by Kit Rocha
He pulled her knife from his belt and flipped it over in his hand. "I sorta figured this was an invitation to fight. Don't back down now, honey. Tell me how you really feel."
She turned around and snatched the knife. "I'm not your little bitch. Don't treat me like one, especially in front of potentials. It sets a shitty example, O'Kane."
"I slapped them down good, Lex. Before you left and after. But I can't erase a lifetime of learning in one fucking meeting."
A handy deflection--if it were true. "You're full of shit. You didn't slap them down."
He frowned. "Of course I did. They're untrained puppies, Lex. You rub their noses in it when they piss on the floor, and eventually they learn. I didn't drown them in the river over it, no."
She stared at him, dumbfounded. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"
Dallas was too smart to reply quickly. She could almost see him turning inward, struggling to replay the short conversation and figure out what he'd missed. "The guys made asses of themselves," he said finally, a diplomatic, evasive answer.
"Uh-huh. About...?"
Another pause. "Noelle?"
Lex swallowed past the lump in her throat. It was one thing for Dallas to take the path of least resistance when it suited him, even if it meant shoving her aside as useless and purely decorative, but to not understand what he'd done? That was different. Worse.
She turned back to the mirror and pulled the brush through her hair.
Dallas snarled and slapped a hand against the wall. "Not okay, Alexa. You can shout at me, you can throw things at me, you can do your fucking best to slip that knife between my ribs, but you do not ignore me."
"Are you listening to yourself?" She dropped the brush and the knife to the vanity with a clatter and rose, facing him. "You don't like being dismissed, so what in hell makes you think it wouldn't piss me off just as much?"
"You wanted to stay?" he scoffed. "Shit, woman, Jas didn't want to stay."
"He isn't your partner." Lex lowered her voice. "He also could have hung around without making any of you blink. Not just those assholes, but you, too."
That drew him up short. "Cain. It was Cain, wasn't it?"
To her horror, angry tears burned her eyes. "There's more to respecting the women around here than not groping them or saying disgusting shit they don't want to hear. Way more."
"Jesus, Lex. I know." He took a step forward, but didn't crowd her space. "But I can't reach into the man's head and make him realize you can think circles around him."
"No, I could have done that on my own." She met his gaze reproachfully. "If you'd had my back. But you didn't. You told me to run along like a good girl while the menfolk had their talk. And don't think that didn't tell them something about you, Dallas."
"You're blowing one little thing out of proportion. I didn't even kick you out. I gave you the choice, because listening to them was always gonna suck until we smacked some manners into them. I gave you an out, and you took it."
Sincerity laced the words. Whatever else, he believed them. "Those little things? They build up in the long run."
He shoved his fingers through his hair and exhaled sharply. "I don't want there to be a long run. If they can't come around all the way, things will change. But fuck, Lex. I can't write off every bastard who isn't housetrained from minute one."
Her self-control snapped. "I'm not talking about them, Declan. You asked me to take your fucking ink, and tonight you acted like I was some random girl you peeled off your dick after a cage fight." She stalked to the door and jerked it open. "I'm talking about you."
Dallas whirled on her. "What should I have done? If it's so obvious to you, tell me."
Her anger melted into something else, something determined and insistent. She could do this, make him hear her and understand. "For starters? You could have treated me like I needed to be at that meeting. Like I helped you build this place, because you know what? I damn well did."
At least he was listening. He took in her words, turned them over, and then nodded. "Yeah, but the shit tonight? That's not your thing. You don't sit in meetings with our guys, either. I get that it felt like a snub, but if you hadn't needed to prove a point, would you have really wanted to stay?"
As if that mattered. "It's part of my job now. Isn't that what you wanted?"
He tilted his head. "You wanna come to all the meetings?"
"Yes." She'd taken on a new role, one she couldn't fill without keeping up with everything that happened.
