“They’re not as qualified as their resources—” Mia’s sharp, sassy voice sounds clear enough.
“It’s about more than that,” Edward replies. His own tone is textbook daddy-knows-best.
Okay. My hasty retreat has to wait for a minute.
“They’re better at getting what they need regardless of the danger of the situation. They have connections we’ll be able to use for our gain. No.” Edward cuts Mia off before she has a chance to interrupt. “I've decided, Mia. Nothing you say is going to sway me. This is the way it’s going to be. Trust me.”
She stops arguing. And then, finally, in a sweet voice like a doll, “Whatever you say, Papa.”
It’s the same voice she uses in her meetings and miles apart from the one I just heard from her.
She sighs and finishes with, “It’s not like I have a say in the matter, anyway.”
6
CARTER
Cutting it a little close, old man.
I’m still finagling the tie around my neck after my short reprieve at Lakeside. Now, in the back of the car, I can’t help thinking about the change in Mia’s voice, from stern and spicy to simpering in the span of a heartbeat.
I gulp, remembering the feel of her…and my grabby hands.
For some reason, the encounter in the hospital had my blood shooting straight down to my cock, which twitches at the memory now. If I don’t get myself under fucking control, then Ricardo will never let me hear the end of it, and I’ll embarrass myself by walking into the meeting with a half chub.
“Stop fiddling with yourself,” he reminds me.
I shake my head. “These fucking things.”
“Yeah, I get it, but we had plenty of time to prepare for this. It’s not like it’s a surprise.” He lounges across from me with his arms out wide across the back of the seat. Not a care in the world, that one. His face is the portrait of easy contemplation, and whatever thoughts battle for supremacy in his mind, he lets none of them show.
My own hands clench at Ricardo’s reminder.
I’ve already alerted him about the visit to the hospital and what we should expect from today.
We pull to a stop at the main gates of the Balestra compound. The guards there tap the top of the car twice, a clear sign to enter, and we take the winding driveway toward the main house.
Finally, the door to the car opens, and Ricardo shifts, unfolding once he’s outside with his eyes shaded by a dark pair of glasses.
“Come on. Let’s get cracking.”
I grumble and ignore his outstretched hand, pulling myself off of the back seat.
“We need to be absolutely ready. The engagement announcement is coming, and I think we’ve got it.” It’s better to have Ricardo prepared so there are no screwups. He’s got one hell of a poker face, but some things still take him by surprise.
“I’ll keep my fucking cool, Carter,” Ricardo snaps back.
Okay, fair. At least he’s been warned.
I have my own poker face down to a science, but on the inside, I’m annoyed, a little ticked off, and too horny for my own good.
Mia thinks the Vittorios are unqualified for an alliance. That we’re not on the same level as the Balestras.
She’s in for a rude awakening. We won’t be smaller for long because I’ve been working this angle since before my sister and I clawed our way out of the gutter.
I know where I’m going, I know how to fucking get there, and nothing is going to stop me now.
Ricardo falls into step beside me. Our men, one in front and two behind us, keep their firearms hidden and their focus on protecting the two of us. Guns aren’t allowed at these meetings, but everyone is packing. No one is willing to admit it, though.