“I’m looking forward to hearing this,” Roger announces before closing the door. He’s right, of course. I would rather the girls not venture by and overhear any of this. The least I can do is keep them out of it.

    Sebastian merely turns to stare at him for a beat before looking my way again. “Donovan isn’t Jack’s only offspring.”

    Consider my interest piqued. “He isn’t? What, is there a love child tucked away somewhere? Some leverage we can hold over his head?”

    “Not quite. They were born out of wedlock, two girls who were one and two, before Jack’s wife kicked the bucket.”

    “He’s got two daughters?” I exchange a nce with Roger, who looks gobsmacked. “You knew nothing about this?”

    “I’m not in the habit of keeping information from you,” he reminds me. To his credit, he doesn’t look offended, but I can only imagine it stings to know he missed something this big.

    “They’re twenty years old and currently living with their mother’s family upstate. He rarely ever goes to see them but provides for them financially. Word has it he wants to keep them as far away from his work as possible.”

    “Sure. I bet it has nothing to do with them being girls rather than sons,” I muse. That sort of mentality is far from foreign in our world.

    “What do you n on doing with this information?” Roger questions, lifting an eyebrow. “I know one of the girls was recently engaged to a kid from an upstanding family. They’re in politics on a small scale yet have ns to step things up and have plenty of profitable business interests. They consider themselves the next Kennedy family, and she’ll make a good wife for a future senator.” His smile spreads slowly. “I think she’d do better married to a man like me.” There’s a moment of silence, a long one, and I expect Sebastian tough. When he doesn’t, I look at Roger and find hesitation in his eyes.

    “What are you saying?” he finally asks.

    “What does it sound like I’m saying? I’m reaching out to him, offering an alliance in exchange for an arranged marriage with his daughter.” Another long pause. Part of me wonders if he’s really serious, only the expression he’s giving me shows no hint of humor.`

    “You’re serious?”

    “I’ve already booked a room at Niagara Falls,” he snickers. “Do people still honeymoon there?” “Why?” My anger is receding in the face of curiosity and disbelief.

    “I have my reasons.”

    127

    “Not a good enough response,” Roger seethes. This time, I don’t signal for him to stand down. He crosses the room andes to a stop beside my desk so we can both re at the kid.

    Sebastian shrugs. “That’s as much as I can tell you. I want her. She’s going to be mine, And in return, he’ll think he’s getting my backing. He needs all the help he can get, especially with his warehouses mysteriously going up in mes. You might have inadvertently pushed my ns forward,e to think of it.”

    b“/bIf they’re sisters, why not ask for the other one instead?”

    “No. That won’t work. I don’t need my sister–inw marrying into a political family. If they had ties in our world, then it would be different. I could use that. But they’re above that kind of thing.” He rolls his eyes. “Trust me. I’ve done my research.”

    Something about this isn’t clicking for me. It’s clear from Roger’s pensive expression that he’s going through the same process of trying to put things together. “And you said Jack’s not going for it? How long have you been working on this?“Without telling us.He leaves that part unspoken, though it’s hanging over the room.

    “Not long. It’s been a little over a week since I reached out to him.”

    Roger grunts his disgust, even as I manage to stay calm. “You should’vee to me first.b” /b

    “That’s not how I operate, and it’s not how my father operated. I do what I feel is best–and I’m giving you the heads–up out of respect while also making sure you don’t think I’m crossing you. I’m asmitted as ever to eliminating that bastard, but I want something from him first. Once I get it, you can take whatever you want.” Sitting back in the chair, he shrugs. “I don’t care.”

    “You don’t want any of the assets we discussed splitting?”

    “I wouldn’t say no to a nice chunk of cash, but it’s the girl I’m most interested in.”

    Usually, his cavalier attitude is something I chalk up to youth. He wants respect he hasn’t yet earned. Except this is a little much. “What is so special about her?”

    “That’s my business. I didn’te here to be interrogated.”

    At first, I’m stunned into silence. Never in my wildest dreams would I have spoken that way to someone in my position when I was his age. “Listenb, /band listen good,” I murmur, lowering my tone. “You’re in my house now, kid. I was willing to overlook you walking in here like you own the ce, but I won’t be insulted in my own home.”

    He holds my gaze, unblinking, until it’s clear he gets the message as I re right back at him.

    “If you want to be considered a partner in this, you need toy all your cards on the table,” Roger informs him. The tick in his jaw and the slow, measured rise and fall of his shoulders tell me he is fighting to control himself. “We need to have trust for this to go forward, and right now, you’re anything but trustworthy.”