Dallas sighed and rubbed a hand over his arm. "It means change. It means putting a target on your back. I'm not saying no...but can we talk over the danger when we're not pissed and fighting?"
Plenty of things already made her a target--her association with him, her collar--and he wanted her to have ink. The biggest target of all if you wanted to bring down a ruthless man like Dallas O'Kane. "All I need is for you to understand. Don't try to protect me from things I need to do."
"And I need you to give me the benefit of the doubt." He caught her wrist and ran a thumb over the O'Kane ink wrapped around it. "This right here? This is proof I'll listen."
It had taken her six months to convince him it was a bad idea to exclude women from his gang. "You're not bleeding. That's proof I'll listen."
He crooked a smile. "I'm a little disappointed. What's that a sign of?"
Lex pushed away the tendrils of uneasiness still curling through her. He didn't understand, but he would listen. It would be enough. It had to be enough.
She touched his hand. "It's a sign that this just might work out after all."
Chapter Eighteen
Dallas had never been able to bring himself to entirely trust city tech.
The banged-up tablet on his desk was clever enough. He liked the fact that he could speak words instead of writing them and see his notes transcribed into clean lines of text, as if by magic. It was quick to manage and easy to organize. And it could all go away with the blink of an eye.
It had happened before, after all.
The thing was on the fritz again, mangling the words he spoke and locking him out every time he tried to save the file. He tossed it aside and was starting his list of most likely recruits over on paper when a knock rattled the door.
A mass of red curls appeared as Trix stuck her head into his office. "You have a visitor."
Her appearance reminded him he needed to add women to the list of potential recruits--with her at the top of it. "What kind of visitor?"
She hesitated. "Dressed like she's from Eden, but she seems pretty comfortable out here. She walked in like she owned the place."
Dallas could only think of one person who could possibly qualify--and he couldn't think of a damn reason for her to be in his sector. "She didn't give you a name?" he asked, but he was already on his feet.
Trix shook her head. "I asked, but she didn't answer. Just said you were expecting her. Business."
"Like hell." He followed Trix into the hallway, tugged his office door shut, and locked it for good measure. "Is Lex still out with Noelle and Rachel?"
"As far as I know." She tilted her head. "You want me to get rid of this lady?"
"No, she's for me to deal with." But not in his office, where he had papers scattered about and too much private shit. "Give me five minutes and bring her to the meeting room. And whatever the hell else you do, keep Lex away from there."
Her pale brow creased in a frown, but she backed away with a nod. "Sure, I can handle that."
He waved Trix away as the corridor split, sending her back toward the front of the club as he climbed the stairs to the second floor. The building that housed the Broken Circle was still the heart of their operations, even though the compound had expanded into a sprawl that covered four sector blocks. He was in his element here, on home turf so familiar it lent him an extra edge, a confidence he'd need for this meeting.
It was Cerys, it had to be. Come to take the next step toward whatever endgame she'd
envisioned when maneuvering him into a position of greater power. Smart as he was, Dallas had zero confidence in his ability to think circles around a woman who played politics with Cerys's skill and intensity.
But that didn't mean he couldn't use her own game against her.
By the time Trix showed Cerys into the meeting room, Dallas was sprawled in his customary chair at the head of the table, a bottle of whiskey and two shot glasses on the table in front of him. He looked up from trimming his nails with his pocketknife and--like a good uncultured barbarian--kept his ass planted firmly in his seat. "Cerys."
She unwrapped a deep brown fur from around her neck and draped it over the back of a chair at the opposite end of the table. "Mr. O'Kane."
Yeah, she could make a man feel like a misbehaving boy with nothing but the inflection in her voice. Ignoring the twinge, he committed to his rudeness. "You're a long way from home. What brings you south of the fence?"
She stood still but glanced around the room, taking it all in. "I came to talk about Alexa."
He damn near cut off the tip of one finger as his fist clenched. "That so?"
