His request puzzles me. “Like what?”
“Like you want to peel back my layers. I’ve put bodies in the ground, stolen people’s last breaths with these hands, and all pitilessly. And I’ll do it again. So try and refrain from looking too deeply. What you find won’t be pretty.”
I’ve dealt with shady people my entire adult life. But never a killer. That I know of. I make sure to keep my dealings with people wanting revenge against a partner, wanting to steal corporate secrets. Nothing that ever-involved death and the morgue. I have my hard lines.
I can’t help but wonder how many men he’s taken off the field. Does it matter? Does it change my situation? No and no. But I’m curious as to why I no longer fear his presence.
“And the other one?” I rattle the wrist that is still cuffed.
“Not until you can prove to me you’re worth the millions I paid for you.”
His statement sends a bolt of lightning through me. Our gazes collide. “I’m not fucking you; I’ve made that clear.”
He drops my hand, crosses the room, and pulls something out of the bag Devil left at the door. Seconds and Ares is back in front of me tossing a laptop on my lap.
“My laptop.”
“I had it procured from your residence.”
Disturbing. Just how far did he take his stalking of me? “And?” I ask, picking my battles. After this, I would never be going home to the shitty apartment over a lousy supermarket anyway so moot point. “Unless you’re giving me this so I can contact the cops, I don’t know what you want me to do with it.”
“I want you to hack someone.” He states it matter-of-factly.
“You want me to commit a crime.” It’s a statement, not a question. There isn’t an ounce of hesitation in his expression or in how he pops the lid open and puts my fingers on the keys.
His eyes flicker over my face, watchful of every minuscule twitch of my expression looking for something he can use against me, I guess. Why I don’t know, I’ve already given the information about my sister.
“Prove to me you’re worth the time and effort or we are done here.”
Done as in dead? Images of landfills flit across my mind.
Blood drains from my face and my palms turn sweaty. Admitting to my own crimes is never a good thing. But this is a case of pot meets kettle? Right? “I don’t know what you mean.”
“No lies,malyshka. I know what you do in the back of El Diablo’s bar. The black hat shop you’ve set up for yourself has earned a nice reputation along the black market. Your name has traveled well. I’ve been watching you for weeks,Reina. Queen. How do you think I knew of you?”
There’s a bigger story behind all that but right now I focus on the more pressing matter. Hearing my handle on his lips is startling. But it’s his last words that I hang onto the most.
“Excuse me? You’ve been watching me?” I recall the feeling of being watched several times. Polaris and Ellie called me paranoid but it turns out I had been right. I should have been more careful.
“Who all followed me? And was it all the time?”
“Regrettably not as much as I should have. And it was either myself or Devil.”
My heart thuds at his admission. “What does that mean? Did you watch me get taken?”
He looms over me and brushes a thumb down the side of my face. He’s taking a risk getting this near to me and he knows it. But he still chances a good punch to the balls to simply reach out and touch me. But why?
“It means had I not called Devil off you that night to take care of other club business you would never have been snatched off the street. You and I would be having this conversation over dinner instead of my bed.”
“So it’s by pure design I’m not getting passed around in some rich fucker’s perverted party like a Barbie bride sex toy.”
Ares faces me, locks our gazes. “And luck. Had I not been able to score an invite last-minute…” he trails off but I get his meaning. Or I thought I did.
“I would have gone to war to find you, Nova Masters, so let’s just say everything turned out for the better. Bloody streets don’t make for good business in the long run.”
My fingertips clutch the metal casing of my laptop. Okayyy. Whatever that means. “I do this; what do I get in return? Wait!” I throw up my free hand and push off the bed. I’m dizzy at first and he shoots a hand out but I dash it away. It’s a little awkward but I like to have my feet under me when I’m negotiating. Sitting on my ass gives him all the power and I’m so over feeling beneath him.
I narrow my eyes. “I’ll tell you what I want. I want out of these cuffs. Completely. And you have to promise me we will go in and find my sister. That’s my offer.”