AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We’re here to cut a deal, not to beg for handouts. I still haven’t forgiven you for threatening to kill Valentina and for that shit with Matteo.”
I nudge him with my elbow. “Get over it, you idiot.”
Ronan glares at me and glares at Julien. “You’re lucky she’s got a cooler head than I do.”
“Yes, of course, I’m so very lucky. All right, Val, what’s your offer then?”
I lean forward. “I’ll make it easy on you. If you help us retrieve Ronan’s shipment, we’ll let you keep twenty percent of whatever we recover. After that, we’ll come to favorable terms for future wholesales. We both know you’ve been wanting to get a piece of Ronan’s business for a long time.”
Julien’s practically salivating. I knew he’d like this. His gang imports good heroin from former French colonies, but that’s only one specific market. If he can sell good, high-quality cocaine alongside his heroin, that’d be like doubling his businessovernight. And a one-time shipment wouldn’t do it—we have to tempt him with a good, long-term deal, something better, more stable, and infinitely safer than he could get with the cartels.
“I’m interested,” Julien says, doing his best to keep a straight face. “You both know my business. I’d be happy to enter into your market. That would be like vertical integration or synergy or whatever buzz words fancy marketing boys with worthless college degrees like to say.”
“Promise some of your strength and we’ll cut the deal here and now.” I smile at him sweetly.
But Ronan breaks in. “And apologize to Val. Also, I want to know who in my organization talked about the Matteo job.”
“Come on, Ronan, can’t you move past that?” I ask, getting exasperated.
“No.” Ronan crosses his arms. “Apologize. And tell me who the rat was.”
Julien raises his glass. “Valentina, darling, I am most sorry for assuming you were a part of Marco’s betrayal. Also, it was Cormac.”
“Apology accepted,” I say.
“Fucking Cormac,” Ronan says, glaring down at the table. “Of course it was him. Sold us out just to make me look worse.”
“Yes, now, let us move on.” Julien lowers his glass. I’m starting to feel a little itchy—this is going too well. I knew Julien would be tempted by the business deal, but he’s very quick to forgive me and seems way too ready to forget all about it. I sense there’s something else going on here, and I don’t like it.
I look at Ronan, and I bet he’s thinking the same thing. I hope he swept the kitchen well enough.
“Are you ready to shake on our terms?” Ronan asks. He’s sitting forward, one hand close to the edge of the table, like he’s prepared to reach down and draw the gun he’s got tucked into a concealed holster.
“Actually, I have a request.” Julien reaches for his cigarette pack, takes one out, and holds it. He frowns and breaks it in half with a curse. “Fuck, this is hard. Either of you ever smoke?”
“No,” Ronan says. “Never been my thing.”
“When I was young.” I say and shrug at Ronan’s look. “What? I looked cool when I was smoking and I was also very dumb. But it was just casual.”
“Well, it is an enormous pain in my ass.” Julien throws the pack down. “Okay, this is what I want.” He looks at Ronan, his expression hard, almost pained. “I want an alliance with your family. A very close alliance. I need a wife, Ronan, and I would like you to arrange for me to marry a nice Hayes girl.”
I sit back, totally stunned. Ronan opens his mouth in outrage and horror, but nothing comes out. Julien seems equally disgusted by the situation and throws back his wine, drinking half of it down.
“That’s insane,” Ronan finally says. “You need a wife? You want to marry one of my cousins? I can’t just?—”
“You’re the boss,” Julien says. “This is something that happens all the time. Tell me you couldn’t find a suitable match.”
“Even if I could, I don’t want to. I mean, Julien, no offense, but you’re not the marriage type.”
Julien’s eyebrows raise. “You aren’t either, and yet look at you two.” He gestures between us.
My cheeks turn pink. “We’re not married. I mean, we’re not?—”
“Valentina and I found each other,” Ronan says, cutting in, and I stare at him as he says it. A thrill runs through me, excitement swelling into my core. He’s not denying Julien’s implications—if anything, he’s owning it, and I like that, I like it a whole lot. “You’re talking about some random, probably unwilling Irish girl. Why the fuck would you want that?”
“My reasons are my own.” Julien crosses his arms, eyes narrowed. “Do you have another option, Ronan? Do you know anyone else in this city that would help you right now? You’re fucking lucky you have things I need.”
“Fuck that. I’ve already made a mess of my family. I’m not selling anyone to you.”