"Don't get all excited." She sank gracefully into a plush, padded chair set against the wall. "You know her as well as I. She's your woman, and happy to be that--for now. But she'll want to do more. Be more."
"Could be." That was how women like Cerys laid traps--with the truth, the bitter, painful truths that niggled at a man. You had to make him bleed before you offered to kiss it all better. "Could be you don't know her half so well as you think."
"It's possible," she admitted. "That's why I'm here instead of talking to Lex."
"Yeah, she'll love that."
Cerys smiled. "No, she won't be happy with me. She does prefer to ignore the reality of her situation sometimes."
Leading words. He wanted to be too stubborn to ask. Wanted to. "And what's the reality of her situation?"
"You own her, and she's not a woman who can be comfortable with that."
"I own Lex exactly as much as she lets me," Dallas replied, baring his teeth in his own sort of grin. "You of all people should appreciate the pitfalls of trying to own Alexa Parrino."
"I do, which is why I now realize that I should have been grooming her for something special." Cerys shifted on the chair and crossed her legs. "I should have been readying her to take over Orchid House."
Well, shit. He hadn't seen that coming. "You getting bored of politics, Cerys?"
For a moment, her serene mask slipped, and she looked tired. "I'm getting too old for the games, O'Kane. The bickering between the sectors, the threats." She shrugged. "I have money. I want to enjoy it."
"And you want to hand your business over to the one that got away?" The perverse part was that it made a sort of sense. The girls who stayed to be trained into docile little puppets wouldn't have the ruthless fire necessary to lead. If he could trust that the weariness he'd seen in Cerys's eyes was truth and not simply another mask.
"I'd still benefit. I'll receive a healthy cut of the profits until I die, that's tradition. The way things are done." Her smile turned cunning. Jaded. "Do you think my predecessor liked me? She loathed me, but she knew I could make money. So here I am."
Still not the right answer. "What makes you think Lex would turn a profit? She doesn't just hate you. She hates what you do."
"For the girls' sakes, of course. So she knows they'll have someone looking out for them."
He thought about Lex's whispered confession, the need to help, and he hated Cerys a little more. Not only for knowing where to stick the knife, but for knowing better than he had. With Lex under his nose day in and day out, he'd still found a way to be oblivious to the need gnawing her up from the inside.
Cerys hadn't. "Even if that pitch worked on her, who says it'll work on me? I happen to like Lex right where she is, not off playing hero in some other sector."
She responded with an unladylike snort. "Right where she is for now, you mean."
"You know some travel plans of hers that I don't?"
"Cut the shit. You know what I'm talking about."
She'd already said it once: Lex would want to do more, be more. The only thing he hated more than this meeting was having it after that fucking fight over the prospects from Three. Lex already wanted to be more. Could Cerys smell that weakness on him? Hear it in his voice?
Fuck that. "Lex is a lot happier as my queen than she would be running a damn whorehouse."
"You say that with such derision, but isn't that what she is? Your whore?" Cerys shook her head. "Perhaps she'd be even happier as your equal."
Rage overwhelmed good sense, and he slammed the knife down on the table. "You watch your fucking mouth, unless you want me to drag you back to the fence by your hair and throw you over it."
She held up a placating hand. "I meant no offense."
"Bullshit, you didn't." Bracing both hands on the scarred wood, he rose and leaned forward, pinning her in place with the force of his anger. "You pretty it up over there. Flowers and nice dresses and training, but you're a pimp, Cerys. A grasping, greedy pimp. If anyone running a brothel in my sector tried to take a third of the percentage you do, I'd let Ace pound their face into the cement. You meant for me to be fucking offended, but you know what? Calling her a whore's still not as big an insult as turning her into you."
Cerys stared back, unmoving. "I've upset you."
Which had probably been the damn point, but he couldn't reel it in. "We haven't even gotten started on how you plan to make her my equal. All the other house heads will just step aside and let you pick the next sector leader, too?"
