Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 88114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
His Range Rover is parked with the engine running, and I spot Finn standing up near the house. He grins down at me, gives me a thumbs-up, and winks.
I blush even harder. I should’ve worn pants.
The drive is spent mostly in silence. I ask Kellen about his businesses and he gives me short, terse answers. I take the hint and stare out the window at the landscape as it slowly shifts from a sparse desert to a bustling metropolis.
I love Phoenix. It’s a big city with all that brings, but it’s set in the middle of a damn desert, and it’s got almost a suburban vibe. Lots of single-family homes, lots of cars everywhere. Kellen takes me into downtown, in the middle of the massive business towers, and parks in a lot across the street from an Italian place nestled in a small strip of high-end stores.
“This is us,” he says, opening the tall wooden door for me. It smells incredible inside: tomato sauce and wine and garlic and something spicy. The hostess smiles and greets him as Mr. Kellen and we head right through the main dining room. The place is packed and I actually feel somewhat underdressed—most of the men are in suits and the majority of women are looking like they’re going out for a wedding, which says a lot about me if I think wedding is the only possible reason someone might want to get dressed up.
Kellen takes me to a quiet table in the very back where a man’s sitting drinking wine alone and picking at a plate of mussels.
“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.