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“Excellent,” he said as we shook. “I do so very much look forward to working with you.”
Jose was the perfect gentleman, smooth and charming. And that only made him that more terrifying.
What I'd gotten myself into, I could only guess.
Chapter 22
Connor
Iwas seated in my Jaguar across the street from Claire’s office when I spotted him. Jose Burciaga himself, one of the highest-ranking members of the Burciaga Cartel, strolled out of the law offices with a most pleased smile on his face. He wasn’t alone; two of Burciaga’s men were with him—hulking guards in sharp suits who were no doubt armed.
Jose was one of the last men I wanted to see. Eddie was still in the hospital, after all, his condition touch and go. With the partnership still on the table, the last thing I wanted to do was to risk putting it in jeopardy by giving Jose the impression that our operation was in a position of weakness. In my line of work, looking weak was simply unacceptable.
I was there for Claire, not some impromptu meeting with Burciaga. However, when one of the guards cast a glance in my direction, nodding to me then taking Jose aside for a few words, I knew that a meeting was going down, whether I wanted one to happen or not.
Jose took off his glasses and smiled in my direction, raising his hand just enough to let me know that he’d seen me. I took a deep breath, composing myself for a conversation that I most definitely did not want to have.
When I was ready, I stepped out of my car, pulling the collar of my topcoat up against the chilly wind. Burciaga and his men were already on the way over, as if wanting to make sure that I wasn’t planning on giving them the slip.
All the same, I had the chance to do some damage control.
“Connor.” Jose spoke in that same tone he always did, easy and confident, with a gilding of Latin-American charm. “A pleasure to see you out and about like this.”
He offered his hand, his wrist slightly limp as if he didn’t want me to get the impression that I was worth a full, solid handshake.
“Nice to see you too, Jose. Surprised to see you down here among the tall towers.”
He smiled. “You are right, my friend. I do prefer the peace and quiet of upstate. However, matters brought me into the heart of Boston today.”
I slightly nodded at the building behind him. “Legal matters, it looks like.”
Jose’s smile faded for a moment, indicating I'd poked into something that he didn’t feel was any of my business.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with,” he said. “More like… a problem I’d like to have nipped in the bud.”
Tension was thick in the air. I wondered if Jose was on the verge of giving a command to his goons to drop me in the middle of the street.
“Speaking of problems,” he continued. “How is Eddie?” Jose affected a heavy layer of concern onto his voice, as if he and Eddie were childhood friends and not competing interests in the process of reaching an uneasy working relationship. “I heard that he was in the hospital with some, ah, coronary issues.”
His choice of words and their precision was no accident. Eddie’s heart attack wasn’t exactly front-page news in the Boston Herald. Only a handful of people in the organization knew about what had happened. Jose likely had someone on the inside at the hospital reporting back to him.
“He’s fine, Jose. Thanks for your concern. But I gotta ask, how’d you come across that particular bit of information?”
He smiled, not bothered in the slightest by my mildly confrontational tone. In fact, he seemed amused more than anything else.
“Don’t take it personally, my friend,” he said. “We’re on the verge of a major business undertaking, my group and yours. If there’s something wrong with the head of your operation, I believe I have a right to know. It’s standard operating procedure to have… call thempequenas aveshere and there, learning what they can and chirping it into my ear.”
“Understandable.” That’s what I said, at least. In the back of my head, however, I made a note to find out just who the hell was leaking information.
“If Eddie’s out of commission or, God forbid, is on the verge of passing, then that could make matters a littlecomplicadoswhen it comes to our planned business arrangement. My bosses are very eager to know more.”
“Then here’s what you can tell them… Eddie or not, our organization is in good hands. My hands, to be specific.”
That got Jose’s attention. “Is that so?”
“It is. I’m second-in-command, and that means until Eddie is back on his feet, I’ll be the one overseeing the partnership. Any questions or concerns about it, you’ll bring to me.”
Jose nodded slowly, processing the information.
