Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 83994 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83994 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“He got more interested in you. I kept telling him to leave it alone. He did well, making sure you were taken care of while you grew up, but the deal was long gone. You owed him nothing. But that boy doesn’t listen to anyone but himself.”
I can’t help but smile. “I know that all too well.”
“It was around the time you went to college. I think he realized you were grown and not just a girl anymore. And I think he decided he liked the woman you had become.”
“Around college…” I say softly as the gears begin to turn in my head. “How exactly did he get involved? I mean, after I left for school, what was he doing?”
Siobhan frowns slightly and looks at me. For a moment, I think she’s going to say something, but it’s like she realizes with a start what she’s doing. Instead, all she does is shake her head.
“You’ll have to ask him,” she says vaguely, waving a hand in the air. She pushes back from the table and gets to her feet. “I think it’s been a long day, my dear, and I should get some rest.”
“Of course. I’m sorry I bothered you, it’s just that—”
“Goodnight, Casey.” She pats my shoulder lightly. I want to call her back. Desperation fills me. What changed after I went to school? What was Declan doing?
He realized I had become a woman…
Dread fills me. I drink down my glass and feel my heart pounding in my ears.
There’s more she didn’t tell me.
Suddenly, a string of misfortunes and failures suddenly makes sense, and a nauseous terror rolls over my body.
Chapter 22
Declan
Ikeep thinking about my father in that box.
The casket was closed. He insisted on that. My father was smart enough to know that first and last impressions matter. And he couldn’t control how people saw his dead body.
But I knew he was in there. All throughout the service, I kept staring at the casket. My father was once the largest man in the world. He was life and power. He cowed New York City and turned out small organizations into something massive. That was my father’s genius. He knew how to build coalitions and alliances.
Now he’s gone.
I just couldn’t understand how a box so small could contain a man so enormous.
“I have to admit, the transition has been going fairly well.” Donnell Lynch leans back in his overstuffed armchair and swirls a glass of whiskey. Ice clinks against the glass, and I force myself to be present. He’s a powerful member of the Whelan Clan, and I need his support if I’m going to wrestle this ugly beast into submission.
“I don’t think I love that word fairly,” I say with a smile as I sip my drink.
He scowls and nods. “Aye, I’m sure you don’t, but you know how these things are. With a change in leadership, some of the lesser families think it’s a good time to renegotiate certain deals.”
“I’ve been dealing with them.”
“And not everyone’s happy.”
“They never are.” I put my glass down and lean forward. “Are you happy, Donnell?”
The old snake feigns surprise like the thought had never occurred to him. But I know what’s happening here. Behind the smiles, the toasts to my father’s memory, the reminiscing, there’s the implication.
I need him more than he needs me.
Right about now, I really wish Casey was with me.
She’d have something clever to say. Or at least she’d be a good distraction. These old criminals all have a weak spot for a pretty girl.
And if he looked at her, I’d have a good excuse to break his fucking nose.
“Oh, you know me. I’ve been a loyal member of your father’s organization for many, many years.” I can’t help but note how he calls it my father’s organization.
Not mine. Not yet.
“I’m aware of your sterling service to the clan, which is why I want to make sure you’re content.”
“More than content. Look at all I’ve got.” He gestures at his fancy study. The walls are lined with photographs of him and his family on lavish vacations all over the world. His son is a brainless fucking idiot and his daughter’s a vicious bitch just like her father. His wife’s decent at least.
“But we can always have more.” I smile and sit back, pretending to give it some thought, as if I hadn’t already made up my mind before coming here. My mother and I have spent countless hours debating and discussing who will get what and how I’ll make sure the clan doesn’t splinter to pieces.
So far, it’s working, but barely.
I’m breaking myself to keep this family together.
God, I miss Casey.
“What do you have in mind?” All pretense is dropped. He stares at me with a greedy glint in his eye.
“We’re expanding the shipping business deeper into the south. I want you to take point.”