“Noah, here, tells me that you’re off the market as well. I told him I won’t believe it until I see it for myself.”
I mentally roll my eyes at my best friend. Fucking asshole has to make sure everyone knows I’m no longer a bachelor.
“It’s true. We’ll have to make time for a double date at some point.”
Noah groans under his breath, making Adrian chuckle. “That sounds like a wonderful idea. My Patrice will love that.”
I pull out the folder I need and open it, pushing it toward Adrian, so we can switch into business mode. “Here’s the details of what you requested and the prices.”
He’s already seen all of this, but I always show it to them before the transaction takes place, so they can double-check.
“That’s perfect, my friend.” He signs on the line and then pulls out his phone. A minute later, he says, “Funds have been wired.”
I quickly log into my account to confirm—because I don’t trust anyone completely—and once I see they’re there, we head out to the equipment, where his order is waiting to be loaded into his vehicle.
I nod toward my men, giving them the okay, and they start loading as Adrian double-checks the merchandise, making sure everything is to his satisfaction.
Everything is about loaded into the vehicle, when there’s a screeching sound from somewhere, and then the baritone voice of one of my men. Before I can go check it out, several of my men, as well as Adrian’s, draw their weapons, preparing for whatever’s to come.
A few seconds later, Camilla comes stalking toward me with Xavier, one of my guards, chasing after her. “You can’t go in there,” he barks, but she ignores him, her focus only on me. Her eyes are red-rimmed and her cheeks are stained with tears. I’m so concerned about her, I forget what’s happening behind me, until her gaze darts to the men with their weapons aimed at her.
“Oh my God!” She shrieks. “What’s going on?” She raises her hands, her eyes filled with fear, and the men all stand down, putting their weapons away.
“Sir,” Xavier says, no doubt about to explain how he let a woman half his size get past him and interrupt my meeting. We’ll be having words later.
“Camilla, what’s wrong?” I ask, walking over to her. “Why were you crying?” I lift my hand to wipe a tear that’s resting on the top of her cheek, but she moves out of my touch, her eyes landing on the merchandise.
“Forget me,” she says. “What’s going on?” Her hands go to her hips, and she juts her chin out in defiance—if it weren’t for her walking in on something she wasn’t supposed to see, I would be laughing at how adorably stubborn she looks right now. “Are those all guns?”
There’s a throat clearing and then Noah steps forward. “Let’s go upstairs while Isaac finishes, and then he can speak to you afterward.” His hand comes down on her shoulder, but she dodges him.
“No, tell me what’s happening here.” Her eyes dart back and forth between me and the vehicle that’s housing a few dozen illegal firearms.
“I take it this is your girlfriend,” Adrian says, breaking through the tension that’s surrounding us.
“I am,” she says slowly, turning her attention on him. “But if someone doesn’t tell me what the hell is going on, that might be changing.”
“Cam,” I growl under my breath. She has no idea who she’s speaking to like that.
Luckily, Adrian chuckles. “Go, my friend.” He pats me on the shoulder. “I know a thing or two about a pissed off woman.” He winks at me, and I sigh in relief that he’s a married man. “Everything looks good. We will speak soon.”
“Thank you.” I shake his hand, then give Noah a quick look. He nods once, letting me know he’ll finish up so I can speak to Camilla. Adrian is one of my biggest customers, and I’m always present for our exchanges. When someone spends millions of dollars a year with you, you make it a point to handle it personally—and you don’t piss them off.
“Let’s go,” I say to Camilla, grabbing her hip hard enough that she understands I mean business, but not too hard that it hurts her. I guide us outside, glaring at my guard, who looks a mixture of pissed and scared. As he should be. Camilla is maybe one-thirty soaking wet. There’s no reason she should’ve been able to get past him.
God knows what could’ve happened had I been with someone not as understanding as Adrian. I should’ve made it clear to her how my life works, but I’ve been too busy getting lost in her, in our own little bubble. She could’ve been seriously hurt, if not killed. Men in my world don’t fuck around. They shoot first and deal with the fallout later.