Page 14 of Dark Alliance
“Not enough, or you wouldn’t be here.” Nino sneers over the rim of his coffee cup. “Why should we choose you over the Russians? We’ve established some good contacts with them already.”
Connor ignores Nino and concentrates on my father, obviously recognizing the true power-wielder in the room. “I understand you have an offer on your plate, but I’ve also heard you’re an open-minded man, Eduardo. So let’s talk.”
Nino nearly crushes his cup in his hand at the blatant brush-off.
Shit.
Connor and my father dig in deep, discussing the threat the Roguilins pose and the fact that the Bratva’s attacked three Gallagher shipments outside the Blue Hook Port.
The port we handed over to Belinski wasn’t intended to facilitate attacks or stop other families from importing goods. Trouble like that isn’t good for business.
ItoldNino that Belinski was a bad idea.
I should listen to the conversation around me, but for the moment, it’s just men talking in circles.
Instead, I mull over everything I said to Dane Ryder—Connor Gallagher—last night. I don’t believe I disclosed any secrets. I was drunk, but not wasted enough to fuck over my family. I don’t recall him asking me any particularly invasive questions either.
So what was he after?
Everything that sparked my interest—the curl of his lips, the arch of his brows, the interest in his eyes—he engineered to get under my skin.
To what end?
Connor’s an entirely different man than he was yesterday. He gives my father his full attention, those dark eyes laser-focused and glittering with lethal intent.
I clench my fingers on my thighs. Connor’s here to broker a deal…and gauge our weaknesses. He’s eyeing the tremors in my father’s hands and noting how he loses his train of thought every few sentences.
Anyone can see how frail the man’s become. Even a stranger like Connor would realize my father’s operating at half the strength that a family head should.
The word “trade” intrudes on my doom spiral.
Connor’s pitching a prisoner exchange by offering one of our guys for one of Finn’s as a show of good faith between our families.
“And why would you or Finn, who couldn’t even bother to come here himself, think we’d even entertain the idea of an exchange?” Nino’s neck darkens to a deep scarlet. I know his stages of fury well, enough to recognize he’s on the verge of exploding. I expect bloodshed any second.
No matter how pissed at Connor I am, I won’t let that happen today. My father’s blood pressure can’t handle that kind of stress.
So I sit up straighter, giving Nino a narrow-eyed glance over Connor’s shoulder.Behave.
He scowls but shuts up.
Father taps his fingers on the rim of his mug. “Tell me why we should consider this alliance, Connor. Sell me on it.”
Despite Connor’s relaxed shoulders and open posture, caution glitters in his narrowed eyes. “Because the Roguilins can’t be trusted.”
Nino barks a laugh. “And you Irishmen can?”
“They’re playing the long game.” Connor hunches forward like he has a secret to share. “You ever heard of the werewolf amoeba?”
Nino scoffs, but my father remains quiet, waiting for Connor to continue.
“It’s a parasite that slowly nibbles at the membrane of the human digestive track, disguising itself as one of the intestinal cells as it goes so that the body doesn’t think to fight it off. By the time the foreign entity is recognized, it’s too late.”
“What’s your point, Gallagher?” Nino nearly spits the words. “You got a tummy ache?”
Our father raises a frail palm to silence my brother. The bruising on the back of his hand stands out like a burn on his olive skin. The IVs have torn him to pieces.
I know Connor notices, and I hate displaying our weakness like this.
