw tightens. “He’s a slippery bastard. We can’t use you as bait if we don’t know where he is.”

“I could try walking around the streets again like I did before,” I offer.

“Obviously, that hasn’t been working,” he sneers. I jerk back with wide eyes before he takes a deep breath and mutters, “Sorry. It’s been a long day. Dex, Stefan, and I have been scoping out a few places he’s been known to go, but we haven’t had any luck with those, either.” With a sigh, he rubs his hand over his weary face. The bags under his eyes make my chest tighten before I sway toward him and close the distance between us. Every muscle in his body is tight, but I ignore his odd behavior and rest my head against his warm, albeit hard chest in an attempt to put him at ease.

“You’re pushing yourself too hard.”

“I promised to keep you safe, and I can’t do that until I find Sei.”

“You’ll find him.”

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