Ruined Secrets (Perfectly Imperfect #4)

“From what I know, Luca’s mother wasn’t mentally stable,” he continues. “Couldn’t deal with the obligations that came with the position of being a capo’s wife, or being married to someone so much older than her. Our father was a hard man. She was young and sheltered. Eventually, she crumbled under the pressure.”

“So, what did your brother expect when he agreed to marry me? That we’d be living like roommates until he deems me old enough to upgrade my status to a wife and have sex with me?”

Damian cringes. “Probably.”

“Oh, he’s in for a surprise, then.”

“Don’t push him too much. You’ve already managed to mess with his head quite well. Luca is hell to deal with when he’s agitated.”

“I don’t think I messed up anything. He still doesn’t give a fuck about me.”

Damian takes a slow sip of his coffee but doesn’t remove his eyes from mine. “Do you know what my brother did when he found Simona in bed with her bodyguard?”

I gulp my juice. “She cheated on him?” Who in their right mind would cheat on Luca?

“Luca shot the bodyguard in the head, and threw Simona out, naked, in the middle of the night. When the maid told me what was happening, I came out of my room to see if he was okay.” He shakes his head. “Luca told the staff to clean up, greeted the girl I had over, then climbed up to the third floor, and went to bed. The next morning, he said he hadn’t slept that well in ages.”

“So?”

“So, imagine my surprise when I saw him storming out of the house last night, furious. I asked what was going on, and he said, and I quote, ‘She went to a fucking club,’ then got into his car and was gone in seconds.” Damian bursts out laughing and gets up from the table. “I never thought I’d live to see a day when my brother chased after a woman.”

I follow Damian with my eyes, wondering if he could be right. Luca jealous? Because of me?

“I’m not buying anything before trying out the product, Bogdan,” I say into the phone and flip through the papers on my desk. I’ve spent the whole morning in my downtown office, going over the cash flow of our real estate business.

“It has a twenty-inch barrel and a rifle-length gas system. A candy, believe me,” he says.

“How much?”

“They’re a steal at seven hundred dollars apiece,” he says, “but I’ll take six fifty for each if you get more than five hundred.”

“I’ll take four hundred for six hundred dollars per piece.”

“No way, Luca. I’m selling last year's model for that price.”

“All right. I’ll check with Dushku, then. Maybe he can work with that price.”

“You’re not going to the Albanians!” he barks. “We agreed on exclusivity two years ago.”

“We also agreed that you will be delivering the goods I ordered,” I say.

“It was a one-time fuckup, and you were very clear in showing your displeasure.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” I turn the page and skim the numbers on the next one. “I’ll take four hundred pieces at six hundred dollars a pop. Or I go to Dushku.”

“Fuck you, Luca,” he says, then mumbles something in Romanian. “Okay. Anything else?”

“A sample for me to try out first. If I like it, we are a go. Send me ten more crates of grenades, as well. And Bogdan, if I receive the wrong goods again, you’re done. Are we clear on that?”

There’s more mumbling in Romanian and then, “Very. I’ll call you next week to confirm the shipment details.” Bogdan bites out and cuts the call.

There's a knock on my office door, and Donato comes inside. “Luca. What’s going on?”

“We have a problem, Donato. Have a seat.” I nod toward the chair on the other side of the desk and put the stack of papers in front of him. “This is the cash flow statement from the real estate business.”

He takes the printout and starts looking over the numbers. “This seems fine.”

“On its own it's good, but not when it can't keep up with the revenues from gun sales.” I take the sheet of paper with the expected profits I calculated from the weapons deals and place it over the one he’s looking at. “We need the real estate figures to double so Damian can launder all the money. Sit down with Adam and find me some properties that require significant investments. Damian says he can clear at least five million a month through renovations expenses.”