"You do this job for me, Fletcher," Drew said in that sensuous tone. "And we'll look into how much business we'll mix with pleasure."
"How soon do you need his new identity and how soon do you need his old one erased?"
"Today."
Yeah, I kind of figured. It was why I'd been creating canned identities back in high school. It had begun as a lark, that turned lucrative. Now, I had backups for my backups. They were expensive, took time to flesh out, but they also all paid their taxes on time and had decent credit histories. Nothing too perfect—those were always red-flags, but they would stand up to scrutiny and a background check.
"Then we'll eat because I work better with food in my stomach, and your boy needs to be here so I can take care of the dental records and prints—digital and otherwise. I'll also need a comprehensive list of any and all medical facilities that processed so much as a urine sample for you."
I let them chew on that while I retrieved an additional plate from the kitchen. I'd already put out a selection of cheeses, fruits, jams, and even meats. Charcuterie was like finger food to me and I preferred it to greasier options, despite what my food delivery bill would claim.
"It's also not going to be cheap, you want fast but you also want thorough, which means it's going to take all of my attention."
Fido glanced at Drew, his brows a little tight. Was all of this news to him? A part of me wanted to ask, the rest of me kept the question to myself. I couldn't read her as easily as him, but I had enough to work with. I filled her glass with iced water since she'd declined the wine and did the same for her pet, before I added another measure of wine to my glass.
"How much?" Two words, no emotion and an intense stare. I settled some cheese onto a bit of meat, added a touch of jam and then took my time lifting the smoky, savory treat to my lips. The moment her gaze tracked to my mouth and not my eyes, I gave her a number before I sucked in the treat.
The next move was hers.
“Deal.” She brought the glass to her lips and sipped the cool water. Fuck, she was wearing that all day lipwear stuff. There wasn’t a bit of colorful residue left on the glass. I had to adjust myself as I imagined her plump, dark red lips wrapped around my hard cock.
“Hm?”
Her laugh was knowing but I didn’t give a fuck. Oh, wait. She had said something.
“Virtual payments only. No cash, check, or otherwise. And preferably not card either.” Although I did have a merchant account set up for one of my shell corporations, I really preferred other types of payments that were easier to hide. Wire was my favorite.
“No problem.” She selected a white cube from the tray, and bit into it. Damn Fido for being here. There was something so sexy about watching a woman snack on a posh selection of cheeses. I might have been able to do something about it if she hadn’t brought “Rick”.
“Perfect. Eat up then, because once I get started, you’ll be here for a while. Might as well get comfortable.” I topped off her water and my wine, expecting Rick to reach for the pitcher of water as soon as I set it down, but he didn’t.
“So, Rick,” I exaggerated his new name, and he fucking growled at me. Noted, shit. I wouldn’t poke the bear. “How did you two meet?”
Drew didn’t let him respond, instead jumping in herself. “Much the same way we did, only he was the one doing the killing.” Her cheeky grin was just sincere enough that I knew there was some truth to that.
And ole Rick smiled at her as if she was his whole entire world. He was going to be a bigger problem than I had originally thought, not that anyone with two eyes couldn’t tell he was mildly obsessed with her.
But this sexy death angel deserved more than a rabid dog chasing after her heels. She’d see that at some point, and I’d conveniently be there to replace him.
In our world, gorgeous women were a dime a dozen, but none of them—absolutely none of them—had the same type of sex appeal, with a deadly serrated edge, like she did. From the minute she saved me at Dion’s I knew she’d be in my bed at some point.
Finding out about Rick didn’t deter me. It only made me more determined to play the long game.
“I’d say I’m surprised but somehow I’m not,” I deadpanned. It wasn’t a far leap to think anyone with those eyes was a killer. Rick nodded as if this appeased him, like he’d appropriately put the fear of God into me.
He wasn’t off, I just didn’t fight my battles with fists. I preferred to ruin a man’s life behind the scenes. Bankruptcy was a good one. Adding someone to the sex offender registry was always a good laugh. Although, stealing a man’s entire savings and destroying his companies was my personal favorite.
Something told me I wouldn’t be able to get to Rick this way. I’d just have to bide my time, see what he was all about. That was a last resort though. I’d much rather get him on my side, then move him out of the way.
“And how did you two meet?” He challenged, flicking his gaze to Drew as a slither of unease crept into his eyes.
Hm, it was almost like he was sorry he asked, but not enough to take it back.
Tossing her hands up, she sighed in exasperation. It was so cute on her, I grinned, as did Rick. “The exact opposite of how we met,” she said as she turned and met his stare. If she was trying to silently communicate to him, then it worked, because he dropped that line of questioning.
I almost mentioned that she saved me. It was a sure-fire way to cause issues between them. But I’d hold that card in my back pocket for now.
We finished our meal in relative peace after that. A few surface level jokes and ribbing. Then I dabbed my mouth with one of the white linen napkins I’d had on the table, and pushed my chair back. “Are you ready?” I raised my eyebrows in challenge to Rick.