“Just because I’m letting this go now, doesn’t mean that it’s not coming back up. We will be discussing this. However, Hunter, you need to go meet Stefan. Lief, go with him to make sure he’s not stupid. Stay in the shadows. And call your brother. Find out where he’s flown off to.”
I text Valerie under the table and get a picture of them at an aquarium. That’s … not an answer to the current question. Lief answers easily, “He’s in Atlanta.”
“Did he give a reason?”
Lief blinks once. “Something about a date.”
“Of course.” Father rubs his forehead. “Hunter, go meet Stefan. We’ll deal with all of this later.”
I get ready to meet Stefan at a club – a regular one this time. It’s on neutral territory, but considering how Stefan’s father was, I’m sure that the new head of the Italian mafia will have security all over.
He’d have to be stupid not to.
Lief walks out in a simple suit, deceptively simple. It’s just enough to fit in, but not enough to catch attention. Tattoos covered, hair in a bun, glasses on, he’s not getting the limelight.
We get to the club and Lief meanders outside the V.I.P. section. The low lighting, the zap of the colored spotlights as they dart across the packed crowd, it’s a nightmare for security, but Lief knows his job. He dances with a few people to avoid being in Stefan’s sights.
Stefan joins me in a black and red button-up and something that looks suspiciously like leather pants. No amount of money gives a person taste I suppose. He grins at me and pushes his glasses up and into his black hair.
“Hunter!”
I nod to him over my glass of whiskey.
“To think I was half-convinced, I’d have to drag you out to have some real fun.”
I put on the trust-fund baby; playboy smile I’ve practiced so well as I step into the role. “Well, it’s hard to make time when there’s just so much secret fun to have.”
He chuckles and pats my shoulder. “That’s why you and I can meet, my friend. Your brother and father don’t understand the important things in life.”
Stefan eyes a woman in a slinky dress that screams ‘down to fuck.’ “Women, poker, clubs that require passwords, and cars. It’s a good life.”
“I’d be willing to bet mine is just a touch more fun.” I chuckle.
Stefan arches an eyebrow.
“I have a thing for kink clubs.” Not exactly a lie. I am a partner at an underground kink club that my father never needs to know about. “The fun there is … messy.”
Stefan roars with laughter. We play the ‘one-up’ game until the same girl Stefan was making eyes at is brought to him. She sits across his lap and he rubs higher and higher on her thigh for everyone to see as she kisses over his neck.
“I’m assuming you agreed to meet for a reason.” I motion to the girl. I drum my fingers on the arm of the chair, a sign to Lief to record this conversation. “Because I’m obviously the third wheel.”
He snaps his fingers, but sighs. “I’m not interested in this …. Issue between our families. I’d like to offer …. A truce.”
He cocks his head to the side when he says it, something vicious and unforgiving in the normally drunk eyes there. I don’t miss it. Just like I don’t miss the way one of his security team moves closer as he says it.
“A truce?”
“Why should we fight each other? There are plenty of fights and clients and everything else to go around. I just don’t see the point. We have our areas, but as long as we don’t do business while … visiting, I don’t see why there has to be any issue.”
He smiles and pushes his hand into the front of the girl’s dress, massaging her tit. There’s something about this offer I don’t like. My hackles raise along with the hairs on the back of my neck. He knows he’s talking to the wrong person, doesn’t he?
Oh well. I’ll have to ask Valerie to evaluate this later.
“A truce will take some convincing when it comes to my father. You know he makes the decisions.”
“For now,” Stefan says with another enigmatic smile. This is rubbing me wrong. He snaps his fingers. “Bring my friend a girl. He looks far too stressed right now.”
A beautiful woman, skin as dark as night, hair like a halo around her head in a light golden color comes to me. She rubs my shoulders and her hands creep down my chest. She smells like cherries and something sweeter to take out the tartness.