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I wince. “How’s he doing?”
“Talking in tongues, brother.”
I frown. Danny cracks another grin.
“I’m just fucking with you, man. He’s fine. Probably looking for a rematch. But hey, come on in. You’re here for Mr. Robinson, yeah?”
“Yeah,” I wave the contract in my hand. “He’s expecting me.”
Jayden’s big bodyguard chuckles. “It’s all business all day long in here today, I guess.”
“Oh?”
Danny shrugs, leading me through the back of the market, past huge open barrels of spices and curry leaves, and then up the stairs to Jayden’s office.
“Yeah, brother. The big guy’s got his boss-man hat on today, I’m telling you. Didn’t even come out for lunch.. We had the Italians in here this morning, a couple of mean-lookin’ Russians an hour ago, now you—”
“Did you say Russians?”
Jayden’s family and mine go pretty far back. Our grandfathers did business together here in New York, back in the day. But even so, there were precautions in place when we first sat down to make this deal. Namely, precautions to keep itquiet.
This was a good deal for both of us, and neither party wanted or needed anyone else coming in and trying to fuck things up with a bidding war. Or doing anything else that would put too much scrutiny on the deal, the warehouse, or either of our shell companies involved in the process.
On Jayden’s side, he was nervous about the Haitians seeing the deal as sign of weakness, or of him getting ready to step down as head of the organization.
On our end? Well,Russians. Namely, the Reznikov Bratva. We didn’t want them to even hear a whisper about this deal, because Gavan is a smart motherfucker. And he’d see this for exactly what it is: a test run for something bigger.
Like Serj Mirzoyan’s empire.
So, yeah. Damned straight I tense the fuck up when Danny mentions Russians.
He shrugs. “I don’t know, man. I’m just security. But yeah, they were Russian.” He frowns. “I think. Maybe Ukrainian? Or Polish?”
I relax a little. As much as I like Danny, it’s like he says: he isn’t exactly part of the inner circle. Who knows who the hell Jayden was talking to earlier. It could’ve been Lithuanian grain importers, for all I know.
At the door to the office, Danny knocks a staccato rhythm that I’m sure is code. A little window slides open all the same, with dark eyes glaring out before the face nods. The window shuts, the door unlocks, and then it swings open.
“Good luck in there, brother,” Danny pats me on the back. “Oh, hey, you didn’t bring any of that baklava again, did you?”
“Shit. Slipped my mind. Next time, for sure.”
He grins as I turn and stride into the office and close the door behind me. I nod at a couple of familiar faces around the room before I walk over to shake Jayden’s hand. At sixty-five, he’s put on some pounds around his middle, and his long dreads are gray. But he’s still a formidable guy.
Luckily, the Greeks and the Jamaicans have always gotten along pretty damn well in this city.
“Big day, Jay,” I grin, plopping into a chair and dropping the contract on the desk between us. “You ready to make this official and take my money?”
The room is completely quiet. And I’m suddenly aware that I’m the only fucker smiling in here. Jayden frowns, clearing his throat.
“First of all,” he smiles awkwardly at me, “I want to thank you for the interest in the property, Hades. I know our families go way back, and I appreciate the way you worked out a deal that was good for both of us.”
Wasgood? I don’t like how this is starting. At all.
“You want to tell me what’s going on, Jay?”
His brow furrows. “You, ahh, want a drink, Hades?”
“I want to know what’s up, actually,” I growl.
