“He’s our star player—” James starts boasting as he claps his hand on my shoulder. Like we’re fucking best buddies or some shit.
“I’m sure you don’t really care about my grades or basketball stats and, in all honesty, I don’t really care to tell you. So we can do away with all the fucking pleasantries and talk about the real reason we’re all here pretending we give a shit about each other. You have something of mine. I have something you want. Let’s talk about how we are going to fix this situation.” The anger I’m just barely holding in check is slowly overriding the logic in my brain telling me to play the game for Fallon. This game is a delicate balance, and the person who holds more weight wins.
Victor meets and holds my stare for a few moments. I can see the wheels turning. He’s not a dumb man; he knows what we’re offering. A smirk slowly forms on his face. “I can see what all the fuss is about. You’re a smart kid. Still, I can’t help but wonder why we’re finally all here together over a silly little girl.”
Victor lifts his drink and takes a slow sip of the amber liquid before continuing. “Jax has filled me in on some of the details of the situation. It seems my nephew and this girl have disappeared together.”
“If you mean your psycho nephew kidnapped her and is holding her against her will, then yes, that is exactly why we are here,” I growl. I grip the edge of the table as I lean forward to meet Victor’s eyes.
“Jesse.” James’s warning does nothing to rein in my anger, but I control myself enough to bite my tongue. Satisfied for the moment, he turns back to Victor. “Let’s stick to the facts. They are together under questionable circumstances, and we want her back. You’re capable of making that happen.”
“I might be able to make that happen. For a price, of course,” Victor says. The urge to punch the evil smirk off of his face is strong—so strong, in fact, that the grip I have on the table might just slip. Into his face. Hell, I’d even let Jax get a punch in.
“Of course,” James says as he slides a folder across the table to Victor. Victor opens it up and scans the paper slowly. He already knows the value of our trade. The fact that he is slowly scanning the paper just means he’s trying to maintain some kind of control of the table. It’s a classic power play, but I couldn’t care less about this fucker and his games. I just want my girl.
Jax leans in over his father’s shoulder. He scans the paper and snaps his head up when he reaches the line that gives all rights to the Depot to Victor. “You’re giving up the Depot? For her?”
“Shut up, son,” Victor snaps. He scans the paper for a second longer and looks back to my father. “What makes you think I want your son’s playground? Why would I want a dirt track with adolescents hanging out all over it? It’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.”
“Cut the crap. We both know what the worth of that property is. The mineral royalties sitting under that dirt alone are worth millions. I also know that business has been . . . slow. This solves almost all of your problems, except for the shady side business your son has been running. You should really keep a tab on that kid of yours,” James says.
“Woah, man. I ain’t none of your business. You got that?” Jax pushes his chair back and stands up. He leans over the table staring down my father.
“Jax, Shut. Up. And sit down.” Victor’s tone is exasperated at best, and I watch as he wrinkles his nose up at Jax in annoyance or disgust—maybe both. It’s not exactly the strong father-son dynamic you would expect to see at a meeting like this.
Victor looks at the paperwork again. His fingers tap on the table as he pretends to mull it over. We all know he’s taking it; he has no choice. Without it, he’ll be bankrupt in six months.
“Even trade? The Depot for the girl?” He looks at me instead of my father.
“The Depot for the girl,” I repeat, holding his gaze. He doesn’t scare me. He’s a slimy piece of shit just like his nephew.
“Okay. We have a deal. Noon tomorrow, at the warehouses. Bring the deed, and I’ll have the girl. I’m sure you remember where to go—you always were a little overly-familiar with the place,” Victor says to my father with slight malice. My mind is preoccupied with getting my girl back, but I file that snide remark away so I can question my father about it later.
“My lawyers are working on the paperwork as we speak,” James says with an answering smirk. He doesn’t take the bait from Victor, which means whatever Vic insinuated wasn’t worth enough for James to bite.
Victor tosses his drink back and swallows the remaining liquid in his glass. “Jax, let’s go find the girl that has just saved the day by opening her legs.”
I hold my breath. Don’t hurt him, Jesse . . . Don’t hurt him. He’s your only hope, the fucker.
Jax rolls his eyes as he stands with his father and mumbles, “Like you don’t already know where they are.”
“Well, good doing business with you. I almost feel guilty—after all, the whore will likely bounce to the next poor soul once she’s done with you.”
He just went too fucking far. I start to push off my chair to charge this fucker
