“Why should I believe a goddamned word out of your mouth, bitch? You’d say anything right now to save your own ass.”
“I swear I don’t know anything worth telling anyone, whether you believe me or not.” Teal’s voice catches on her sobs as her shoulders droop in defeat.
Dom’s dark gaze cuts to me. “And you think she needshelp?Like she should get another fucking chance after all this? She uses and abusesmy name,costs me afavor,and you think the right answer is getting her somehelp?”
I hear it clearly in his tone—Dom thinks I’m a pussy, which is fine for now if it saves Teal’s life. I might have been pissed off enough to fire her, but I’m not a fucking murderer.
Dom fits the Sig’s grip into his palm like he’s done thousands of times before and presses the barrel against her forehead. Only, I know better. This whole fucking thing is about proving a point. He won’t use his own piece, not on her and not for wet work. If someone puts a bullet in Teal’s head, it’ll come from Primo’s throwaway, which will be wiped clean before it’s tossed.
“One round is all it’ll take. Sixty-seven cents. That’s it. That’s what your life has come down to.” He jabs the metal harder. “Do you think your life is worth more than sixty-seven cents, girl?”
Teal’s tears tumble faster as she blinks rapidly, probably because she’s afraid to nod her head. I’m surprised she hasn’t fainted.
“She needs to go to rehab,” I say.
Dom’s quick glare would carve me in half if I wasn’t so used to being on the receiving end of his rage. “Rehab costs money. No one gets help for free around here. Especially not ungrateful little bitches who use my name, spill information, and thencost me favors.” Another nudge of the barrel against the bridge of her nose. “So, you tell me, Teal. What the fuck should I do with you? Because you’re not even worth sixty-seven cents to me right now.”
“I’ll pay for her rehab,” I say before I even plan to form the words. It’s like someone plucked them out of thin air and shoved them in my mouth before I could even decide to say them. Because if I’d been thinking, I’d have said that her health insurance from the club is good through the end of the month and should cover the cost.
But I don’t add that detail because Dom jerks around to face me, the pistol still touching Teal. “You’ll pay for it? Why? She ain’t worth it. I can tell you that right now.”
How do you explain the value of human life to a man who has never understood it before?You can’t.
“Let me worry about that.”
Dom’s gaze narrows. “You already got a piece of ass that’s so hot you plan to fuck her in a construction site. What do you need with a whore who’ll spread her legs for anyone? You’re better than that shit.”
I dig down deep, into the cold, dead part of me that’s descended from this man. “You kill her, I’ll have her sister to deal with, and I need good, loyal—quiet—employees. They’re fucking hard to find.”
It’s a practical, emotionless reason. One I know Dom will understand.
His lower lip rises, pressing against the top. “Yousureher sister’s really worth the cost of rehab? Because if she makes a fuss, we’ll take care of her too.”
Fucking hell.
Dom would never ask a mobster if he’ssure. It means he thinks I’m weak, and that’s not saving Teal—or Tanya.
It’s a dangerous move, but I know the callous man before me. I know what he respects and what he hates, so I stare him down.
“Did I stutter, Dom? I’ll cover the cost. Now, let’s get back to fucking business. I’ve got shit to do today.”
Better men have been killed for less than what I just said to him, but the corner of his mouth curls up and respect gleams in his eyes. Like he’s finally seeing his likeness in me.
Not a fucking chance.
Then again, you don’t get to choose your DNA.
3
Memphis
“You’re a good man,” I whisper to Cannon as Teal whimpers from the back seat of the Chevelle.
He turns his head to glance at me, and his features are so hard, they may as well have been stamped in flint. Sweat dots his brow, and his neck is flushed an angry crimson.
“Now is not the time you want to be making assumptions about me.” He looks back at the road, slowing to a stop as the light turns red, and the only sound in the car is Teal’s snuffling. It’s the longest red light of my life.
There are a million things I want to say. Starting with ...