A Dirty Business (Kings of New York #1)(22)

He had a hand on his doorway, half stepping out into the hallway with a funny look on his face. “You got someone waiting for you in the back.”

My nostrils flared. “The back where?”

“Out the back. The lot. The vehicle there is for you.”

I frowned.

He gave me a nod. “See you tomorrow,” he said before disappearing back in his office.

My phone buzzed, and I read the texts.

Kelly: Hey! Are you okay?

Kelly: I couldn’t find you and Justin offered to walk me home. You usually have your car. Do you want me to stay?

Kelly: Someone said Anthony is talking to you. I’ll wait.

Me: Are you still here?

Kelly: I’m with Justin. We’re at his apartment. He lives super close. I wasn’t sure how long you’d be. Hold on. I’m on my way back.

Me: No. It’s fine. I’m not up for conversation anyways.

Kelly: You sure?

Me: Yeah. You going to hang with Justin for a while?

Kelly: Is that okay? I’ve got my coat on. Give me a few minutes and I’ll be there.

Me: No. Stay. Hang with Justin. I’m heading home.

Kelly: Okay. By the way, I love this job!

My phone buzzed once more, but I was assuming it was Kelly saying goodbye or good night, so I put it back in my purse and pushed out the door. I’d taken one step, not sure how I felt knowing someone was waiting for me.

When the SUV door opened, I stopped because it was him.

Tristian West.

He nodded to the empty seat beside him. “Get in.”





CHAPTER SEVENTEEN


TRACE


“I have a problem, and I need you to fix it for me. Can you do that for me?”

My uncle had started our second meeting with that question.

“I thought I’ve already shown you that I can handle a problem. I helped with my dad.”

“Yeah, but you were motivated for that. Your father is your father. You and Ashton did well. I’m proud of you, and I heard about the new doc and how you maneuvered around her. That’s not always an option, but it was smart this time.”

I glanced at Ashton and knew he was pissed off by that, but he wouldn’t say anything. I wouldn’t have, either, if the roles were reversed. Both our families had a hierarchy. The heads were gods.

“What’s the current problem, Uncle Steph?”

“Billy Garretson.” He tossed a file down on the table between us, and I was staring at some guy.

Ashton went still beside me, and me, I turned into ice because no fucking way was that a coincidence. “Who’s this?”

“He’s a worker in upstate New York—there’s a shipping facility we need access to, and he’s the one who can get us in. He’s been refusing, and I’ve been told that you’ve taken to his niece recently.”

“Niece?”

“He’s married to the niece’s aunt, Sarah. She’s a sister to Chelsea Montell.”

Montell?!

I loved my uncle, I did, but right now I was envisioning myself taking a long and dirty knife and gutting him with it because that’s what he was doing to me.

“Your reports are wrong. That’s over, not that anything even started.”

Uncle Steph had stared at me then, long and hard. His jaw clenched once before he sat back. “For some reason I have a feeling that won’t be an issue. We’ve not moved on your new woman because of her father and the fact she’s a parole officer, but you know her. We have an opening now. I want you to use her, do whatever you need with her to get her uncle on board. I need into that shipping facility, and you know what will happen if someone continues to stand in my way.”

He had meant bodies. Lots and lots of dead bodies.

I was staring at her now as she slid into the seat beside me, closing the door. Her movements were jerky, stiff.

I wanted to go to Katya to get away from the family, but I wanted to go there because she was there. I wanted to watch her work, like I had the last weekend when she had no clue I was there, and mull over what I was going to do. But her supervisor sent her up instead of our normal bartender.

I had no idea why there was a change, but I walked in and saw her, and I was livid.

I’d wanted another day before I made my move. I needed that time to think of every option because that’s what I did in my job as a hedge fund manager. You thought of every avenue, every angle, every direction the money might go, and then you decided which one to sell, which to buy, and when. It was a thrill if you did it right, and even if you didn’t, you learned.

That time had been taken out of my hands, and I’d not reacted in the right way.

“You are a cop.”

She watched me, not blinking, not looking away. She wasn’t hiding. “I have not asked who you are. Ever think there’s a reason for that? I’ve not looked you up or asked for a favor. I could. It’s easy for me, but I haven’t. I didn’t go up there knowing you’d be there. I meant what I said at bowling. Stay away from me.”

I almost smirked at her, because she meant every word, but her body didn’t. “And yet you’re in my vehicle.”

“You said ‘Get in.’”

“Since when do you do what you’re told?”

“What do you want, West?”