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“As you say,” Eva agrees slowly in Russian. “Yes, she’s a little girl playing at being a gangster. We can afford to wait.”
Brie stands abruptly, surprising us all, and we all follow suit. As she shakes Eva’s hand, she says, “Well, it’s been wonderful to meet you, Ms. Novak. Quite educational. I do hope we can be friends.” She switches to flawless Russian as she adds, “Up until the real man in power takes over, anyway. In the meantime, I’d be delighted to see a revised offer.”
I think it’s the first time I have ever seen Eva Novak speechless. And then she laughs, admiration to sweep over her face. “If you don’t mind my saying, Mrs. Colombo,” she says in Russian, “I’m not sure that mask you like to wear really suits you. Perhaps one day you will take it off and let the world see you as you really are.”
Brie gives the smallest of sneering smiles and sweeps out of the room, leaving a confused Frank Colombo to trail in her wake,calling back promises to set up another meeting. Eva and I and the rest of the Consortium stare after them.
Eva recovers first, letting out a scoff. “So the little widow proves more formidable than we thought.”
I feel heat creeping up my neck as I think back over every word I said, knowing that Brie Colombo must have understood them all. “She’s a snake,” I mutter softly. “We’ll need to watch out for her fangs.”
But for the rest of the evening, I find my mind wandering back to those pretty but piercing eyes—and the strange thrill I felt when they locked with mine.
CHAPTER 4
Brie
Frank managesto keep his shit under wraps on the way up to the suite in the elevator, but he starts talking the moment we exit onto my floor.
“Breezy, you shoulda left that to me. Now we need to discuss the next steps. You gotta tell me exactly what they were saying with all that jibber-jabber they were doing, you hear? And what you said back to them. Because the Family’s interests…”
And on he goes. His words grate on my nerves, each one a reminder of the façade I’ve maintained for years. The airhead trophy wife, now the grieving widow. It’s exhausting at times, but the mask has kept me safe. Kept me wealthy.
And I know better than most how precarious the Family’s position actually is right now. If Eva Novak is aware of our dwindling numbers, that means our enemies here must be, too.
I cut Frank off as politely as I can, my Southern charm slipping through as always when I need it, though I’ve done my best over the years to take the edge off my accent. “Frank, honey, all they were doing was discussing how they could change up the deal.Make it better for us. Now, I appreciate your escorting me up here, but I really do need some time alone now. To grieve, you understand.”
His brow furrows, deepening the lines on his weathered face. “But Brie, what that woman said down there…you really do need protection. It’snotsafe for you to be alone right now.”
I’ve refused all attempts of Frank to load me up with cumbersome shadows, and now I wave a hand dismissively, the diamonds on my fingers catching the light. That tall woman with dark hair and eyes who sat at the edge of the Novak Consortium group—she kept looking at them.
Kept looking atme, too.
She was completely neutral-faced, even when insulting me. Right up until she realized I understood every word. I should probably have kept my Russian language skills under wraps to see what else they planned to fuck the Colombos over on, but I couldn’t resist.
“Frankie, I’ll be fine,” I say. “I’m just going take a bubble bath and turn in for the night, no guards needed. No one can get to this floor without a pass, anyway. Now, you go on and set up another appointment with the Novak Consortium for their revised offer. Next time I promise I’ll be a good little girl and sign whatever you tell me to sign.”
Before he can protest further, I step into the suite and close the door in his face.
And just like I told him, I head off to a bubble bath as I think about the meeting again. Eva Novak had enough of her people with her to staff the damn casino. All of them glaring, burly, menacing…
Except for that one woman she had in her retinue.
I’ve never seen a female bodyguard before, if that’s what she was. The Colombos are…well, traditional is a polite way of putting it. Misogynistic fucks is more accurate. I don’t mind using their blind spots against them—none of them have ever been able to tell me what to do, Terry included—but I do wonder what it would be like to have more women around me.
Women like that one Eva Novak had with her. Tall, broad shouldered, with dangerous and very blue eyes. It’s rare for a woman to be taller than me. I’m on the short side for a showgirl, in fact—had to let my perfect tits do the talking back in the day—but I’m taller than the average woman.
And yet she had a few inches on me, that woman back there, with short black hair shaved on the sides in a badass style that would look ridiculous on me, make me look like?—
Like some wannabe gangster girl.
I snort at the memory. She was hot, no lie. But I don’t kiss up to people who don’t respect me. And she and her boss can get fucked with their overpriced offer. As if Terry hadn’t run deals past me all the time to see what I thought.
I like numbers. They don’t lie, not like people.
My hand has drifted between my thighs, and I resolutely remove it. Might as well wait for some eager tongue than get myself off. And with that thought, I get out of the bath and get myself ready.
I told Frank a little white lie. Bath, yes. Go to bed? Well…not alone. I need to unwind, to shed this skin for a while.