That got her back up. "Orchid House rules Two. It always has, and it always will."
"Why?" He pressed his advantage, needling her pride. "If you want me to get Lex on board with this, you're gonna have to sell your product a hell of a lot better. What makes Orchid House so damn special? Why should I give a shit about Lex having it?"
She stood. "Save me some time here. Is it a sales pitch you need, or an excuse?"
"A what?"
"An excuse," she repeated mildly. "Something convenient to tell yourself so you feel better about wanting control of my sector."
Oh, he didn't hate her. Hate was too mild a word for this, for his furious embarrassment at having the ugly truth of him stripped bare. She was the dark mirror of Lex, a woman who saw into his heart just as clearly and never gave him any credit at all--because he didn't fucking deserve it.
"I have an excuse," he replied in a quiet, deadly voice. "Getting you out is all the excuse I need. But I need a reason."
"Power," she whispered. "Think of everything you could do with it, yes?"
He could think of one thing Two could give him, beyond their well-trained crafters and hearty business in long-distance trade. "How much juice do you have in Eden?"
A mirthless smile twisted her lips. "How many horny, desperate bastards are there in the city?"
His heartbeat sped. "I'm only interested in one of them right now. Gareth Woods."
The tiny wrinkle in her brow smoothed. She approached the table, lifted the whiskey, and began to pour it. "Interested in him, or in his painful demise?"
"In causing it, mostly." He settled back into his chair and watched her. "What do you really want, Cerys? You'll never be satisfied sitting on a porch swing and counting your money. For once in your life, speak truth to a man. Maybe the results will shock you."
She drained a shot and poured a second before answering. "Do you have any idea how exhausting it is, catering to men? I don't promise to take up knitting or raise cats in my old age, but believe me, Mr. O'Kane. I wouldn't mind being able to tell a few of you fuckers exactly what I think of you."
Dallas laughed as he picked up his own glass. "Now that? Is a motivation I believe. So maybe we can find common ground without giving up hating each other."
"I like the sound of that," Cerys said with a smirk. "I think Lex will, too."
"Why don't we tr
y a deal without Lex first? We both have something the other wants, don't we? Let's start with an alliance of neighbors."
She clicked her shot glass against his. "Agreed."
How to phrase it? No outlandish lies, promising things she'd know he'd never deliver. Just the right amount of opportunity and reluctance. "I'll bring your proposal to my woman. I'll even do my best to see she considers it. But I want a show of good faith in return."
"What you want is Gareth Woods on a silver platter. I understand."
"Access to him." He studied her over the edge of his glass. "He knows I'm hunting him. He's played a good game at staying out of my way, but I only need to find him once."
"I can make that happen," she assured him.
"How soon?"
She considered it as she finished her second drink. "It'll take a little time. Be patient."
Be patient. Words he hated, but they'd be worth it if he could put a bullet in the head of the man who'd been responsible for Lex's near death. Oh, he'd have to let Jasper come along, since the assassin had been gunning for Noelle. But that kill, that retribution--it would balance the scales. It would be the ultimate proof that no one crossed the O'Kanes and lived. Not a scummy sector leader like Wilson Trent, not a councilman straight out of Eden.
Hell, if he played his cards right, Lex might not ever have to know. Not about the kill, and not how he'd agreed to pay for it. He just had to snatch the bait out of Cerys's trap without letting himself get snared by the promise of power.
"All right," he agreed. "I assume you have a contingency if I can't talk Lex around?"
"She's not my only possibility." Cerys set down her glass and retrieved her fur. "Merely my first choice."
She didn't seem worried about going out on a limb without a guaranteed return, which could mean anything. That it wasn't a limb. That she wanted Gareth Woods dead for her own reasons. Or that she really did believe he had Lex under his thumb.
Or that she was planning to betray him. Dallas had to figure that possibility into his plans. "How far in advance can you send me a location and time?"