34
It’s been a month since we burned Jax and Chris and I’d basically forgotten JD’s statement about the missing women and the auctions. I was preoccupied with business dealings and I had taken the time to mourn them properly which meant that I had yet to meet with Marcus and Jasper.
I was in the dressing room putting on my tie when Rylee made an appearance in the doorway and looked me up and down. I had hardly seen her today and she was dressed to go out.
“Where are you off to?” she asked me.
“The Drake, I have to meet with Marcus and Jasper. Are you joining me?” I asked her.
“Hannah invited me to go out with her, so I guess I’ll see you there,” she said with a smile.
“You’d rather go with Hannah than me?” I asked her as I turned to face her.
“Well since you’re asking so nicely,” she said and started playing with my tie.
“We can all go as a group, Rev needs to sit in on the meeting as well,” I said to her my hand trailing up her arm.
“Keep your hands to yourself,” she said as she took a step backwards.
“Or what?” I asked her moving around her and effectively trapping her against the wall.
“Or I won’t tell you that I’m not wearing any underwear,” she said and ducked under my arm running out of the room.
“You’re killing me!” I yelled as she laughed.
We drove to The Drake in two cars and Rylee crossed her legs, letting her dress ride up her thigh and the car veered slightly off the road as I watched her. She laughed and pulled her dress down as I focused back on the road.
I parked the car in the alleyway behind Rev’s car and Andre stepped out of the shadows to open Rylee’s door for her. Max stepped out of the second car behind us and appeared next to Andre. He extended a hand to Rylee and helped her out of the car.
“Evening Mr. and Mrs. Grey,” Andre greeted us.
“Anything to report Andre?” I asked him and he shook his head.
“All clear on this side,” he said.
The noise inside The Drake was deafening and we made our way to the next floor where the music wasn’t as loud and there were numerous tables scattered about with cocktail servers doing the rounds.
“Lucas! Finally,” Jasper said loudly as I made my way to his table with Rylee following behind me.
“Aww Jasper did you miss me?” I asked him as we shook hands.
“And the lovely Rylee,” he said as I slapped him hard on his chest.
“Eyes on her face man,” I said and he laughed.
“I see your friends have arrived as well,” Jasper said as he indicated towards Cindy.
“Marcus, Cindy, good to see you again,” I said as I shook hands with Marcus and gave Cindy a kiss on her cheek. I didn’t miss the flash of jealousy in Rylee’s eyes.
“You must be Rylee,” Cindy said with a smile and hugged her.
“Scotch on the rocks for me and a white wine for Rylee,” I said to the server as she stopped next to our table.
Everyone else ordered their drinks and we settled down as Marcus and Jasper introduced themselves and shook hands. We made small talk until our drinks arrived and Jasper produced a set of documents from his briefcase.
“Our lawyers have gone over your proposal and the numbers look good. For the first six months we’ll consistently order twenty cases of wine per week whereby it will increase to a hundred cases per month after the initial six months,” Jasper said as he handed the documents to me.
I scanned them quickly and saw that Jasper had already signed. This meant our numbers were looking good too because Jasper was never in a hurry to sign a contract or make new business dealings. He had a slight smile on his face as he handed me his pen. I signed the contract and looked at a smiling Marcus.
“Our initial introduction of your wine to one of our hotels went so well that we have a backlog of orders for it,” I said and handed him the contract.
“This is great. Have you given more thought to the personalized brand you want to use?” Marcus asked as he signed the contract.
“Yes, Jasper will mail you the design we have chosen and I’ll have the contract copied and mailed to you first thing in the morning,” I said.
“So here’s to our new business venture,” Jasper said as he raised his glass.
“To our new wine range, The Drakon,” I said.
Hannah and Rev found us upstairs and she dragged Rylee away to go dance with her. Jasper filled Rev in on the new business deal and we celebrated some more. I wasn’t worried about Hannah or Rylee inside The Drake, I had enough lair members working here to know that nobody would come near them.
“So I heard a funny story,” Jasper said as he eyed me.
“And I’m sure you’re going to share it with us,” I said and emptied my glass.
“Just outside of Aurora, a car was found with a body inside, it was so flattened that they had to pull the car apart to get to the body inside. Took them a few hours at first to realize there was someone in there. They finally managed to make an identification when they found his head under the seat,” Jasper said and looked at me.
“Really,” I said and ordered another drink.
