Chapter 3 - THE INTERROGATIONWhen I was brought into the penthouse office, the luxury was suffocating. Gold-leaf ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a desk that looked like it was carved from a single piece of obsidian.
Ricardo sat behind the desk, looking like a deity of death. Nero walked in, his head held high, and sat firmly at my left side.
"Charlotte Holloway," he said, his voice dropping into that smooth, predatory tone he used to end careers. "You walked into my life tonight. That's a dangerous thing to do. Many people spend their whole lives trying to stay in the shadows of my world."
"I don't live in your world," I replied, standing tall. "I live in the real one. The one where people have to pay rent, buy groceries, and bury their husbands."
His eyes flickered at the mention of my husband. He stood up, slowly circling the desk until he was within arm's reach. Nero didn't growl. He just stared at him with an intelligence that seemed to unnerve the boss of the Maryland underworld.
"Your husband, Tobias," Ricardo said. "He had a way with animals. A way with secrets, too."
"He had a way of being honest," I corrected. "Something I’m guessing you aren't familiar with."
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Ricardo laughed, a short, humorless sound. "Honesty is a luxury, Charlotte. I deal in currency, fear, and control. Why did my dog choose you?"
I looked him dead in the eye. "Maybe he’s tired of fear, too."
