He pauses briefly, seeming to weigh whether to respond before he finally nods. “The Miami crew, we’re having allegiance issues with a few of them.”
“Is it because of the driver who nearly killed Sean? The one Dominic made an example of?”
He nods. “That’s one of the reasons.”
“I thought as much.”
“My brother and I don’t agree on a lot these days when it
comes to his militant extremes. But I can’t say I blame him for that.”
Tobias turns back to the stove and stirs the pasta, and I find it odd to see him in this domestic capacity. He seems the type of man to own a boardroom, a no-bullshit closer, who commands a meeting before he fucks his assistant after, her skirt hitched up around her hips as he thrusts into her while puffing on a celebratory cigar.
He most definitely doesn’t seem the type to do menial tasks, like grocery shop. Then again, nothing is what it seems when it comes to these winged bastards.
“I can feel you watching me,” he speaks up from where he stands, his back turned.
“Chalk it up to curiosity,” I repeat his earlier words. “You went to the store?”
“That’s usually the place you go to get food to cook.”
“Smartass.”
“I can feel you looking at that too.”
Guilty, I dart my gaze away.
“You’re awfully at ease in this kitchen. What if my dad were to walk through the door right now?”
He glances over his shoulder offering me a dead stare that lets me know I should know better.
“Never mind, you probably know his morning dump schedule.”
This time he turns to me, gripping the counter behind him. “Your father is on a plane. And the only thing he knows about me is that I received a settlement he signed off on when he made me an eleven-year-old orphan. I’m sure he didn’t give a damn what became of the two of us the minute he paid us off.”
He was eleven, which puts Tobias somewhere around thirty-one.
“You’re sure he’s guilty?”
“I’m sure he covered it up. I’m sure he’s crooked as fuck in his business dealings, and that’s enough. But this isn’t just about me. My motives aren’t purely selfish.”
“I never said they were.”
“It’s business.”
“Business. So, I assume that kiss was business too?”
“It was to make a point, and you questioning it is the sole reason for our conversation.”
“If this is a proposition, I’m not interested. You can take your business elsewhere. This conversation is pointless, as is your presence in this house. I’ve told you, it’s not my place to pay for his mistakes, and you have no say in my life whatsoever. I owe you nothing. And this concludes our business, so you can see yourself out.”
In a flash, he crosses the kitchen and painfully grips my jaw in his hand. “My curiosity stems from the fact I was lied to and gutted by the two people I trusted most in the whole fucking world. I think you know how fucked that feels. I’m pretty sure you’ve been there, recently.”
A long silence passes before he speaks. “I’ve spent over half my life making plans and setting them in motion until you showed up—” He tightens his hold as my lips squish together. “I’m trying really hard here to have an adult conversation with you. I was angry, I’m still angry, and it’s not going away anytime soon. But I’m going to do my best to try and talk this out with you because it’s what adults do. So, I’m going to release your mouth, and you’re going to do your best to work with me because, like it or not, we need to come to a business arrangement. At this point, we’re both holding cards the other needs. And maybe, if you play nice, I’ll give you some of the answers you seek. A conversation is what I’m asking for. Nothing more. If it was pussy I was after,” he pauses, his eyes dipping to my heaving chest, “I would’ve had it already. My patience is running thin, so I’m calling a temporary truce so we can sort this out before it gets any uglier. Blink once if you agree, twice for disagree.”
Furious, I fight his hold and his eyes flare in warning.
I blink once.