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Elanee’s hand squeezes mine. A shock, perhaps, but it’s given her time to adjust to what type of man she’s dealing with.
Men like my father. Men like me.
I squeeze back reassuringly. A silent signal that she’s safe when with me.
“I don’t think we should be calling one another out on our sexual escapades, should we?” I offer with an arrogant smirk. Considering the fucked-up roller coaster he and his fiancée Arabella Barone, are together, I certainly don’t need to defend myself. Not that I ever would for anyone in the first place.
When I sit, I place Elanee on my lap. Luca gives her a quick once over and then taps the end of his cigar in the tray.
“She’s smaller than I expected,” he appraises.
“Small things still bite,” she replies, matter of fact. I squeeze her leg as a warning, but I am also proud that she’s still regaining her fight. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t mind, but I need Luca for the next step. And somehow, I hadn’t yet royally pissed him off, which works in my favor.
Luca smirks. “I can see why Ara likes her now. Technically, I should be upset with your woman since she was hired to find an appropriate match for my fiancée.”
“It all worked out well in the end then, didn’t it?” I offer.
He arches an eyebrow.
“Well then, let’s not waste any more time. The man you brought to me confessed to a great lot regarding the sex trafficking.” I’m not surprised that that pinprick Slater squealed like a pig. “I won’t allow business on my turf, but that is especially something I will bring to a stop. The only reason we haven’t busted the address you gave us is out of respect for our deal. He also mentioned that he’d heard The Lion was conducting business elsewhere in New York but didn’t know anything past that. Your hunch was right; he’s using your woman to distract you from something else.”
“I really was only a pawn,” Elanee says quietly to herself. She’s not shocked, but exhaustion seems to take hold. I stroke her knee in reassurance. I can sense the tension in her body, but she leaves it at that.
Luca continues. “I’d much rather burn the club to the ground tonight. However, it won’t remove the main problem. We need to figure out what it is he’s trying to hide from us. With two of his men now killed, I imagine it’ll raise suspicion. If he’s gone to such effort to keep your sights elsewhere, whatever he’s planning must be big enough for his attention and possibly personal involvement. He might be inclined to come here himself.”
“When he does, I kill him, and you take the fall for it,” I say. That was our agreement and why I needed Luca. Because if the Bratva are bold enough to retaliate on the Armani’s turf, then they’ll target them. Not Elanee and me. This way, it appears we have no involvement, and Elanee will be set free. Most likely, the Bratva won’t retaliate if they only lose a few men, even including The Lion, but I wasn’t leaving anything to chance.
“Yes, as we agreed. But that also means your woman still has her part to play until then.”
My skin pulls tight as he looks at her again.
“What do you need from me?” she asks, determined.
“Bait.”
My grip tightens on her thigh, and I’m sure I might be bruising her. I refuse to use her as bait, and I’ve already told Luca that. She’s already vulnerable enough as it is.
He continues. “Do you still have direct contact with The Lion?”
She nods. “He calls me infrequently. He enjoys… games.”
“Did you know why he sent you to New York? Seems odd to cast a toy so far away.”
Luca is testing my patience; all of this we’d discussed, but he’d made it a term that he meet her himself personally. I respected the fact that if I were going out on a limb, I’d want to meet the person as well. Even though he has much to gain obliterating the sex trafficking, I can’t fault him for trying to catch something else in the crossfire. It certainly takes everything in me to remain accommodating, even after going to him.
Elanee’s gaze shifts to me, and it stirs something in my chest. It’s almost pitying and there is guilt for not being there to protect her earlier. To not be able to protect her so much now. “I suspected it was because of Dmitri. He mostly asked me questions about Dmitri. For him… it’s an obsession. He wants to break his son. Just like he had your mother.” Her voice wobbles. And I blanche at the thought of my mother’s state. The way he’d discarded her as a broken plaything.
“It’s all just a sick, twisted game to him,” Elanee confesses. “So whatever you need from me. Tell me. I’ll do it.”
“No,” I firmly grit out. “The point of this agreement is to protect you, not have you provoke The Lion or further gain his attention.”
A sad smile tilts her lips, and she places one of her hands on my chin, tracing over the stubble. “Dmitri, my position can’t be any worse than what it is.” We both know that’s a lie. “At least this way, I can pretend to believe that I have a choice in my actions. This time, I can choose myself what type of pawn I will be used as.”
What goes without saying is that all pawns are disposable.
“Then let’s talk about a plan,” Luca quickly urges, and Elanee turns back to him with determination, fiercely marring her features.
I do everything to keep my composure as talk begins to put my woman in further danger.
