The Banker (Banker 1)

“Then we won’t bother keeping your father alive.”

No matter how many times I reminded myself that my father deserved his fate, knowing he was locked up broke my heart. I wanted my father to be free, not tortured by Micah. He probably knew I was trying to save him, and that just made him feel worse. “I can give you all the information I have about Cato. That’s still worth something.”

“What information? Access to bank accounts? Security measures? Codes into his residence?”

“Well…no.”

“Then what?” he asked, laughing slightly. “What valuable information do you have?”

In that moment, I understood I knew nothing. The man was a quiet enigma who hardly spoke. His thoughts were a mystery. The only part of him I was acquainted with was his dick. I knew that pretty well.

Damien looked away and sipped his wine. “You have nothing to offer.”

“You’re giving me nothing to work with.”

“You have a pussy, don’t you? Look at you. How hard is it to get this guy pussy-whipped?”

I was the one who was dick-whipped. Cato was the most amazing hunk I’d ever been with. I was just another woman in a very long line of beautiful women to him. “This guy is too smart for that. There’s no way he could become so successful by ever being stupid. You picked the wrong guy to cross. I saw him execute someone right in his driveway. You should pick a different target.”

Damien shook his head. “It’s gotta be him.”

“Why?”

“Because if we take him down, we’ll own everything—and not just the drug trade.”

“You’re forgetting his brother.” Bates was clearly just as shrewd as Cato.

“He’ll be easy to take down once we have Cato.”

I’d been out of the game for a long time, but I knew Damien was oversimplifying this task.

“Are you going to deliver or not? I should know now. It costs money to keep feeding your father. And if I can start fucking you now, I’ll stop wasting my time with this wine.” He pushed the glass away and looked me up and down.

I didn’t have a trick up my sleeve or any idea how I was going to accomplish this. Cato was too smart to fall for something so dumb. I let him conquer me in bed, but it seemed like he’d gotten me under his thumb instead of the other way around. But the thought of my father reminded me what I was fighting for. “Give me more time.”

I hadn’t spoken to Cato since I’d slipped out of his house a few days ago. Maybe he was pissed I left. Maybe he didn’t care. I had no idea. Sleeping with him might have brought us closer together, but more than likely, it had turned me into another conquest he could forget about.

If that was the case, I was screwed.

When I got off work at the gallery, I walked to the grocery store to pick up a few things to make dinner. I usually made a few meals and then brought the leftovers to work to save money—and to keep the inches off my waistline. Walking to the store was good too, since I usually sat around at the gallery all day.

I was in the canned food section when someone appeared beside me, a tall man with midnight-black hair. He was in jeans and a black t-shirt, his head tilted down like he was trying to hide his face. He came close to me, too close for someone just browsing.

“Why don’t you back up, buddy?” I pivoted my body toward him and kept my basket between us just in case I needed to hit him with it.

He turned my way slightly, an enormous grin on his face.

I recognized that grin. “Landon?”

He kept scanning the cans of beans on the rack. “Keep your voice down.”

The shock hadn’t worn off, and the warmest feeling spread throughout my chest. Hot summer days with freshly mowed grass came to mind, along with the small bikes we would leave in the roundabout. I thought of fresh cookies out of the oven at Christmas time, thought of all the times he would hide my dolls and force me to search for them. “I don’t care.” I set the basket on the ground then moved into his side for a hug. I buried my face into his chest, and I smelled his cologne, immediately recognizing it. “I can’t believe it’s you.”

Landon didn’t push me off, but he hardly gave me a pat on the back. “Pull yourself together, Siena. People are looking for me, and I know people are watching you. So get off.”

I pulled away reluctantly, heartbroken I couldn’t give my brother a proper hug. We’d never been particularly close, but blood was blood. With Father gone, he was all I had left in the world. “I’m sorry… I’m just so happy to see you.”