Page 177 of Dirty Eoin

“You don’t mean that, Jaine.”

He’s right. I don’t.

He smiles wickedly. His auburn hair is perfectly groomed and his blue eyes sparkle on a face that gets better looking with age. He’s around six-three. Like me, he’s also a fan of the martial arts, hence his impressive athletic build.

He smiles at me with perfect white teeth. It’s not veneers. There’s nothing fake about Nathan.

“How’s Murdoch?”

I smile through gritted teeth as he refers to one of my clients he’s managed to successfully send down on a first-degree murder charge.

“Already receiving death threats. He’ll be lucky to survive the week.”

He smiles politely as he offers me his arm, which I take. “An eye for an eye.”

I’m only glad he doesn’t know about my own killing spree.

We make our way into the public dining room. It’s still private, but it means we’re seated among other guests. It restricts the conversation somewhat, but Nathan always likes to be upfront about who he’s meeting with, especially if it’s his legal nemesis.

He orders for both of us before smiling politely at the waiter. It’s a painted-on smile that sayswe’ve ordered, now fuck off.

“Now, Jaine. As much as I’d like for it to be the case, I’m sure this isn’t a date since I want nothing more than to see most of your clients sent down for one felony or another.”

I chuckle as I take a sip of water. “Well, thank you for being so honest with me, Nate.”

“You know me well enough to expect nothing less.”

I pause. “As you know, there was a recent incident that involved my son.”

“And your ex-husband.” He smug smiles to let me know that he’s fully aware of the mobster I was married to, albeit briefly.

“And my ex-husband.”

“The drive-by shooting.”

“That’s the one.”

“What about it?”

“Some of my west coast clients have been experiencing a little unrest. An unknown faction has been flexing its muscles, and it’s resulted in the demise of a few of their high rankers.”

He takes a sip of his own water. “Your first husband being one of them.”

There’s a pause. Nate was always going to have done his homework given who he was meeting with, so there’s no point in me trying to deny any truths.

“Yes. I’m concerned that they may be behind this recent shooting although at the moment it’s mere speculation.”

“And if it turns out that they are, what do you expect me to do about it.”

“I want your help in bringing them down.”

He smiles wickedly once more. “You now have my undivided attention, Miss Jones.”

I smile politely back. “While my clients are more than capable of taking care of their own business, my concern is that the potential numbers involved may make this too large an undertaking even for them.”

He knows what I’m saying. That my clients will shoot as many as they can in the head, then dispense with the bodies, but they can’t do that for an unlimited quantity. If we’ve bitten off more than we can chew, then we need to have a Plan B in place or, once found, the assholes that we can’t contain will just scatter to the wind and spread like a cancer. Where or when they’ll next appear would be anyone’s guess.

“Do your clients know you’re discussing this with me?”

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