He paused, and I watched his decision to beverystupid cross over his face as he considered his options. "She's pretty," he rumbled, reaching up a hand to touch his sore throat. "I would hate to see her sad when I slit her friend's throat and hang her from your balcony. To waste such beauty on sadness would be a crime, no?"
I gave precisely zero shits about Chloe. A few days prior, I wouldn't have cared. In fact, if things with Isa went sour, her friend’s death would be convenient for me. Since Isa had chosen not to tell her family about me, there would be no one to give my name in connection to her disappearance. There'd be no authorities for me to deal with.
They wouldn't have been much in the way of an obstacle, considering they were all in my pocket anyway. But I went through my life trying to be inconvenienced as little as possible.
It irritated me that I cared for Isa enough to not want to see her face when she realized her friend was dead. Particularly because she would learn the truth of Hugo's deception soon enough. That alone would crush her, with how close they’d grown.
"What do you fucking want, Pavel?" I growled my final warning. "As you well know, I have a woman waiting for me. I would much rather be in her company than looking at your ugly face."
He sneered in my direction, transforming the look into a smile as he tried to fall back on his fake humor that he believed mended broken alliances. But nothing could ever make up for what he'd done here, after involving Isa.
If his death hadn't already been guaranteed, it would be after tonight.
"I want to meet tomorrow. Bellandi's war on human trafficking is affecting my bottom line. I will not stand for it, Rafael."
I smirked at him, wondering how the man had survived for so long being so ignorant, but I rattled off an address instead. I wanted to deny him the meeting based on principle, but I very much looked forward to seeing his shock when he realized the truth.
Matteo Bellandi may have led the charge in the fight against trafficking in Chicago, branching out to other cities through his alliances, but his interests didn't extend as far as Russia. He had no desire to control the way the original families conducted their business in Europe.
That endeavor was mine alone.