    “Are you in the habit of letting him speak for you?” Sebastian asks me, jerking a thumb in Roger’s direction.

    Be calm. Don’t take the bait.

    “Roger is my second and trusted confidant. He knows what this empire stands for, and he knows the sacrifices that must be made. I think negotiating a deal with Jack is taking things a little too far.” I remind him, my voice icy.

    Anyone else would be pissing their pants by now. Not this kid. He stands, palms on the desk, leaning down. He wants to loom over me, to overshadow me. To intimidate me. “No, that’s the problem here. I don’t think I’ve gonefar enough. You don’t get to burn down shit that you said would be mine without consulting me first, and then tell me how to conduct my business. You want this fucker wiped off the map? So do I. Although, first, I’m going to get what I want.”

    “And what if he never goes for it?” Roger asks, folding his arms. “He could find a political alliance more beneficial than anything you’re offering.”

    “Not with you burning his shit down. Don’t you get it?” He barks out augh. “He’s going to start getting desperate. He’ll want all the help he can get. You just made things easier for me. I can almost feel the wedding band around my finger.‘

    “And once Jack thinks he can use your money and your men to fight us, then what happens?”

    He lifts a shoulder. “It’ll be a disappointing day for him, won’t it? And if he threatens to hurt me for crossing him, I’ll remind him of the pretty, soft, luscious girl he handed over to me. It would be a real shame if anything happened to her, wouldn’t it?”

    “Would you follow through on that?” I murmur, watching him closely.

    “By then, she’ll be mine,” he reminds me with a sigh. “Mine to do whatever I want with.”

    “And if he never agrees?” I ask even though I know the response.

    “Then I’ll take her anyway. I’d rather do things properly, with her father’s blessing and all.” His lips twitch in cold humor. “But desperate times call for desperate measures.”

    “You can be a fucking psycho on your own,” Roger fires back, and Sebastian only blurts out augh. I don’t approve of the choice ofnguage, yet considering the unhinged note in hisughter, he might not be far off the mark. “But that’s not how we do business.”

    Sebastian looks Roger up and down, wearing a cocky grin. “What are you going to do about it? Come and huff and puff and blowmyhouse down this time? Warning you now, it won’t end well for you.”

    “You think? You’re so fucking green, your balls have barely dropped,” Roger growls. “Mr. Rossetti here has gone out of his way to be respectful towards you, but I don’t owe you shit.”

    “You think so?” Sebastian takes a step toward him, shoulders thrown back like the cocky, insolent little prick he is.

    Roger mimics his posture, taking a step of his own. “I know so.”

    “Maybe we should take this outside.”

    127

    “Nothing would give me more pleasure.” Roger slips off his suit jacket, tossing it on the chair Sebastian left vacant. He starts undoing the buttons of his shirt and rolling up the sleeves on his forearms. “I’ve been thinking for a while now about kicking your ass since clearly you need a lesson in respect.”

    “Alright, that’s enough.” Before they can leave the office and do something truly stupid, I step between them. “You’re not fighting each other. This isn’t a goddamn middle school yground or a pissing contest.”

    Sebastian snorts, leading me to turn his way. “Don’t eyeball me like that,” I growl, and it’s gratifying to watch him fall back a step instead of ring at me like he was. It’s time to set him straight on a few things–maybe past time. “There’s no negotiating. I want nothing to do with bringing innocent girls into this. Donovan is fair game since he’s part of the life–same thing with their crew. Nheless, we do not involve women or children. End of story.”

    “That’s where we differ.”

    “Your old man wouldn’t have done it this way, either.”

    Something close to frustration crosses his face before he wipes it away, lifting his chin. “I’m not my old man, am I?” There’s a silent challenge in that question. For all his swagger and bravado, what he wants most is to prove himself. It’s clear as day.

    Behind me, Roger snorts. “That’s an understatement.”

    “Fuck off,” Sebastian snarls, lunging forward until the hand I ce against his chest holds him still. He might chomp at the bit to take a swing at Roger, but he’s not stupid enough to do the same to me. The wild, crazed look in his wide eyes says he might give it a shot, in any case.

    “You should’ve listened better when he tried to teach you,” Roger taunts. “Or maybe there was just no getting through your thick fucking skull.”

    “How thick is your skull?” In a sh, Sebastian pulls out his piece, pointing it at the ceiling while ring at Roger. “You think it’s thick enough to stop a bullet?”

