“Burke,” Kellen says, shaking the man’s hand, and I recognize his face. He’s been around the manor a few times. He’s older, in his fifties, with lots of wrinkles, a big gut, a loud laugh, and light blue eyes. His head is square, his hair is white, and he’s in a polo shirt and a pair of striped golf shorts like he doesn’t give a shit that he stands out.
“Kellen, good of you to join me.” His eyebrows raise when he spots me. “And you brought a lovely date.”
“You know Tara Caruso.”
“The gardener?” Burke barks a hearty laugh and shakes my hand. “You clean up good.”
“Uh, nice to meet you,” I say, glancing at Kellen, who seems surprisingly annoyed at Burke’s comment. I didn’t peg him as the protective type, but maybe I was wrong.
We sit in the booth. Kellen orders wine for the table and Burke offers his mussels, which we ignore. I’m shifting in my seat, not sure what the hell is happening, but I’m slowly piecing it together.
This is a business meeting and Kellen, that rat bastard, dragged me along.
Burke is one of the Hayle family captains. He doesn’t work for the construction business, but he’s a part of the more illicit dealings, and as Burke and Kellen make small talk about mutual acquaintances, favorite places to eat and drink, it becomes obvious what we’re doing here.
Kellen’s trying to get support from the dark side.
The wine comes and I drink half my glass right away. Kellen notices and smiles tightly like he’s annoyed, but screw him. I can do what I want.
“All right, Kellen. You got me to come out on my day off. I had to drive in circles for like an hour to make sure I wasn’t followed because if that snake Hugh realizes I’m meeting with you, he’ll have a fucking stroke and try to put a bullet in my head. Let’s skip the shit and get to it, shall we?”
“I respect that, and thank you for meeting with me,” Kellen says, placing his hands on the table. “Although I doubt you need to worry much about Hugh. If you think he’s competent enough to realize you’re here, then you severely overestimate your new chief.”
“Careful,” Burke says, sounding good-natured.
“Hugh is a front office guy. Nice smile, good selection of ties, firm handshake. But he’s a family boy. He’s good in a board meeting and looks nice in the marketing materials, but he doesn’t know how to run a crew. He doesn’t understand the real business like I do.”
“I hear you’ve been doing well for yourself.” Burke’s smile is edged now. “Got lots of business.”
“You haven’t heard. You’ve felt it. We both know I’ve been taking money from your pockets for months now.”
“All right, you prick.” Burke leans back. “Why the fuck should I care about any of this?”
“Because Hugh isn’t going to last long. He’s going to drive this family into a fucking sinkhole and sooner or later, you’ll come begging for me to drag you back out. If we wait until then, a lot of blood will spill. But we have a chance to change things now without a fucking civil war.”
Burke rumbles and I’m looking between them, heart racing. Kellen glances at me sideways, a little smile on his lips, and I take another long drink.
He’s doing this on purpose.
The dinner, this meeting. He wants Hugh to know I was with him. Probably wants Hugh to know Burke was here too. Finn told Kellen about my dilemma and Hugh’s offer, and now Kellen’s trying to force my hand. I don’t know if I should be impressed, angry, or what. I want to scream and run out of here. But I’d bet my life this room is halfway filled with Kellen’s men and associates, and there’s no way I’m walking out with my head on my shoulders if I get up before this meeting is through.
I sit back and drink my wine and stew in my anger, fucking Kellen.
“You think I should go against what Orin wanted and back you instead of Hugh, all because, what, you run a good gangster crew? The Hayle family’s a lot more than that.”
“I was born into this family. I’m a Hayle. I know what it means.”
Burke waves that off. “You’ve been away for a long time, kid, no offense. You’ve got a good crew and good guys but backing you is a risk, and I don’t like taking risks without obvious reward.”
“There will be rewards for those that follow me from the beginning. Positions of power in the new family structure. I’m not playing this game to keep things as they’ve always been, Burke. I’m going to scour the earth of all the stupid, fat, worthless rat bastards that plague this family and make our people lean and hard again. You can help me do that.”
Burke picks up his wine and takes a sip. He smiles at the glass and puts it back down then rubs his face with both hands. “I’ll be honest, it’s tempting.”
“I have everything Hugh does. Pedigree, training. But I have so much more than him. I’ve been on these streets and I know what it takes to succeed. Hugh is soft.”
“The whole family is soft, according to you.”
“You included, Burke, but I’ll whip you into shape if you join me.”