“The remains were identified as JD Hill,” he mused with a smile as he played with his glass.
“Now that is interesting,” I said.
“Who’s JD Hill?” Marcus asked and Jasper laughed.
“JD was in Lucas’s custody for retribution, his execution was approved by the Elders,” Jasper said.
“I see, so why is it so interesting that he’s dead then,” Marcus said.
“Lucas was supposed to hand his body back to his lair after the execution, but instead he was found just outside the borders of Aurora,” Jasper said and I shook my head slightly.
“You let him go?” Marcus asked me.
“Yeah I did,” I said.
“Then how the hell did he end up mutilated and with no head attached to his body miles from where you live?” Jasper asked me.
“I said I’d let him go, I never said I wouldn’t kill him,” I said and Jasper laughed.
“How the fuck did you manage that one?” he asked.
“You do know that Lucas rides his dragon,” Cindy said as she watched us with interest.
“You what?” Marcus asked.
“I ride my dragon, so that’s what I did. I gave him a fifteen minute head start just to give him that taste of freedom and then I set off on my dragon, he broke the rear window and I slid down his tail into the car and stabbed JD a few times in his neck with a knife,” I said casually.
“You’re crazy,” Marcus said as he looked at me.
“Maybe, but I don’t like being fucked with,” I said seriously.
“Remind me never to get on your bad side,” Marcus said and Jasper laughed again.
“Nah, Lucas has a real soft heart unless it’s to do with his family,” he said and slapped me on the back.
“That’s true,” Cindy said.
“No wonder nobody’s ever tried to take your lair,” Marcus said.
“Respect and honor Marcus, that’s the basis of how I treat my dragonkin, we’re all equals here and my people know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to ensure their safety and prosperity,” I said.
“I believe that too,” he said.
“Jasper we need to talk some lair business before you leave for Chicago,” I said to him.
“Sure, I’m here for the weekend,” he said.
“How did you two end up as friends? You’re supposed to be opposing Sires so close to each other,” Marcus asked.
“Lucas came to see me when he was seventeen, he’d just gotten his dragon. I had allegiances with his father and the other Sire in town, Joseph McIntyre. Lucas basically sat in my restaurant and told me to choose. He was a smart kid even back then, I told him to piss off until he took over his lair. So on his eighteenth birthday he showed up again and asked me to my face what my choice was going to be. I had laughed in his face back then until he put three contracts in front of me and told me his expansion plans. I was so impressed that day though I never told him that, he was the obvious choice and the rest as they say is history. We’ve been business partners and friends ever since,” Jasper said.
“So you were a cocky bastard even at eighteen,” Marcus said.
“Even before that,” I said and we laughed.
“Why do you hate the McIntyre lair so much?” he asked me and I clenched my jaw tightly.
“Because Joseph McIntyre killed my parents,” I said to him.
“Shit Lucas I’m sorry I didn’t know,” Marcus said.
“I have no proof otherwise he’d be dead, but he’ll get his day of reckoning and I’ll be the one to give it to him,” I said.
“And I’ll be right there beside you,” Jasper said.
“Excuse me,” I said as my phone vibrated and I looked at the text.
I made my way downstairs and I saw Hannah and Rylee in the VIP area with Rev glaring at people. Preston and Jennifer was there too and I nodded at them. I walked to the bar and ordered another drink when I felt her arm around my waist.
“Good evening Sire,” she said close to my ear as she leaned in to me.
“Hello Tessa,” I said and placed my arm around her shoulder.
“I want to bring my friend Nadia to your office tomorrow, I think you’ll find beneficial use for her,” Tessa said.
“With regards to what exactly?” I asked her.
“She knew JD Hill and now that he’s dead she’s less afraid to come forward,” she said.
“About?”
“Lucas, just keep an open mind please. She’s been through hell and it took a lot of convincing from me for her to even talk to you. She’s deathly afraid, she didn’t leave my apartment for weeks in fear of JD finding her but I convinced her that you’d help,” she said as she stood even closer to me whispering so nobody could overhear us.
“Have her in my office at nine tomorrow morning, I’ll listen to what she has to say and then I’ll see how I can help your friend,” I said.
“You’re the best Lucas!” she said and gave me a kiss on my cheek. I turned around as she left and saw Rylee glaring at me intently. This was just fucking great. I was sure Rylee wouldn’t believe that it was all innocent.
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