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Lorcan takes his time setting down his coffee cup, dabbing the corners of his mouth with his floral pocket square before painstakingly rearranging it in his top pocket. I hide my smirk. Since meeting his wife, Poppy, his anger management has been in top form. Now, his favorite brand of torture is making people wait.
Eventually—
“I’m a man who puts all of his eggs in one basket, Mr. Belsky. Because I’m very certain the basket won’t break.”
“I’m sorry if I’ve confused you. I’m not here to ask you to donate to my campaign. I’m here to warn you.”
A low whistle escapes my lips. “Big mistake,” I mutter, shaking my head.
Lorcan inhales through his nose, then breathes out through his mouth. Bosses have to be levelheaded—a personality trait that doesn’t come naturally to my cousin.
He taps his bottom lip thoughtfully, then says, “You’ve come here today to send the Quinn family a warning? If I were you, I’d think very carefully about the next sentence out of your mouth.”
But neither Belsky nor his men flinch at the thinly veiled threat from the most powerful man on the East Coast.
Interesting.
I turn my full attention to Leo Belsky and look at him more closely. Studying the parts that make him whole will help me understand why the fuck he has the balls to send the Quinn family a warning.
Rigid posture, bespoke suit. Ruby ring glinting on his pinky. A heavy, gold chain that disappears behind the collar of his shirt. The staccato words that slip between his thin lips are meticulously pronounced. There’s something about him… something I can’t put my finger on…
Something’s not right.
“Prepare an exit strategy.”
“I’m not sure I’m following,” Lorcan drawls.
“From New York, Mr. Quinn. Because when I become governor, I won’t tolerate any form of organized crime.”
The air swirls, hot and heavy, with the weight of his words.
It’s me who breaks the silence with a low chuckle.
“You’ve gotta be shitting us.” I glance at Lorcan. “He’s shitting us, right? Or have I stepped into the fucking twilight zone?”
Belsky’s eyes dart to me, still cautious. “I’m afraid I’m not. I intend to take the seat with the highest integrity. My office and I won’t be privy to any bribes or strong-arming.” He clasps his hands together in his lap and bows his head. “My suggestion would be that you get your affairs in order and retreat back to Boston. I have no interest in what happens outside of New York State.”
It’s Lorcan’s turn to chuckle. A deep, filthy noise that makes Belsky’s armchair guards twitch their fingers toward their holsters.
“And what happens if we choose to stay?” His eyes twinkle in the same way they do when his kids ask him a dumb question over Sunday breakfast. And I don’t blame him—this asshole can’t be serious.
“Well…” Belsky’s hand dips into his suit jacket. “Whoa—” He startles when he finds himself looking down the barrel of my gun. Instantly, his guards draw theirs and point them at me. Belsky holds out his palms, eyebrows raised. “It’s just paper,” he says, eyes never leaving me as he slowly pulls out a brown envelope. “See? No weapon.”
I lower my strap, but I don’t put it away, resting it on the arm of the chair instead. One of his men hand Lorcan the papers, which he begins to lazily flick through, and I can tell by the smirk on his lips that he’s still not taking this asshole seriously. It’s only a matter of time before he’s finished playing games and will order me to drag his ass down to the Tunnels and punish him for wasting our time.
But me? I’m not sitting so easy anymore. My back is up, and I just gotta figure out why.
A knock on the door interrupts the silence.
“Coffee?” A bubbly blond server appears in the doorway, rolling a trolley across the plush carpet. She anxiously eyes Belsky’s guards as she lowers the tray to the coffee table in front of him. “Allow me,” she mutters, reaching for the coffee pot.
“Thank you, but I’ll manage.”
“I insist—”
They both reach for the coffee pot at the same time, causing the hot brown liquid to slosh out of the spout and over Belsky’s gold Rolex.
He flinches, then growls something too quiet to hear. Was that another language?
