“We are renovating the place, Dante. Plans are being drawn up as we speak!” He puffs out his chest slightly and a smile peppers his face, thinking he has the perfect cover. The mere look of him makes me want to put my knife in him, to cut him from belly to throat. I hate liars. I hate people who keep things from me. Again, flashes of my ex-wife flick in my memory; of her being the biggest liar and disappointment of my thirty-five years on this earth.

I stop a few feet away from him and chuckle, low and threatening. He obviously takes me for a complete moron and has severely underestimated who I am and what I am capable of. A problem I am happy to rectify.

“Try again,” I grit out, shaking my head to feign disappointment as I see Carter and my team move strategically around me, knowing what is about to happen. Dominic’s men stay still, their eyes roaming the movement, and the smile falls from Dominic’s face.

He looks at me, his face becoming red with fury. The man doesn’t like being talked down to. None of us do, but he is so slimy, he belongs down in the hole he crawled out of. If it wasn’t for him, then my now ex-wife wouldn’t be addicted to drugs, wouldn’t be dancing on a pole, and would be the mother my son deserves instead of the sad excuse for a life that she now is.

“Perhaps we can meet later this week. I can get the building plans for you then, show you what we have in store for the place,” he says, almost threateningly, and I tilt my head, not liking the tone he is taking with me.

His men start to move around the room, sensing the change in their leader’s demeanor, positioning themselves near my team. We are equal numbers, but they have nothing on us. I rub my chin and tilt my head while I pretend to mull over his offer, as my men position themselves better, edging backwards to the front door. He is a complete fool for thinking that we will just walk away, but I will use that to my advantage.

Sebastian will be annoyed if we can’t put this to bed and get our money back, so as Dominic looks around at his team, I lift my gun. The warm metal presses firmly in my palm, and by the time he looks back at me, the barrel is pointing directly at his face.

“Now, what makes you think I have time to see you this week, Dominic? I am a very busy man, surely you know this?” At my taunting, his eyes drill into me. To anyone else, he would be intimidating, but to me, he is nothing.