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PROLOGUE
He reached for his favorite leather-bound book on the top shelf, craving the comfort it always brought him.
“I’m talking to you, old man. Pay attention!” snarled the voice behind him.
Remington Tanger Jr. sighed and turned slowly on the ladder. “I’m through listening. I’ve told you I will not be part of this. This is not why the Society was started. This is not what the original board agreed to.”
“It’s what this board agreed to,” the other man said as he moved forward. “The rest of them are all in on this, old man, so you need to get with the program.” He stared up at Tanger, his dark eyes snapping.
The bookshop lighting shone off the dome of his bald head and made him look like some sort of comic book villain. His face was pockmarked, and a long thin white line ran down his right cheek, the scar a memento from days gone by.
“I don’t care what they agreed to. None of them were part of the original founder’s circle. Not one. They are a world away from what the founders had in mind. They don’t get to change things just because they want to. There are rules. My father was one of the founding members, and our family has the least amount of turnover. I’m still alive, so I get the final say. The answer is no.”
“That’s not the right answer.” The man moved forward again and wrenched Tanger’s arm.
Tanger immediately grabbed onto the ladder with his other hand and tried to fight the villain off, but at ninety-seven, he didn’t have the strength he once had. The other man pulled harder and then reached up and smashed the fingers of Tanger’s hand holding the ladder.
Tanger instinctively let go, immediately losing his balance and falling backwards off the tall ladder. He crashed into the bookcase behind him, smacking his head on the shelf, and then landed in a heap at the bottom of the ladder with a whole shelf of books coming down on top of him.
His head felt like it might explode. He opened his eyes slowly to find the bald man leaning over him. “It was your choice, old man. You chose this.”
Tanger closed his eyes again. He supposed that was true. It was the right choice. There was no way he would have been able to live with himself otherwise. If only he’d had a chance to explain it all to Remy. But he’d left it too late. He expelled one last breath as death claimed him.
Too late.
CHAPTERONE
Thane Hawkins leaned against the bar and took a sip of his scotch. He’d never been to the top floor of Callahan Security before, and he was impressed.
The Callahan brothers had made it into a home of sorts, complete with bedrooms in the back, a chef’s dream kitchen and even a dining room. But the centerpiece of the place was where they were all gathered at the moment—a great room with large comfy sofas and chairs, a big screen TV above the fireplace, and the top shelf bar area Hawk leaned against. It was the epitome of luxurious comfort in the middle of New York City. No wonder their employees loved them. The Callahan brothers had thought of everything. Made him wonder what the gym one floor down was like. Five floors to do what they wanted with. Must be nice.
He took another sip of his drink and enjoyed the warmth spreading through his gut. It was a dark February night out there, and New York was in the clutches of a cold snap. The roaring fire on the far side of the room cheered the whole space up, and he once again felt truly grateful for the invite.
“Can I refresh your drink?” Logan Callahan asked. Always the consummate host, he reached for Hawk’s glass as he pushed over a large charcuterie tray loaded with meats, cheeses, crackers, olives, fruits, and veggies.
“Sure.” Hawk smiled. “Thanks for inviting me. This is an amazing space.”
Logan smiled. “Thanks. It’s a great place for all of us to relax and spend a bit of down time when going home isn’t an option.”
“Jameson Drake is going to have to up his game. We don’t have anything like this in our offices.”
Gage Callahan grinned. “Drake hasn’t been here, or I’m sure he’d have done something similar.”
Hawk shook his head. “Yeah, no. If he saw this, he’d tell you not to let any of his people know. He wouldn’t want to build this type of thing all over the world. If he did it for one, he’d end up having to do something for all of them.”
“Hey, Hawk,” Alex Buchanan said as she approached the bar. She studied the charcuterie board, snagged a piece of cheese, and tossed it into her mouth.
Mitch Callahan came right up behind her and did the same thing while resting his other hand on her hip. “Hawk, good to see you. Thanks for coming.”
“Thanks for the invite. Is there an occasion I don’t know about?”
Lacy Carmichael piped up from across the room, “No. Logan and I thought it was just time to get all of us together so we can catch up and relax a little.”
“It’s been crazy around here.” Mitch grabbed a small plate off the bar top and loaded it with a variety of appetizers.
Hawk nodded. “I spoke with Jake Boxer the other day. He said you all are inundated with work and struggling to keep up.”
“I can’t believe this!" came from across the room, followed by a string of curses.
