“Okay. I can make that happen. How much are we talking?”
“About $735 million.”
“What?” I spat, frowning. “Draco, I can’t make a report of a private investment that big without it getting suspicious. Ten to twenty was fine, but seven hundred? That’s too fucking much.”
“You’re smart enough to figure it out.”
I blew a breath. “I think you’re overestimating my abilities. The only way I can hide that much is if I have my accountant work with a private offshore bank. Some of it has to go international. Keeping it all here might help you, but it’s a big risk for me.”
“Then find me an accountant who can do the offshore work. Do whatever you need to do, but I want some of the accounts written in another name.”
“Whose?”
“Gianna Nicotera for now.”
“Nicotera? Why does that name sound so familiar?”
He glared at me.
My eyes widened. “Wait…isn’t she the girl you kidnapped? She belonged to that Italian mob, right?”
He grimaced. “She belonged to me.”
“You took her against her free will, and from what I heard, you tortured her. That’s kidnapping.”
“She had no free will. She was mine since I was thirteen. I had every right to take her from the dirty bastard that didn’t fucking deserve her.” He was getting agitated now, eyes darkening.
“Okay, look. I don’t give a shit about any of that right now. When are you trying to get the money deposited?”
“As soon as possible. I have two of my people coming with some of it in a few days. They’ll be delivering it in increments. I want to be here to watch the accounts get set up and to know my money has been moved safely. I also need a favor.”
“I can try, Draco, but I can’t make any promises. What’s the favor?”
“There is no fucking trying, Cane. You have no choice but to do this,” he snapped. “Remember that without me, you wouldn’t even have this fucking company. You came to me and made me a promise. You told me if I needed something done, you would make it happen, did you not?”
I sighed. “Yeah.”
“Okay. So make it fucking happen. I don’t want excuses; I want solutions. Figure it out and make sure you keep your name off record. Don’t ring any bells. Split it up if you have to, I don’t care. Just make sure my money is somewhere safe and easy for me to access when I need it.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “Okay, fine. What’s the favor?”
“Gianna is pregnant.” He rubbed his hand, where his ring finger was. “We’re not sure what the gender is yet, but when the baby is older, we’ve agreed to let him or her come to America to go to school. I’ll need Gianna and the kid in a safe place, and since I won’t be able to be here as much, and she’s too wary to get a home with her or Clark’s name, I figured you could put it under yours.”
I blinked rapidly. “Shit…you got her pregnant? You sure she isn’t planning to make a run for it?”
Draco grimaced. “She isn’t planning shit. You’ve only heard the stories, Cane. Gianna and I have been through some shit, but we’re on the same page now. She knows the truth about her past and knows I would do anything to protect her. She’s not my prisoner. She can leave whenever she feels like it. It’s her choice to stay with me.”
“Okay—chill the fuck out.” I rolled my shoulders, releasing some of my own tension. “I didn’t realize things had gotten so serious. Is she the reason I haven’t heard from you in a while?”
He pressed his lips and shrugged. “Let’s just say that I had my hands full because I was dealing with her.” He looked me over once before walking around the island counter. “Why are you with her, anyway? The girl?”
“Do I need a specific reason to be with her?”
He cocked a brow, turning fully to face me. “She’s your best friend’s daughter.”
“He was my best friend.”
“And I assume you two are no longer friends because you can’t keep your cock away from her?”
My jaw tightened. “Don’t talk about her like that, and it’s not like you have any fucking room to say shit. Kidnapping women and punishing them and shit.”
He fought a smirk. “I do what I need to do.”
I scoffed, pressing my lower back against the edge of the counter.
Draco folded his arms, leaning against the counter edge across from me. “Are we going to have any problems with her father? He knows a great deal about you and me. You told me he’d keep quiet, but with you and the girl fucking like rabbits—”
“He won’t be a problem. He may be upset, but he wouldn’t jeopardize himself like that, let alone his own daughter. That’s information he’s withheld for years, and not only that, Kandy would be upset if he ran his mouth and it backfired on me. His bond with her would be destroyed, and that’s the last thing he wants right now after everything that’s happened to her.”