Dante's Marriage Pact by Day Leclaire

as he lit up, breaking more California laws and codes than Draco cared to consider.
    While the debate continued to rage, Draco leaned back in his chair and took it all in. He wished he remembered more of the history between the Dantes and the Charlestons and made a point of researching the facts as soon as possible. But one small detail captured his full attention.
    Primo described Leticia Charleston as a vengeful woman.
    Draco understood that quality. Possessed that quality. Intended to exercise his thirst for vengeance to the fullest when he found the person responsible for swindling him out of a half dozen of Dantes’ finest and rarest fire diamonds, an event that had taken place a full decade before. He’d been all of twenty at the time and overinflated with his own self-importance, eager to prove himself. That single mistake had changed him.
    Permanently.
    Primo often referred to him as the Dante troublemaker, but that wasn’t quite accurate. Draco was possibly the most deceptive of the Dantes since he hid certain elements of his personality behind a congenial, mischievous mask. But hefound he could easily slip into Leticia’s shoes and consider the matter from her point of view. Analyze how best she might go about destroying the Dantes.
    Conversation wafted over him while his family discussed their options. Once Draco satisfied himself that he’d weighed all the possibilities, he lifted a finger. Silence descended.
    Primo waved his cigar in Draco’s direction. Smoke sketched the path his hand had taken. “Speak.”
    â€œLet’s start with what we know,” he suggested. “First off, Leticia Charleston wants to alert us to the fact that she now owns a supply of fire diamonds. Based on an admittedly quick examination, I’m forced to concur with what Shayla told us. At first blush, they appear superior to ours.”
    â€œBut they’re real? They haven’t been treated?”
    â€œYes, they’re real,” Draco said in response to Sev’s questions. “And no, they haven’t been treated. Unfortunately, I can’t give you more specifics until I’ve had time to run them through a full analysis other than to say that, with a few rare exceptions, they’re better than what we have.”
    Ferocious denial exploded around him. Sev’s voice cut across them all. “You can’t be serious.”
    â€œI’m dead serious,” Draco replied. Since he was the expert, there wasn’t much they could say to refute the claim, though they wanted to. Badly. “Second. She’s offering us first refusal to lease her mines. Why?” He fixed his gaze on his grandfather. “There’s bad blood between us. And you described her as a vengeful woman.”
    Primo took his time blowing out a stream of aromatic smoke. “Cold. Bitter. A nasty creature.”
    Coming from Primo it was a damning condemnation. Draco nodded. “As mentioned, she could easily peddle her diamonds to any of our competitors. But the best I can figure, she came to us for one reason.”
    â€œWhich is?” Lazz asked impatiently.
    â€œThis gives her a sword to hold over our heads. If we don’t dance to her tune, she drops the sword and sells her stones elsewhere. The power and control are hers to wield. For as long as her mines cough up diamonds that trump our own, she can name her price and we’ll pay it. Otherwise Dantes loses its status as the only jewelry empire in the world to possess fire diamonds. Worse, if she eventually chooses to sell to our competitors, to all our competitors except us,” he emphasized, “we’ll have a lower grade of diamonds than everyone else possesses. Our fall from grace will be abrupt and hard—”
    â€œâ€”and no doubt be met with tears of joy from jewelers around the world,” Sev said sourly.
    Lazz nodded in agreement. “Ultimately, it could put us in a very precarious