Page 68 of Lies like Rubies, Part One

After our plates were cleared, the staff slowly emptied out of the room, except for the bartender. My eyes flicked from Adam to his two business associates to Dante.

Hm.Standing, I sauntered over to the bar and greeted the bartender.

“No English,” she said with a smile.

“Thank you, but I can take it from here,” I answered in Mandarin.

Her eyes widened, and she looked to Adam for direction. Dante ignored me, but I could tell from the tension in his shoulders that he listened to every word.

“You can go,” Adam answered, still speaking in Mandarin, his hooded eyes glowing with amusement. “Bring over another bottle of baijiu,” he ordered me.

With every eye in the room on me, I swayed my hips a little bit extra as I moved behind the bar. Dante seethed, but I knew better than he did about working this room.

Men were all the fucking same.

Adam accepted the bottle when I returned to my seat beside Dante, and poured the liquor into everyone’s glasses. He raised his glass for a toast, and the table drank. I sipped my tea.

“Dante Oscuro, tell me why you’re here tonight,” Adam said, his eyes glittering in the restaurant's dim light.

“I can give you a better deal on guns and explosives than you’re currently getting from the Columbians.”

Adam frowned. “The Columbians buy from you,” he said.

“That’s right,” Dante answered, his smile sharklike and predatory. “You’d cut out the middleman and stop them from using your operations to run drugs at the same time.”

One of Adam’s business associates leaned over the table and asked with a thick accent, “Is that why you’re in Yorkfield, to expand your arms dealing business?”

“Arms manufacturing and dealing,” I corrected softly. “Adam, the Columbians add 10% onto the cost of the guns. Dante already has a distribution network to the States. Think of the money you’d save if you didn’t have to run the guns from Columbia through the southern border.”

Dante’s foot brushed up against mine. I couldn’t react, and I couldn’t figure out what he was trying to tell me.

Adam poured another round of baijiu, once again offering me a glass of the strong liquor.

Once again, I demurred. “I prefer tea, but thank you.”

“You didn’t answer Jinhai’s question, Oscuro,” Adam said after toasting the table and draining his glass.

“I’m here on a personal errand,” Dante answered, taking my hand in his, sparks skittering through me as his thumb brushed against my knuckles. Did he think the Chinese wouldn’t talk to my family? That Adam didn’t meet regularly with my father to do business?

“I’ll cut you the same deal that the Columbians have. Your price remains the same, but your costs go down dramatically. Cutting those drugs out of your operation means it becomes a lot more invisible to the feds.” Dante said, pouring another round of baijiu.

When he raised his glass to toast, I touched his arm, lowering it slightly, so his glass was below Adam’s, who was both older and the host. The movement was almost invisible, but it could only help Dante if he got it right.

“Tell me more about this personal errand,” Adam said after they downed their drinks.

I sipped my tea, curious how Dante would answer the question. “A man stole a great deal of money from me. I intend to mete out justice personally.”

When Adam frowned, Dante leaned forward. “Adam, I do not pretend to be anything I am not. When we do business, my word is my bond. But don’t cross me.”

The conversation between Adam and his colleagues in Mandarin was too rapid for me to follow, except that Jinhai’s eyes narrowed in anger, and he raised his voice at Adam. When Adam raised an eyebrow, his colleague fell silent.

“Sofia,” Adam said, his voice light and casual. “Do you trust Dante?”

Dante tensed beside me, his muscles hard where our legs brushed against one another.

“Of course.”

“Would you trust him with your life?”

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