Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 88182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
The room goes cold. Prime tenses, eyes fixed on Carbone, who acts as though he didn’t just openly threaten me. I can hardly believe it, but I play through his short speech twice in my head, and there’s no other way to interpret what he’s saying. Fuck up and we hurt the girl.
That desire to scream bubbles up and I smother it by taking a long drink.
“I don’t like entering business arrangements with anyone who thinks they are in a position of power over me, Mr. Carbone.” Prime speaks slowly and carefully, but I can see the rage shining through him. There’s anger simmering under his surface. He’s good at hiding it, but I know him well enough by now to see the signs. The twitch of his nose, the way his fingers curl as if desperate to make a fist.
Carbone pulls on his cigar. “I want to ensure we’re all clear on how this will work. While you’ve managed to convince my peers that you’re coming around to our way of seeing the world—“ He leans back, face wreathed in smoke. “I remain unconvinced and trust that you will endeavor to change my mind.”
“If there’s no business here—“
“There will be, in time, there will be.” Carbone leans forward and stabs out his cigar. “Next week is a meeting among peers. It’s a discussion of the coming year’s business. I plan on taking our proposal to the board of directors. You and your wife will be welcome to attend, of course.” His smile is thin and empty. “But only if you understand the consequences.”
Prime seethes. I put my hand on his knee under the table, trying to calm him down. He doesn’t like this, but isn’t it what he wanted? Carbone’s being a bastard, but he’s also offering to draw Prime in deeper to his world. It’s a good thing, but he’s acting like it’s not.
“We’d be happy to attend your meeting,” Prime says finally, not sounding like he’s excited about it at all. “I only hope we will be there as equals.”
“We’ll find out, won’t we?” Carbone lets that linger for a few seconds before clapping his hands. “Come, let’s eat and leave business aside for now. Mrs. Spadaro, what do you think of the wine? It’s nice, isn’t it?”
“Very nice,” I murmur, doing my best to mask my total terror as Carbone smiles at me like a snake.
CHAPTER 22
PRIME
It takes a lot of effort to get through that meal.
Carbone doesn’t mention business again but his threat keeps ringing through my mind. He didn’t say it straight, but the meaning was clear—
Fuck this up and we’ll hurt your wife.
The fact that he said it in front of her is like a slap to the face.
I’m going to kill him.
The certainty is like a fire in my heart.
The names on my list are two now: Marco Carbone and Augustus Fontana. I don’t care what it takes, how much blood is spilled, those two men are going to suffer.
Nobody threatens what’s mine.
“Prime? You haven’t said anything since we left.” Deanna’s taking off her earrings in the bathroom and looking at me in the mirror.
I can’t meet her gaze. God, what does she think of me right now? What kind of man lets another man openly threaten his wife? Weak, fucking pathetic. And I kept my mouth shut, only because Carbone can get me closer to my final goal than anyone I’ve ever met before. He’s one step away from Fontana’s inner circle. I need him more than I want to admit.
And still, I’m going to cut his fucking throat.
“I shouldn’t have brought you to that dinner.” I lean against the bathroom’s door frame and unbutton my cuffs. “I should keep you far away from those fucking bastards.”
“Stop it, Prime, we talked about this already. You need me.”
“Like hell. I won’t get you killed.”
“I know that.” She turns to me, the diamonds gone, now left beside the sink. I like her like this better: simple, plain, beautiful, the woman I’ve been obsessing about since she came into my employment all those years ago. Now the fire’s lit in me and I don’t know how to stop it.
“When Carbone invited you to this meeting, I assumed it would be less formal. But now I see it was a ploy from the start. He wanted to test our marriage, and he wanted to make it clear what the stakes were, and he did it straight to your fucking face.” I spit the last few words, disgust rising in my throat. “You must hate me now.”
“I don’t hate you at all.” She seems surprised. “Prime, why are you so upset?”
“I let another man threaten you. I didn’t do anything about it.”
“What should you have done? Jumped across the table and killed him?”
“I could have smashed a glass and used the shards to rip out his tongue.”