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Jose and Juarez shared a look. I didn’t like it one bit.
“And that is where I feel that our arrangement needs to be altered, just a bit,” Juarez said.
“Altered?” I asked. “What the hell are you talking about? Eddie finished the negotiations months ago. This meeting was simply to formalize it, not to change anything.”
“Well,” Juarez said. “That is the nature of negotiations, they can change. In this case, the arrangement was made with Eddie Coonan. Then you became the head of the organization, Connor, only to turn it over to your brother before the earth has even settled over poor Eddie. It all looks very… chaotic. And chaos isn’t good for business.”
“What’re you suggesting?” Kellan asked.
Juarez grinned. “Fifty-fifty, that’s no longer an option. Now, I’m thinking more like… eighty-five-fifteen.”
I wanted to jump out of my seat. “Are you fuckin’ kidding?” I asked. “That’s not a partnership, that’s a goddamn shakedown!”
Kellan said nothing, staying calm.
“You are more right than you know,” Juarez said. “Because what I’m thinking is no longer a partnership, per se. What I’m thinking is more of an… incorporation. The Coonan Syndicate is no more. You and the rest of your assets become part of the cartel, and you answer to me and the rest of the men on top. The fifteen percent will be your salary.”
“You’re out of your mind,” I said. “Not a chance in hell we’re going to let you take over like that.”
Juarez let out an amused snort. “I think the decision isn’t yours, is it? Kellan?”
Kellan shook his head. “No way in hell. Either you agree to the original terms, or this negotiation is over.”
Good man.
Juarez and Jose shared a look that suggested that they had a feeling this was going to happen.
“Very well,” Juarez said. “In that case, we are not negotiating any longer, we are telling you. These are the terms.”
Kellan rose. “Then we’re done here.” He swept his hand toward the bottle of tequila. “I’m sure that tastes like a treat but save it for a deal where you’re not trying to embarrass the other side.”
“Sit, Kellan,” Juarez said. “We have one more chip to throw onto the table.”
He nodded to Jose, who slipped his phone out of his suit jacket and scrolled a bit. Tension thickened the air by the moment. Whatever was about to happen, I was sure it wouldn’t be good.
I didn’t have a gun on me as that was part of the arrangement. With each second that went by, however, I grew more and more certain that I’d be needing one.
“What is it?” I asked.
Without saying a word, Jose scrolled a few more times, then turned the phone to Kellan and me.
“A little something to make you both more amenable to the new terms,” Juarez said.
Kellan and I looked at the screen, rage building as I realized what I was looking at.
The photo was of two women tied up in the back of a van, gags over their mouths and fear in their eyes. Two women I cared deeply about.
“You fuck!” I shouted.
Without waiting a moment, I leaped out of my seat, preparing to fly across the table to rip out Juarez’s throat. With surprising speed for a fat man, he whipped out a silver pistol trimmed with gold and pointed it at me. Kellan’s arm shot in front of me, and I had the sense to stop before I was shot dead on the spot.
“Sit,” Juarez said. “Unless you want both of those women dead.”
I dropped back into my seat, seeing nothing but red. Thankfully, Kellan managed to keep calm, despite him being no doubt just as angry as I was.
“Now,” Juarez said. “Here are the terms—eighty-five-fifteen and we keep the two women for three months. Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of them. When we’re convinced that you both are willing to cooperate, we will release them. Very simple, no bloodshed.”
I took a deep breath. “Let me see the phone. I want to make sure the picture is real.”
