Chapter 198

Logan

As I made my way up the staircase and away from the glitz and the glamor of the last minute “holiday” party, the sounds of the music and the clinking of glasses faded.

But all the while, Ella’s words swirled around inside my head. I kept thinking about her mixed signals tonight, about how wonderful she had felt standing next to me, only for her to remind me that we weren’t together.

Of course I knew that we weren’t together. Did she really need to point it out?

“I think she’s bluffing,” my wolf said, agitated by her push and pull. “She’s confused. Scared, maybe.”

“Let’s not speculate,” I replied, although secretly I hoped he was right. “We’ve got bigger fish to fry tonight.”

Hartman, the man who I had been waiting for all night, trailed along beside me with his hands in his pockets. Neither of us uttered a single word as we made our way down the dimly lit hallway toward my office. In fact, it wasn’t until we walked into my office and shut the door behind us that we finally spoke.

“So, Logan,” he said, his voice smooth and confident, “This is quite the party. All of this for little old me?”

I chuckled as I crossed the room to my desk, motioning for him to take a seat in the plush armchair. I sat in my own seat behind my desk and regarded him with a cool expression on my face.

“It’s not just for you, Hartman,” I chided. “Although I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

He nodded and pulled a small box out of his pocket. When he opened it, there were cigars inside. He offered me one, which I didn’t take, but I motioned for him to go ahead and enjoy one himself.

“Let’s get straight to it,” I said, leaning forward as he lit his cigar. “What have you found so far?”

Hartman lit his cigar with a puff of smoke and leaned back in his chair, rolling the cigar between his fingers as he regarded me. “I’ve been doing some digging, Logan, and it seems your suspicions about Marina and Harry are well-founded. They’ve got their hands in some pretty dirty business.”

I nodded, my jaw clenched. “Tell me everything.”

Hartman began to lay out the information he had gathered over the past few weeks, painting a picture of deceit, corruption, and criminal activities that ran deep within Marina and Harry’s empire.

As he spoke, a sinking feeling settled in my chest. It was worse than I had imagined, and I knew that if we didn’t act quickly, they would continue to slip through the cracks of the justice system. For Ella’s and her sister’s safety, those two needed to be stopped. For my own reputation, they needed to be stopped.

Ella wasn’t aware of this, but I had hired Hartman the second I figured out that Harry and Marina were behind all of this. Hartman was a man known for not only his intellect but his connections, and he was loyal to the highest bidder.

And, as it just so happened, I was willing to part with enough cash to buy his loyalty—for a time.

The thing was, though, Hartman’s services were typically out of my budget. He was a bit dirtier than I would have liked, too, with his fingers being in one too many pots of honey for any honest man’s liking.

But… Hartman hated my brother. With a burning passion. He had just been waiting for the right moment to take him down, and with a little extra cash to sweeten the deal, he was finally all mine.

When Hartman finally finished telling me about all of Marina and Harry’s illegal activities—everything from illegal gambling to underground boxing rings to money laundering and beyond—his cigar was half-finished and it was already halfway to midnight.

“So,” I said, running my hand over my weary face as I glanced at the clock, “it’s just as I always suspected. But in this business, you know as well as I do that this sort of stuff isn’t uncommon in the slightest.”

Hartman nodded and took another puff of his cigar, further filling the room with the scent of sweet tobacco. “Yep,” he said. “That could be a problem. They’ve got buddies, too. Buddies with squeaky clean records who would cover their ugly asses for them in an instant.”

I sighed. “So what’s the plan here, Hartman?” I asked. “I need those two behind bars for a very long time. And soon.”

“And that’s where we’ve got the kicker,” Hartman said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “I know about their Achilles heel.”

I leaned in, my interest piqued. “Go on.”

“Your brother Harry took a trip to Venice last year with his girlfriend, correct?” Hartman asked, his eyes gleaming with confidence.

I nodded. “He did.”

Hartman grinned. “And did you know that, while they were on their little vacation, they just so happened to piss off one of the biggest mobsters in the city?”

At Hartman’s words, I quirked an eyebrow. I had no idea about any of this. All I remembered was that Harry and Marina went on a vacation when they first started officially dating. They went to Venice, and then they came home.

But… they came home a week early.

And then they bought that stupid, ugly fucking yacht.

“Listen,” Hartman continued as though reading my confused expression, “your brother and his little girlfriend got into a lot of trouble in Venice. Something to do with the mobster’s daughter, a few bullets, and a whole lot of cash.”

“So what are you saying?” I asked, swallowing.

Harman smirked and took another puff of his cigar. “I’m saying that your brother and his girlfriend have bigger enemies than you could ever fathom,” he said, dropping his voice even lower. “All it’s gonna take is a well-set trap, a few calls, and then it’s over for them. We just need to make sure they can’t run off before that happens.”

I hesitated for a moment, my mind racing with the possibilities. This was all news to me, news that was both terrifying and exciting all at once. Finally, it seemed as though the end of Harry and Marina’s reign of terror was in sight.

But I needed to set something straight.

“Hartman,” I said, my tone firm, “I want you to promise me something.”

He raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to continue.

“I trust whatever trap you’ve got planned out,” I said, my voice unwavering, “but I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I won’t stoop to their level. Understood?”

Hartman regarded me for a moment, and then a slow smile spread across his face. “You’ve got a conscience, Logan. I respect that.”

I extended my hand across the desk, and Hartman shook it firmly, sealing our agreement. “We have a deal, then,” he said.

“So,” I said, leaning back in my chair. I steepled my fingers, eyeing him from across my desk. “Tell me all about this trap.”

Hartman’s grin widened, and he slowly leaned forward, reaching over to put out his cigar in my ashtray. The red embers scattered across the glass, and tiny tendrils of smoke curled up, swirling into the air.

“Alright, Logan,” he said, his cool gaze meeting mine. “It’s like this…”