I shake my head. “They shouldn’t be here.” I march toward the boardroom and enter, hating the way my blood heats when I see both Massimo and Axel sitting there with smug looks on their faces. “What the fuck do you think you are doing here?” I glare at Axel.
Axel holds his hands up. “I’m backing my business partner, Massimo.” He tilts his head. “Is that a problem?”
I bare my teeth at the redneck biker. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing hitting our legitimate holdings? You know the rules of the city.”
Massimo sits back and smirks at me like the cocky bastard he is. “And so do you, but I’d say putting a hit on another boss and snatching his title throws all the rules up in the air, wouldn’t you?”
The Italian has a point, but it doesn’t explain why he’s roped the Devil’s Alpha MC into it. “And Axel being here?”
“He’s my business partner and we want to come to an agreement for peace.” His eyes narrow. “No childish ambushes or gun fights. It’ll be five leaders and their right-hand men having an honest game of poker and discussing the problem at hand.”
“Poker?” I ask, skeptical why we’d need to gamble in order to have a business discussion.
“In one week, I’ve booked out the Morrone casino. It’s shut for us to have the meeting and you can’t have a meeting in a casino without a bit of gambling, can you?”
I shrug. “I wouldn’t know, as I’m not a gambler.” I sit opposite Massimo and lean forward over the table. “And what problem exactly is it we will discuss?”
Massimo’s eyes narrow. “You, chiefly.”
I smirk at that. “As I told you, the threat I posed to you was never real. It was a ploy to get me my crown and now I’ve got it.” I shrug. “Problem solved.”
“And what of the blockade you’ve put in place at the border?” Massimo asks.
I smirk then. “I don’t see why that worries you. You don’t buy your product south of the border.”
Massimo’s jaw clenches as if he’s surprised that I know that. I know everything about his organization and the others in this city. He buys from Albanians at favorable rates along with the human flesh they traffic. I’m not one to question people’s morals, but dealing in flesh is the lowest of the low, and Massimo doesn’t strike me as the type to enjoy it.
“That’s correct, but I have an agreement with the Irish and Russians to help smooth things out.” He shrugs. “Being the only neutral party, it made sense for me to extend this invitation.”
“Are you going to honor the agreements you made with my predecessor?”
His jaw works. “Are you going to provide us with proof that you don’t have any missiles?”
I sit up straighter and look my adversary in the eye. “Tell me, Massimo, are you really foolish enough to believe I’d have the kind of fire power?”
His jaw works. “I don’t know what you’re capable of, Adrik.”
I smirk. “I guess I will take that as a compliment.” I crack my knuckles and nod. “You’ll get your proof if I get the three contracts agreed with Hernandez.”
A tension eases from Massimo’s shoulders as he nods. “Perfect. We’ll make arrangements for next Friday evening. All legalities will be taken care of before then. Bring the proof.”
I salute. “Got it.”
His eyes narrow. “If we’re going to be business partners, then we have to trust one another. Are you the reason my father’s casino expansion plan has been halted indefinitely?”
Ah, the mayor is doing something right then. I nod. “Yes, we can’t have you getting too big for your boots, can we?”
He blows out an irritated breath. “Who did you get on your side?”
I stand. “Now, if I told you that, I’d have to kill you, Massimo.”
Axel stiffens, hand moving under his jacket as if he’s ready for a shootout.
I glare at him. “It’s an expression.” My attention moves to Massimo. “Perhaps you should keep your dog at home in the future.”
Axel stands then, rage igniting in his eyes. “Who the fuck are you calling a dog, you piece of Russian filth?”
I shrug. “You’re the one reaching for your gun in a supposedly peaceful meeting.”