Chapter 73

Darius's POV

"Hello, Miss Grenade. Nice of you to pick up," I purr into the phone, my voice laced with a saccharine charm that I know will only make her snort. And right on cue, she does.

"Accepting my father's little 'proposition,' are you?" she fires back, her tone so sharp it could slice glass. I feel the sting of it right in my chest, but I keep my cool, fingers tapping idly on the steering wheel. The engine's still humming beneath me; I haven't even made it home yet.

"Oh, come on. Your father's not exactly a gentleman, is he? Threatening my PI like that… That's low, even for him," I say, as if I've barely lost any sleep over the big bad man lurking in the shadows. But I can feel the weight of him—of all of them—pressing down on me, and I know she senses it too.

Grenade grunts on the other end. "Doesn't sound like you're ready for business…"