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"King." The first man with slicked-back black hair adjusts his waistcoat and approaches with his hand outstretched. "It is an honor to welcome the Suit into our home."

Bradley doesn't accept the handshake. "An honor?" he states coldly. "Under these circumstances?"

The man awkwardly clears his throat and drops his hand, then he spreads his arm to the two other rattan chairs around the small table. "Please, sit. We have much to discuss."

As we sit, I eye the second man who remains silent. His blond hair is thinning quickly, judging by the slight hem of his toupee standing out against his shining forehead. He remains silent as the black-haired man sits and introduces himself.

"I am Karl, General of the Visconti family. This is Turk." He tilts his head toward the blond. "First, let me extend my sincerest apologies to you, Jack, for what occurred last week. You must understand that we never would have taken such extreme action if we knew who you were."

"Who did?" Bradley cuts in.

Karl's mouth remains open as he hesitates. "Excuse me?"

"Who shot him?"

"It was one of our men, Con, I believe. He is on our payroll as an Enforcer, and he was acting under orders. Orders to apprehend and defend." Karl glances over at me. "You have my deepest apologies that you were caught in the crossfire of our business. Never in a million years would we have expected to encounter the Suit."

Bradley takes the lead since he's always excelled at these kinds of discussions, but it's difficult not to burst out and demand to know what the hell they were playing at.

"Apprehend and defend," Bradley repeats, and he takes a deep breath that makes Turk shift back in his seat, almost as if he expects to be yelled at. "Explain."

Karl glances at Turk and then forces a somewhat polite smile. "We are in the process of working out a deal with the Chinese Triads. An expansion, if you will. Drugs have been our business of choice for a long time, but in the interest of expanding our horizons and the Visconti name, we've been working out a deal with the Triads. However, the group we have aligned with has some rivals of their own."

The Chinese Triad? I never would have pictured them willing to work with Italians back when I was still at this level, but in the ever-changing, ever-tumultuous business world, maybe it makes sense.

"You understand that the Triad are not protected under the Suit? Neither is business with them unless it passes a certain threshold, so the protections we would offer other families do not reach you?"

"Yes, we're aware," Karl replies. "It is my Don's hope that in time, this deal will become big enough to be acknowledged as such. Last week, we believe one of the rival Triad groups fucked with our delivery and had it sent to the wrong address in order to be stolen. The woman we captured, Sabina, is one of theirs. I can assure you that the situation is being handled and resolved as quickly as possible."

I know what that's code for, and hearing those words come from those thin lips makes my stomach tighten and tension rises in my temples.

They're going to kill her because they think she's loyal to some Chinese Triad group? That can't be right.

"Where is she?" Despite my best efforts, I can't stop the question bursting forth, and Bradley subtly stiffens next to me, but he doesn't redirect.

"The woman?" Karl does an excellent job at looking surprised that I even asked, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "She has been handled."

"Handled how?" Bradley asks.

"In the same way we handle all traitors." Karl lifts his chin. "She is dead. She was executed in a warehouse an hour after their run-in with you. A deserved casualty, given the risk she posed to our deal, but it is nothing to be concerned about. Our situation is on its way to being resolved. Again…" He fixes his gaze back to me. "We are truly, deeply sorry you were caught in the crossfire and meant no disrespect."

Dead.

She can't be.

My stomach drops out of my ass.

None of this fits with the image of Sabina I hold in my heart, but the confidence with which this man speaks leaves me unsettled. Surely, I wasn't wrong this entire time? I take pride in my ability to read people, but the more I learn about her, the more it seems I let her beauty and light get the better of me.

Words fail me and Bradley is quick to continue.

"Rules would dictate that blood be repaid by blood," he says coldly. "Given that your men learned they had the Jack on the ground, bleeding to death, and did nothing to render him aid."

Karl and Turk exchange a look. "Are you sure?" Turk asks.

"Yes," Bradley replies. "The idiots working for you were not smart enough to ensure the dashcam wasn't recording before they left him to die."

Blood drains from Karl's face and he weakly clears his throat. "I was not… aware."