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“You have no interest there?”
“None.” Garrick’s gripped the edge of his desk. He wasn’t above dipping below the law, but he had no desire for the filth of the Titon money.
“That almost sounded believable.” Bastian leaned back in his chair. He hadn’t changed much in the three years since they’d last seen each other. He’d grown his hair a little longer. Still not as long as Garrick’s, but Bastian no longer kept the high and tight haircut. Dark stubble covered his chin, another small change. But his eyes, the severity of them, remained the same.
“I don’t want my cousin’s money,” Garrick stated firmly. “I have my own business and my own income streams. Jackson might be satisfied with the scraps Ash throws at him, but I’d rather just do things on my own.”
“I can respect that.” Bastian nodded.
“So, what brings you back to Kassel?”
“Business. I have a meeting with your brother, actually. Henry Trident wants to move his gin through here, and I understand Jackson has a hold on the liquor in this town.”
“He does. Unless you want to pay a premium, then there’s plenty of markets.” When he first arrived in Kassel, Garrick had turned down Jackson’s offer to join him in his business dealings. It didn’t matter that his liquor distribution had no ties to the Titon businesses; Garrick would rather stay on his own.
“Does your club use Jackson?” Bastian asked.
“No.” Garrick shook his head. “Henry’s got you making his deals? For gin?”
“He’s taking advantage of our history. That’s all. This is really not in my wheelhouse. I’m more hands-on with other parts of his business.”
Bastian was a law-and-order type. Not actual law, no, that was for the fools who lived on the right side of it. The justice Bastian brought to the table was far below the level of legal authority. And much swifter.
“Our history?” Garrick raised a brow.
Bastian’s face relaxed. “Notthathistory.”
Garrick held Bastian’s gaze for a beat before breaking it.
“So, he wants to bring his shit into Kassel?”
Bastian cleared his throat. “He wants to distribute his gin down here, yes. It’s a small part of his business. Just wants to reach out further. Why don’t you get in on the distribution work with Jackson? It’s got to bring in a lot more cash than this club.”
“Yeah, and a fuck more liability. Plus, he does business with Ash and Peter, and I won’t do that.” Cousins or not, there would be no business dealings with that branch of the Titon family tree.
“I get it.” Bastian had been there when Samuel Titon shoved his family out of town. He’d seen what it did to Garrick’s father, to Garrick himself.
“He’ll take the deal if you can go five percent less than who he’s using now. He’s not thrilled with who he’s working with at the moment, anyway. Too many ties to old families that he’s tired of. Some history with one of them and his wife. I’m not sure exactly what all went down, but if he can cut them out, he would in a heartbeat.” Garrick offered the tip.
“Five percent? Do you know what he’s paying now?”
“No fucking clue.” Garrick laughed. “Just tell him you’ll undercut by three percent. He’ll ask for five.” He grabbed his phone from his pocket and typed a message to his brother. “Does Trident just deal in gin?”
“He’s got the market on gin, whiskey, and vodka, but he wanted to test the waters here first. Make sure it’s as lucrative as he thinks it will be.”
“Plus, he’s crossing borders.” Garrick checked the message coming through. “So, how do you like working for Trident?”
“Fine. Better than most of the bullshit drama in Kassel between Bertucci and Jansen and all that mess. It’s not a big city, so Trident has most of it locked down. Small scuffles here and there, nothing huge. And no turf war shit.”
“And the underground shit?” The one thing Garrick and his cousin, Ash, wholly agreed on was shutting down the disgusting trade Samuel Titon had grown in Kassel.
Bastian’s lips thinned as he pressed them together. The longer it took for his answer to come to him, the less Garrick needed him to answer.
“You involved?” Garrick had known Bastian better than anyone when they were growing up, but it had been a few years. He could be a completely different breed of monster now.
“No.” Bastian’s answer came quickly. “Henry doesn’t involve himself in the actual trades, but it only takes a fewgiftsto keep him from looking in that direction.”
Garrick shook his head. “The man has an entire town under his thumb. He could stop that bullshit in a second.” He snapped his fingers.
