A Dirty Business (Kings of New York #1)(76)

“I mean, we set it up, but we didn’t do it. The kid did. He just needed proper motivation, but yeah. We got the son to kill the father, and now it’s almost karma that you’re banging the daughter. Funny how that all works out, huh? Especially when Dominic made sure you were never here. He never wanted you to run into the girl, said you’d fall for her. She was a looker even back then, but we put out word not to touch her. That was a promise to the father, that she’d be left alone. But you see, I can’t fulfill that promise if she’s the one singing on us?”

“She’s not,” I ground out.

Good fucking Christ.

I started to stand up. “Why am I here? Tonight?”

“What do you mean?”

I took out my phone.

Me: I want a guy on Jess at all times. I think my uncle might do something against her.

He was staring at my phone, and he pointed at it with his wineglass. “What’d you do there? Just now. You sent a text off? To who?”

“To Ashton.”

He nodded, easing back into his chair. “That’s good because you’re here for two reasons. One, I need to know if the woman you’re banging is turning evidence on us, and if she’s not, then we got a whole other problem on our hands.”

“It’s not Jess. I’ve had men on her and a tracker on her. It’s not her.”

The wino lunacy charade was gone, and my uncle was back in power. He was clear and alert, and he was studying me like I was his enemy. He nodded, slower this time, and he spoke, his voice all serious. “Let’s hope it’s not your woman because if it is, then I’m going to have to take out her family. Can’t get rid of another one and let the other two stew.”

“It’s not her, so who’s the other choice?”

He stared at me, long and hard. “The other choice is that family from Maine. They could be behind everything.”

“What do you want me to do?”

He stood up from his chair, taking a sip of his wine before moving back to the table. He lingered, staring at something before he put his wine down. He picked up a folder and brought it over. “You handled your father. You handled the uncle situation. Now.” He nodded to the folder as I opened it. A picture stared back at me, and I knew who this person was. “That’s the ringleader for the Maine family. I’ve told you about them. Worthing Mafia is what they’re being called, but you know one of their cousins. He used to work for you.”

Justin Worthing.

I picked up the picture. “Are you serious with this?”

“I am. He’s got a brother on the force, a Detective Worthing. They’re using him to move in on us, and they’re going to keep coming.”

“What do you want me to do about this?”

“I want you to handle it.” He moved back, sipping his wine. “Handle it how you’ve handled all the other situations I’ve sent your way. You’ll have to rope Ashton in on it because his family runs the cops in town. Worthings are moving in on their territory too.”

He was asking me to “handle” more people.

“You might want to ask the reason why you had a Worthing at your club, too, while you’re at it.”

“Excuse me?”

“You had a Worthing working for you. Don’t think I didn’t consider that maybe you were the one plotting against me?”

He had better not be threatening me. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Now he went eerily still, and there was a whole layer of ice filling the room around us.

“Why the hell would I plot against you when you’ve been telling me that you want me to take over for you?” There was a storm in his eyes. I saw it, checked it, and it only kept growing.

My uncle was a problem.

The man who had been the one going to my sports games. He was the father to me. My birthdays. He was the one who kept my picture on his fridge. He was there for me. When his son left, I was at his side. When his other one died, I’d helped plan the funeral. He was a mess. His wife left him years ago, and she was gone gone. Like vanished gone. The story had been that she’d had enough of him and took off, not wanting anything to do with this family. I’d never questioned it, but now, had he done this to them? Threatened to turn on them?

Or worse, had he turned on them?

I was staring at my uncle, wondering if I was just seeing him for the first time.

A smile broke out over his face, and he started laughing. “I got you! I got you, didn’t I?” He came over, clapping me on the shoulder, but his hand holding that wine was still so steady.

“Uncle.”

“Yeah?” He was still laughing. “Why aren’t you laughing? It was a joke. I was trying to ease the tension. I know I came down hard about your girl, and then about your employee, but one never knows.” He motioned to his back. “A lot of people want to put knives in my back.”

“You just threatened me. You threatened family.”

I was still holding myself steady, watching everything he did. Listening to every word he said, every inflection of tone. All of it was being burned into my brain because this day changed everything moving forward. He showed me the card that he could turn on me. I’d be stupid not to believe he would.

“It was nothing. You’re my nephew. I’d never do anything to you.” He moved in, clasping the back of my neck, and rested his forehead to mine. “I love my nephew. He’s the only one loyal to me. I’d be a fool to lose him. I’d be a fool to lose you. It was a joke, Tristian. Please forgive me. It was a bad joke.”