"Eva, I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I was acting little better than the entitled bastards did. You are right, it is none of my business. My only defense is, that no girl has ever questioned me about why I would want to take them on a date.

"You've given me some very private and raw information," Tristan is sure that she just told him what was in the file that he hadn't read. Likely more than what was in the file actually. "I think it only fair that I give you information about me that is just as sensitive."

"Tristan no!" Tom says all but yelling. He knows exactly what Tristan is going to tell her.

Tristan breaks eye contact with Eva and turns it to Tom. "This is my choice Tom." He turns back to Eva. "What I'm about to tell you, you could use to put me in prison for a very long time."

To say that he's captured Eva's attention would be an understatement. She looks at Tristan expectantly but with more than a little confusion. What could the man tell her that could put him in jail? No, not jail, prison he said.

"You are aware of the public side of me. But who I am is only partially known. The rest of my life is shrouded in the dark. I am the mafia boss of this city." Eva manages to hide her reaction to him and the only indication that his words had any impact on her was the rapid blinking of her eyes.

"I see." That's all she says. 

Tristan continues, a bit off center with how calmly she took it in. "I'm not a good man, neither is Tom here. My hands and his are covered in blood." Tristan can feel how angry Tom is by the stiffening of his posture and the anger coming off him. He'll have to make it up to him later, some how. It's not just his life he put in Eva's hands.

He stops speaking when Eva holds up her hand. "I think Tom's secrets should stay just that. If he ever decides to tell them to me, it will be him that does so."

Tristan is stupefied at her words and he can see from the corner of his eye that Tom is as well.

"Very well," Tristan is more than willing to give her this. "I don't deal in the flesh trade and the only ones I have in the sex trade are those that are there willingly or are there as punishment for going against me.

"I want you to know, that what you went through isn't tolerated by me in any form. The streets might not be clean, but I have done my best to clean them up." He doesn't mean the garbage strewn on the streets but how people are treated even the homeless.

"Perhaps, but the drugs you sell don't help." Tristan is confused at her words. She doesn't sound condemning at all.

Tristan shrugs his shoulders. "Supply and demand. I'm first and foremost a business man."

Eva snorts, "Sex and the flesh trade are always in demand and the supply is..."

"I may be a bad person, Eva, but even I have lines I don't cross. Yes, there is a demand for slaves. But I haven't fallen so far as to take the lives of innocents that have done nothing but be in the wrong place to catch the eye of someone to destroy their freedom and their lives. Not to mention the lives of their families and friends. I do that to my enemies, to those that intentionally cross me, not innocent people."

Eva is quiet for some time. "How long have you been in the mafia?"

"I was born into this world. My father was the Don before me. I'm twenty-four now, I took over at the age of eighteen when my parents died." Tristan tells her softly. 

Eva takes her intense look off of him and he finds himself able to breathe once more. It was like he was an animal that she had ready to dissect and was studying him to decide just where to start the dissection.

Eva takes her gaze over to Tom and pins him down. "You don't have to answer, you didn't make the promise of equalizing the information. Just how long have you been in the mafia?"

Tom finds himself helpless under her gaze and answers her question. He thinks that she'll make a good questioner should she ever decide to join the mafia. But with how Tristan feels about her he keeps his thoughts about that to himself. He's never seen Tristan so determined to date someone before. He's never cared about background checks before and never given a shit about their past.

"I've been friends with Tristan since the day he was born. It was only natural that when he started learning the mafia ways that I do so as well."

Eva relaxes her stiff pose and crosses her arms in front of her as she considers things.  "Tell me, Tristan. With all that I've told you and with what you've told me, just why the hell I should go out with you?"

Tristan swallows. What reason could he give to get her to give him a chance?

"I've given you sensitive information about myself." Tristan says feeling beads of sweat starting to form on his back. He doesn't think that he'll get a second chance at convincing her to go out with him.

Eva snorts, "Like I would live if I ever dared go to the police with what you told me. Besides, it's too vague and they couldn't do anything with it. You alluded to but never gave specifics."

Tristan looks at her earnestly, "You would never be hurt, even if you go to the police. I won't allow it."

Eva shakes her head. "Even if you didn't order it, your men, starting with Tom would. There is a code you live by. A code that would demand my death. Not even you could stop them coming after me. Basically the information you gave me would get me killed but nothing else.

"Try again."

Tristan sighs in defeat, "I can't give you a reason. Not one that would be good enough. In truth it would be better for you to not have anything to do with me. Like I said, I'm not a good man. But even though it's not in your best interest to do so, I'm asking you to give me a chance. Just go to lunch with me. If after that you don't want anything to do with me, you'll never see me again, unless it's by chance."

Eva can't believe what she's hearing. He's begging for a chance, for lunch, with her. She shakes her head in disbelief.

"I can't, even if I wanted to. I need to get back to my stall. Tania can't handle both stalls much longer. Normally she watches mine while I get lunch then I eat it there at the stall."

Tristan cants his head to the side and gives her a sexy smile. "Tell me that you are willing to go to lunch with me and I'll take care of the stall problem."

Eva looks at him suspiciously then to Tom who evades her eyes. "How?"

Tristan shakes his head, "You'll find out only if you agree to go to lunch with me first."

"By your own words you tell me I shouldn't. From my past I know I shouldn't trust you. So tell me, Tristan, why is it that for the first time in my life I feel safe? The two most dangerous men in at least a hundred miles and I feel safe with you both?"

Both Tristan and Tom look at her with those words.

"I haven't a clue, Eva. You have no reason to fear me, but I don't know why you feel safe with us." Tristan says just as clueless as she is.

"I hope I don't regret this, but okay, I'll go to lunch with you. I don't have any fancy clothes so I won't go to any of those snooty places you rich people prefer."

Tristan smiles another sexy smile even as he pulls out his phone and makes a call.

Tom does as well.

After their calls are through, "Now, just how are you going to take me to lunch when I have a stall to look after?" With those words Eva stands up and starts walking to her stall once more.

"I'm going to buy all the inventory." Tristan's words stop her in shock. She turns around and stares at him.

"If you do that, it will take days for my boss to make enough inventory to open the stall again. I can't afford to miss any days."

Tristan internally cusses himself out. He hadn't thought of that. "You won't be harmed by this, Eva. Call your boss, I'll make sure that you are paid for the days you don't work."

Eva takes out the phone and calls her boss. She hands the phone over to Tristan after she reassures her boss that everything is alright.