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Her one-word answer had the tension thickening, and Richard’s anger was beginning to match William’s as he watched his son. Ice shot through my veins when I realized her coming here was a fucking mistake. I never should have told her.
“You will not disrespect my son,” Richard growled. “Or any other man in this room. Do you understand, Katalina?”
West gripped his glass tighter, worry flickering through his gaze. Eli didn’t move a muscle, his face a cold mask. I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to make it worse. If the families didn’t think that West, Eli, and I could keep her in line, then they’d step in. And Richard was nearly as bad as William. Both of them would do whatever was needed to keep their power and control for as long as they could.
Kat clenched her hands under the table, understanding what she’d just done. After a beat of silence, her eyes widened in innocence as she looked at Richard.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t being disrespectful. I thought Eli was going to be a gentleman and let me sit.” Her voice was soft, and even though the three of us knew better, Richard’s glare dimmed slightly. “I only want to do what’s asked of me for this town. I don’t want to be a disappointment.”
She was playing this smart. It was clear she was making a stand that she refused to be left in the dark, but at the same time, she was trying to appear meek in front of Richard and William. Which I was grateful for. She didn’t need to make life worse by pissing them off. Well, Richard anyway. William had gotten a peek at her rebellion when he attempted to drug her, and I doubted he’d forgotten.
Eli reached for a chair from the table next to ours. He glared at Kat as he sat down between her and Richard. William smashed his cigar into the ashtray, keeping his eyes on Kat.
“Now that you’re here, maybe we can talk about something Richard and I discussed last week,” William said thoughtfully.
For the first time since she sat down, a slice of panic passed over her face. She covered it with a small, polite smile. “Talk about what?”
“There is a young man we’d like you to go to dinner with,” Richard answered. “He comes from a good family and is very nice.”
If I thought the tension was high before, it was nothing compared to now. Eli and West shared my disbelief as we all stared at Richard. Rage bubbled in my chest when I understood what they were doing. This was their plan. Marry her off to a guy who would listen to them. That wasn’t fucking happening.
“I’m not dating right now,” Kat blurted out, losing her calm. “I’m focusing on school and basketball.”
“We didn’t say it was a date,” William said, lighting up another cigar. “We’d only like you to meet him.”
They made it sound like a suggestion, but we all knew it was a demand. She’d meet with this guy whether she liked it or not. Kat reached for West’s glass and took a sip of his bourbon.
“I would love to meet him,” she finally said, her fake smile passing as a real one. “I’m glad you understand that I don’t want to date right now.”
“Of course,” Richard said, sharing a glance with William. I guessed it wouldn’t be long until they started pressuring her about it.
“We need to open a new business,” Richard said, changing the subject to the reason we were all here. “We’re making the deal tomorrow night and need to make sure you all are on board with it. Since it’ll be on college campus. Eli, your name will be on the lease. But you can all help out with the day-to-day operations. If you want to be a part of this, that includes you too, Katalina.”
Eli nodded, not even questioning what the business was. Kat looked a bit suspicious at being included so quickly but didn’t comment on it.
“Who is it for?” West asked as he moved to the bar to get another drink, since Kat had stolen his.
“Our friends in Detroit,” Richard replied, his gaze cutting to me. “You’ve heard of the gang, the Ghosts, while living there?”
My heart thudded. “Yes, I’ve heard of them. They’re brutal as hell.”
William nodded. “Their business has been up, and they need more money laundered. This burlesque club isn’t cutting it anymore. We need to open a second one to maintain the amount of money they’ve been sending.”
Kat was listening with rapt attention as I kept my face neutral. This was exactly the type of information I needed. Now that I knew this club was connected to that gang, I was going to have to dig around a bit more.
“Just let me know what you need me to do,” Eli told his father.
“I’ll be expecting you and West to keep track of the books at the new business.” Richard waited for them both to agree. “This will be good practice until next year, when you’ll be in charge of all the books.”
“Not a problem,” West said. “If we’re not in class or at basketball, then we’ll be there.”
“What do you need me to do?” Kat asked eagerly.
William smirked. “We expect you to do whatever West and Eli tell you to do.”
Eli didn’t cover his smug grin as Kat’s frown grew. Richard studied her, as if waiting for her to argue. She only nodded, keeping quiet.
“River, you can help too. But let West and Eli show you everything since you don’t have any experience with it,” William told me.
