Free Cash Money (Bad Money #4) by Ali Parker

run, and thanks to being dragged back into the world of narcotics, I've not been very present in my establishment lately."
    "So many big words." He leaned forward, his brown hair longer than she remembered, but clean and pulled back into a ponytail.
    "How are you out here in public without a concern for the police? They're looking everywhere for you.” Kate ordered a bottle of water from the waitress.
    "Is this one not okay?" The young girl picked up the glass already sitting in front of Kate.
    "Nope. I'd rather have a closed bottle." Kate glanced up at her. A glass of water sitting on the table with Billy across from it would most likely have something swirling within it. He couldn't be trusted in the slightest, and she wasn't going to play the fool. It would leave her strapped to a bed, or missing a hand.
    "People see what they want to see, Kate. The obvious is almost always missed." He stretched his arms out wide and leaned back. He looked like he was sixty instead of thirty. It was disturbing, chilling. "Take you, for instance."
    "Yes. Please do." She reached up and took the water bottle before turning her attention back to Billy.
    "You could have easily gotten out of your situation when you were a girl. The obvious choice would have been to call the authorities and file a claim, but you didn't. You waited for someone to save you." He lifted his eyebrow.
    "Yes, well, sometimes children are ignorant to the idea of staying with the evil you know rather than the one lurking in the darkest corners of the street." She leaned back and studied him, wondering how the fuck he had the nerve to sit in the middle of New Orleans after his face had been pasted all over the TV only days before.
    "Now, now... I wasn't evil back then. Losing too many times over my life has left me a bit calloused. Can you blame me?" He lifted his wine glass to his lips and studied her.
    "This is fun, reminiscing and all, but what do you want? I honestly have no desire to sit around and shoot the shit with you."
    "Right. A businesswoman. I'd almost forgotten while I was fucking you in my head." He licked at his lips and never took his eyes off of her. "I want your position, which is rightly mine. I thought perhaps implicating you in a few murders would help, but you know old habits die hard. Me and my damn need to take a charm from my victims. It's probably more than obvious that the murders at your place were my doing, but I believe the cops are at least curious of your involvement with me."
    "My innocence is easy enough to prove. I wasn't in town for most of the murders." She shrugged, still a little taken back by the fact that she was sitting across the table from Billy Turner having a calm discussion.
    "Right, but all the cops need is a few too many times of someone on the radar and they start to believe that they're missing something. I promise." He smirked. "I want your position and your help."
    "Help with what?" She waved off the server. She wasn't eating with Billy. Her time was running out to sit still for much longer.
    "There is a guy in New York who works closely with a Zandra supplier in Russia. I want his name. Go up there and get it for me." He licked at his lips as his eyes darkened.
    "No." Kate picked up her glasses and gave him a shit-eating grin. "Best of luck with everything. You're ballsy. I'll give you that."
    "Kate. I'm not a man to play games, you know this, baby."
    A hand clamped down on the back of her shoulder, and she glanced up to see Reni standing behind her with a scowl on his face.
    "Reni. What a pleasant surprise." She patted his hand and glanced back to Billy. "Your time is limited and you know it. Move on from here or they're going to get you."
    Billy wasn't the only one with nerves of steel, and though she was playing a dangerous game, she couldn't help it. The fucker across the table had almost ruined her for life. Victor was dead, and if there was a way to get close enough to Billy without losing her soul over it, he