within the next month, you have to let me drive this car.”
Darren chuckled, as if I had no chance of succeeding.
“And if you lose?”
I shrugged. “Then I don’t get to drive.” Duh.
Darren shook his head. “No. You’re asking me to sacrifice something for your
benefit should you win. If I win, you will have to sacrifice something for my benefit
as well. Not only will you have to sacrifice for your loss, but your winning guess
must also include the reason for our attendance to this affair as well. Those are my
terms if you want to play.”
Motherfucker … this was my game!
He spoke his words as if he were reciting a verbal contract, which I suppose in a
way he was. He was a businessman, after all, and I could already see him turning
the terms against me like the shark he was. It made me feel like I was losing
already, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have the backbone to play.
I folded my arms and sat back in my seat, crossing my legs as I tried to think of
what the fuck else I could possibly sacrifice for him. This was supposed to be fun,
and now there were stakes being laid out.
“What do you want?”
“Road head on the way back home without complaint,” he announced plainly
then flashed me that wicked grin of his that made my stomach flip.
I laughed, nearly rolling my eyes at his request. “And you’re confident you won’t
accidentally run us off the road?”
“Extremely,” he replied seriously.
I watched him for a moment, noticing the aura of confidence he administered as
he handled the car with such ease and skill. For its speed and capability, you really
had to know what you were doing behind the wheel of a car like this. He made it
look as easy as
breathing. And I could impress him just the same if he would only give me the
chance.
“All right, deal,” I said smugly. I had this down.
“Ask your questions.”
“Well, based on my observations, you only seemed to have brought my personal
guards along for the trip, so I’m going to assume we’re not going somewhere
public, more likely private; otherwise, you’d have brought more backup.”
The right corner of Darren’s mouth lifted. Bingo.
“Correct,” he said with a nod.
“That wasn’t technically a question, merely an observation, but thanks for
confirming it.”
He full-on smiled that time. “This should be amusing,” he said smugly, but I
ignored him.
“Since we are going with fewer guards, I think it’s also safe to assume we’re
going somewhere where you trust either the host or the location. I’m willing to bet
it’s either a close friend or family member, but I won’t ask until I’m ready.”
Darren smiled again, obviously enjoying my assumptions.
“I’m also going to assume that based on what you’ve chosen for my attire, I’d
say we’re probably going somewhere nice where others will be dressed up, like a
dinner party. But you’ve neglected to wear a tie, something I rarely see, so you must
not feel the need to impress based on your appearance. We’ll likely be in trusted
company who knows you, and you’re comfortable with.”
This time Darren’s face remained that of stone.
“And since my attire is a little sexy, I’m willing to bet other men will be there,
and you’re looking to show me off like some kind of trophy.”
Darren's eyes darkened as he glared through the windshield. Another bingo.
“But it’s also early afternoon; a little early for a dinner party …” My thoughts
drifted off as to what could possibly go on during the day to get a bunch of
organized crime members together.
“Okay, first question. Is it a friend?”
“No,” Darren answered, maneuvering around a slower car in front of us.
“So that means it’s family,” I confirmed with a nod.
“Not necessarily,” he added. “It could also be a business associate.”
“You don’t consider business associates friends?”
“Of course, not. And that counts as a question.”
Damn him!
I glared at him. “You’re trying to make me second-guess myself and waste my
questions. That won’t work.”
He smiled again smugly. “It just did.”
Damn him; a business associate was a logical option. Family or business
associate? I had eight questions left, and I needed to make each one count.
“I doubt you trust your business associates as much as you do your family,” I
said agitatedly.
Darren made no move to confirm or deny. Damn him.
“Family,” I finally gritted out, waiting for him to confirm.
He nodded. “Very good. Now, which family member?”
I turned my eyes back to the road, considering my options. He only had two
younger brothers that I knew of, and his parents were gone, but what about
cousins? Uncles? Aunts?
After a moment of consideration, I decided to go with the obvious.
“Is it one of your brothers?” I asked, my voice almost hopeful.
“Yes,” he replied. “But which one?”
Fuck, six questions left. If I got this one wrong, I’d be down to five, and I needed
to conserve them as best I could. I still needed to determine
