Chapter 190

Andrew tapped his pen against his desk to the beat of Newton’s cradle. He wished that he could have arranged this meeting at his office in the city, where it would have been beyond the eyes of Crystal and Lisa, but he couldn’t risk any of his advisors or the Werewolf Council walking in on it. That would ruin his political career.

This could all ruin his political career, actually, but Andrew didn’t care. He would risk everything to keep Crystal safe, and this was the only way that he could think to do it.

His grip on the pen tightened to the point that he could hear the pen cracking. When he opened his palm, he saw a jagged line running down the middle of the pen. He sighed and set the pen on a nearby pad of paper.

He couldn’t believe that someone had gotten past his guards. Someone had almost killed the woman he loved, while he slept beside her. This outrage could not go unanswered.

He knew that this meant compromising his morals and working with the most despicable examples of werewolf-kind that he could think of, but a part of him did not care. He told Crystal that he would protect her, and that was what he was going to do—no matter what.

Andrew heard a knock at the door, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Come in!” he called out.

Parker walked in, his posture stiffer than normal. Right behind him stood Mr. Barone, holding himself as haughtily as ever.

“Your Highness, Mr. Barone is here to see you,” Parker said, a tinge of trepidation in his tone. “He says that he has an appointment with you.”

Andrew nodded.

“Yes, thank you, Parker,” he said. “Please, ensure that we are not disturbed for the duration of our meeting.”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

Parker bowed to Andrew and walked out the door, careful to not give Mr. Barone another glance. He closed the door behind him as he exited.

Mr. Barone took a seat before Andrew indicated that he could. Andrew narrowed his eyes at the man, logging away the slight to his authority for later. Now was not the time to start petty squabbles, though.

“So, Your Highness, why did you call me here today?” Mr. Barone asked, brushing imaginary lint off his lapel as though this were the most tedious task he had to struggle through that day.

“I am sure that you have heard, Mr. Barone, but Edoardo Bianchi has escaped prison.” Andrew kept his tone as neutral as possible, and his eyes never left Mr. Barone’s.

Mr. Barone chuckled.

“Yes, I heard about that. I assume that you and Crystal are all in a tizzy over it.”

Andrew’s eyebrow twitched, but he did not let his emotions show otherwise.

“Well, what you have not heard is that Crystal’s apartment was attacked two nights ago by some of Bianchi’s best hitmen.”

“Yes, Jeffrey and your so-called ‘Special Guard’ were very effective, weren’t they?”

Andrew folded his hands together on the desk, squeezing them tightly to redirect his anger and frustration.

“How do you know about the Special Guard?” he asked, his voice measured and forcefully calm.

Mr. Barone smirked and shrugged.

“You have your sources, I have mine. Mine just happen to be very good.”

Andrew cracked his neck and squeezed his hands tighter.

“Yes, the hitmen used tranquilizers and knocked out all my guards.”

“It was a good thing you were there, though—or so I heard. A very efficient killing.”

Andrew cracked the other side of his neck and took a deep breath.

“I did what I had to do in order to protect the woman I love, much like I’m doing right now.”

Mr. Barone cocked his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Is that so? And what exactly are you doing right now to protect her?”

Andrew’s eyes darted to the door, as though ensuring that no one was going to walk in on them, then leaned conspiratorially towards Mr. Barone.

“I brought you here to make a deal.”

“You finally willing to admit that you can’t protect your little girlfriend on your own?”

Andrew snarled. The crime boss was really testing his patience, but he needed to make this meeting go in his favor.

“No. I am willing to admit that I need to make you one of my resources, though.”

Mr. Barone’s brow arched.

“You want to take me up on my offer to help protect Ms. Blanchard?”

“No, not exactly. I have a deal of my own to offer you.”

Mr. Barone nodded and hummed.

“I’m intrigued. What is it?”

“I will offer you, on an individual level, legal immunity. That means that anyone in your criminal organization can still get in trouble for their actions, but you—” Andrew internally shuddered at what he was about to say— “will not.”

“And what will I have to do in turn for this…juicy carrot?”

Andrew’s voice dropped low.

“Eliminate the Bianchi problem, permanently.”

“By any means necessary?”

“No innocent bystanders get hurt.”

Mr. Barone rubbed his chin.

“That is harder but doable.”

“So, do we have a deal?”

Mr. Barone raised his hand, as though to bring Andrew to a halt.

“Not so fast, Your Highness. This is a big job.”

Andrew’s brow furrowed.

“Yes, and I have offered you a big prize in return.”

“Perhaps, but not big enough. You’re talking about eliminating a competing crime boss without the hit being tied back to either of us. A lot of work will have to go into it to ensure that we don’t have any repercussions, and if there are, my organization will be taking the brunt of it.”

Andrew repressed the urge to roll his eyes.

“What do you want?”

“Legal immunity not just for me but for my immediate family as well.”

“Who do you mean by ‘immediate family’?”

“My wife, my daughter and three sons, my two brothers, and their wives and six children, total.”

Andrew internally cringed. That was a lot of werewolves in the criminal underworld with legal immunity. If—no, when—it came up, it would be hard to explain to his advisors and the Werewolf Council, let alone if any of his constituents heard about it.

“It’s a fair trade, Your Highness,” Mr. Barone continued. “You’re trying to protect your loved one, and I’m trying to protect my loved ones. If I do this for you, my family might have to do some illegal things in order to protect themselves from the repercussions.”

Andrew hated to admit that the crime boss had a point. He also couldn’t think of any other way to protect Crystal from this latest threat, not when Bianchi’s people had already come so close to breaching all defenses.

He took a deep breath in and out through his nostrils and nodded firmly.

“You have a deal, Mr. Barone.”

Mr. Barone held his hand out for Andrew to shake, and Andrew reciprocated.

“I think that this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship, Your Highness,” Mr. Barone said with a grin.

Andrew retracted his hand and shook his head.

“No. This deal is one and done.”

“Of course, Your Highness.” Mr. Barone stood and chuckled. “That’s what they all say.”