Page 25 of Dark Alliance
I study him for a minute, my gaze flicking between his dark eyes. Then I smile. “I think you think our sexual attraction is concealing the fact that I know you can’t deliver. You have no say with Finn and very little with Declan. Underboss is just a fancy term for message boy.”
Connor’s perma-grin vanishes. The actor, the liar, the con artist all disappear. His features blank into smooth, handsome stone.
Maybe I went too far, but I won’t take back my words.
If I’m wrong, he’ll just have to prove it to me.
I rise to my feet. “Have the day you deserve, Connor-Dane.”
I leave him on the bench, his glare burning the back of my neck.
Chapter 7
Connor
Damn, that woman infuriates me.
And impresses me. And arouses me.
Mostly infuriates, though.
I seethe, anger bubbling through my veins as I gaze at the door she disappeared through. How dare she imply I have no sway? She doesn’t know a fucking thing.
I need to alert Finn that his prisoner exchange, which is less than four hours out, is likely an ambush.
Cat didn’t know this earlier, but I recognized her tell. No eye contact, and when I touched her face to gauge her thoughts, she didn’t swat my hand away.
That means Eduardo and his gorilla of a son left her out of the loop.
The question is…why?
Also, fuck them. If given the chance, Cat’s mind could run marathons around Nino’s.
I should bring her to LA and show her how we do business there. See if I can persuade her with some alone time to take a walk on the sunny side. I’ll show her what kind of power I wield in the world of perpetual summer.
On our home turf, Declan doesn’t come out to play too often. These days, he does lots of delegating from behind that mammoth mahogany desk. The more he hides in his office, the more work he delegates to me. Barring any orders from the top, I’m practically the boss most days, and my father trusts my instincts.
Since his fallout with my sister Maeve and Brody’s defection to the East Coast, I’m the only kid left on his side.
That’s why I’m here, acting as the liaison between the Gallagher branches. It’s no easy task to serve as the bridge between two families who spent decades at war. Hulking, snot-nosed bullies in a sandbox, all of them.
And I’m managing both sides.
Cat just doesn’t understand. If she ever pulls her head out of that delicious ass of hers and grows a spine, we could rule these cities, coast to coast.
An alliance with a brain like hers would only benefit both Gallagher clans, and regular fuck sessions would be icing on the cake.
For the moment, it’ll be enough for Cat to just realize that she shouldn’t underestimate me.
I’ll show her exactly who she’s dealing with.
Sometime later, after a quick conversation with Finn, I make my way to the ambush, Sal Padovesi at my side.
Because I’m more than just amessage boy. Finn trusts me to handle this my way.
As he should.
Sal and I stand across the street from the Island Lawn-Dro-Mat, the meet-up point I agreed to with Eduardo. We’re two hours early, and besides Sal, I came alone.