    1221

    b127.1 /b

    “That’s it. Put the fucking gun away and leave. You’ve said your peace, you have your answers, and now it’s time to go.” Gripping him by the shoulder, guide him toward the door, opening it before taking him down the hall. I snap my fingers when I catch sight of a guard at the other end. “You’re still wee here, but not until you calm the hell down. Don’t you ever pull a gun in my fucking home again. I’m letting this go one time only out of respect for yourte father, however that’s as far as my generosity goes. Next time I’ll let Roger kill you where you stand.”

    The guard reaches us, and I give Sebastian a slight shove in his direction. He straightens out his jacket, concealing the gun again. “Take Mr. Costello out to his car.”

    Sebastian turns and points a finger toward my office. He’s trembling with rage that leaves sweat beading at his temples. “I’m going to need an apology from that prick if you expect us to do business together.”

    It’ll be a cold day in hell. “I’ll pass on the message.” A jerk of my chin gets the men moving, and I watch until they round the corner to the entry hall.

    So much for that. If I can’t trust an associate, we don’t do business. He might still be helpful, but he’sing nowhere near my inner circle unless he makes amends. I will need a gesture of some sort to convince me he’s worth trusting.

    “Don’t start with me,” Roger warns without turning to face me when he hears me enter the room. He’s standing at the window, watching Sebastian’s progress while breathing hard, his fists clenched, shoulders rising and falling quickly.

    “Maybe Sebastian isn’t the only one who needs to be reminded of who he’s speaking to.”

    He releases a long breath before lowering his head. And now, do you understand my feelings on that asshole?”

    “I always did.”

    “Do you think he’ll go through with it? The girl, I mean?” He nces at me over his shoulder, his eyebrow arched.

    “I don’t know, but I don’t want any part of it. All I’m worried about is making sure it doesn’t blow back on us, since he has no idea who he’s fucking with. He’ll only get so far on his family name.” Especially once word starts to spread of how unpredictable he is; nobody wants to do business with a loose cannon. Those types have a way of suddenly disappearing without a trace.

    “I’m sorry I lost my cool.” He turns away from the window, still scowling, but his fists have loosened.

    “That better be thest time I have to keep your brains from getting sttered across this room.”

    “I’ll make a note of it.” He rolls his head from side to side, shaking out the tension in his shoulders. “That ignorant kid.” An ignorant kid who got under his skin the way I’ve rarely seen anyone do.

    I can’t spend the rest of the morning talking about this. We need to get off the subject. “Didn’t you

    1271

    say there was something you were nning on discussing this morning?”

    His brows draw together in time with the pressing together of his lips. Not that I expected great news, but this doesn’t bode well. “Right. It took some digging, but I got one of my contacts in the police department to draw up a list of people they knew were taking money on the side around the time Mrs. Cole was murdered.”

    I’d think this would brighten his mood. We’ve been trying to get our hands on names for weeks.” And? Are we looking at a lot of names?”

    “A considerable amount,” he tells me, pulling out his cell phone and handing the device to me.” Although there’s one in particr I thought would interest you. I looked into all of them, and… it’s him.”

    The name might as well be written in bold print. It leaps out at me, carrying the sort of ramifications I hadn’t considered until this very minute. My heart sinks as the enormity of the situation bes clear.Ken Miller. “You’re sure it’s the Ken we know?”

    “Positive. I wanted to be sure, so I did some inte searching. It’s him.” The man her father trusts above all others. A crooked cop. The perverse part of me is almost gleeful, imagining how this would shatter thest of that sanctimonious asshole’s illusions.

    This isn’t about him. Not entirely.

    “We can’t let her find out,” I murmur, handing the phone back.Why do I feel numb?“It would crush her.”

    “Finding out her father’s best friend was in on the take?” He sighs, shaking his head. “Damn right, it would. And you know Charles can’t find out about it. They’re still friends.”

    “Right.” No way the great white knight would stand for that. As soon as he confronts Ken, it would mark the end of him being useful to us. Hell, Charles might blow his brains out–he’s that unhinged. “We don’t know yet who was paying him, though, so we’ve got to keep that in mind.”

    The thing about reaching my position is you don’t get there without sharp instincts. Instincts can’t be turned on and off at will, especially not when a man doesn’t want to face reality.

    I have to face the possibility of a time when thest of my little bird’s illusions shatter. I hate to imagine being the one to shatter them–but it might be bettering from me,e to think of it.

    Not yet, however. I need more information before I can do anything with this. “Let’s dig deeper and find out who was paying him.”

    “Will do.” Roger heads to his office while I sit back in my chair and rub my tired eyes, hoping for Caterina’s sake that her mother’s killer wasn’t someone she was supposed to trust.