Chapter Thirty-Three — Jamie
I backed up slowly, keeping the Glock raised. My free hand found the bag on the table behind me. I didn’t look away from Draeon as I reached inside.
My fingers closed around paper.
I pulled out the folded printout and threw it at his chest. It hit him and fluttered to the floor.
“That’s the ledger,” I said. “Every name. Every body. You and Daddy dearest. All of it.”
Draeon didn’t look down.
“The Colombians you want to sell me to?” I kept my voice steady. “Santiago Castano. I wonder how he’d feel about the fact that you killed his son a week before I was supposed to be shipped off. Hired by the Italians.” I let that sit. “No honor amongst thieves.” I tsked.
Draeon chuckled — that low, chilling sound that used to make me freeze when I was a kid.
I wasn’t a kid anymore.
“You think a piece of paper scares me, little sister?” He shook his head. “That don’t change nothing. You still standing here with a gun and some bullshit names you ain’t gonna use.”
He looked around the warehouse like he owned it.
“If I wanted to, I could take them papers right now.” He spread his arms. “My men will be on your neck before your finger even twitches. You ain’t walking out of here.”
His men shifted. Hands tightened on grips. I heard safeties click off on at least three guns.
“You can’t tell nobody nothing if you’re dead,” Draeon said.
I smiled. It wasn’t nice.
“You think showing you and telling you is my only plan? I can’t believe Daddy would let you take over, with you being this stupid.”
I whistled. The sound cut through the warehouse like a blade.
Footsteps echoed from the shadows.
Moses stepped out first. Then his men — five, six, seven of them — emerging from behind crates, from the upper railing, from the side exit Draeon’s goons thought they were blocking.
Guns raised. Steady. Aimed.
The balance shifted.
I watched Draeon’s face change. Just a flicker of fear. But I caught it.
“I’m leaving either way,” I said. “Whether this is the last time we meet depends on you.”
I held his gaze.
“And I hope it’s the last time.”
Silence.
Draeon stared at me. His jaw tightened. His hand hovered over his gun.
Then his face twisted.
“You think you won?” His voice went quiet. That was worse than the yelling. “You think bringing muscle means you get to walk out?”
He took a step closer, eyes burning with something ugly and familiar.
“You always thought you were better than us. Little Lola, too good for the family business. Too good to spread her legs for the right alliance. Running off like some princess when Daddy had plans for you.”
I didn’t flinch.
“Those plans included selling me to a man old enough to be my grandfather.”
Draeon laughed. “And look at you now. Still whoring yourself out. First to that ghost of a man back at the cabin, now to this.” He gestured at the armed men. “You really think any of these people give a fuck about you? They’re here for the money. Just like everyone else.”
His smile turned cruel.
“You’re still just Daddy’s pretty little bargaining chip. The only thing you were ever good for.”
The words stung more than I wanted them to.
I kept my voice ice cold. “And all you are is a pathetic attack dog he’ll always uses. How does it feel knowing you’ll never get any real power until he’s dead? That’s why he kept having sons. In case his precious eldest fucked up.”
Draeon’s eyes flashed with real rage.
He moved faster than I expected.
His backhand cracked across my face. My head snapped sideways. Pain exploded across my cheek. The Glock flew from my hand and skittered across the concrete.
Before I could recover, Draeon grabbed me by the back of the neck and yanked me in front of him — using my body as a shield.
His gun pressed hard into my ribs.
“KILL EVERYBODY!” he roared.