The Moth and the Flame (When Rivals Play #2) - B.B. Reid Page 0,31
room alive, so one way or another, he wouldn’t be supplying Thirteen anymore.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to make do.”
“In doing so,” Jiménez responded casually, “I’ll have to assume your boss thinks he’s too good to speak with me. That doesn’t bode well for whatever deal he’s pursuing.”
“Did you meet with Father?” I shot back, referring to Thirteen’s leader. I already knew he hadn’t. Very few have seen his face, but no one knew his name. Growing up, I’d heard the men whisper their speculations about our founders’ past affiliation. Whenever a new Father ascended, he shed his identity—most likely by faking his death—and became what anyone would rightly assume to be a myth. After all, how the hell could anyone remain this invisible?
While Fox lived in exile, he at least had the luxury of showing his face to his men every blue moon. Usually to reinforce his authority when the men grew skeptical.
“Ah, there’s the fire I could sense burning under all that cool control.”
I ignored Shane’s disapproving glare and leaned forward. “No more games, Jiménez. Will you supply us or not?”
“I will,” he said, and I could feel every man in the room relax. “Under one condition.”
“Which is?”
“I’m bound by a noncompete clause with Thirteen.” I held his gaze, waiting for the punchline. “Before we can do business, I require the contract to be broken.”
“Let me guess…you want Father dead?”
“Is that a problem?”
“Not at all,” I assured with ease even as my stomach turned. I had a mean poker face perfected over the years in this world. I’d learned from the best, and the best turned out to be a gifted liar.
“Then we have a deal.” Jiménez stood and held out his hand, but I just stared at it, not caring if I appeared rude.
“You’ve been Thirteen’s connect for over a decade. One would think a relationship that exclusive would be harder to sever.”
“It would have been…if Father hadn’t been demanding lower and lower prices to recoup the losses his enemy—that’s you—caused. I’ve been losing money for years, so I think I need to reevaluate my loyalties rather than my profit margin. Satisfied?”
I stood and forced myself to shake his hand, ignoring the crawling sensation creeping under my skin. “For now.”
Then again, it wasn’t really up to me. No way should we trust this guy, but Fox would always have the final say.
“What the hell are you doing?” Lou’s sharp whisper could have cut me in half.
I stood in the middle of her bedroom ready to do the same to that godforsaken shirt she’d been wearing earlier. After the meeting with Jiménez, I had made a beeline back to Lou. This afternoon hadn’t been nearly enough to make up for the time I spent away. Lou was the fix I needed to dull the rest of the world and feel alive again.
“I’m making sure you don’t lose your senses again.” I gripped the hem in both fists and started to rip it down the goddamn middle when she shrieked.
“You can’t! My pa—they bought me that shirt!”
I paused seeing the frantic desperation painting Lou’s face. These were one of the rare moments Lou wasn’t pretending not to care about anyone other than herself. I often wondered if she was like that before she became an orphan.
“If I catch you wearing this again, I won’t give a fuck if the Virgin Mary sewed it by hand. We clear?”
She nodded eagerly, her eyes glistening. I felt like a monster, but I refused to give in. I allowed Lou to have her way too much as it was. I offered her the shirt, and she snatched it from me with a glare that should have had me lying dead.
“A wise choice,” she said once the shirt was safe from me. “I would have keyed your car.”
“I believe you.”
“Good,” she replied tartly.
I watched through narrowed eyes as she carelessly tossed the shirt on top of the dresser she barely used. Lou was a slob, but it worked for her. She seemed to know where everything was.
“Mr. and Mrs. H home yet?”
She whirled around and faced me with her arms crossed. “Mr. and Mrs. H?” she mocked with a tilt of her head. “You know they can’t stand you, right?”
I shrugged. It didn’t matter to me just as long as they continued to cooperate. “I’m sure whatever the reason is, you’re to blame.”
“I’m an innocent, impressionable young lady, and you’re the hot, mysterious bad boy who’s corrupting me.”