you leave us in the system?”
“You already know what I’m going to say. Eileen had a nervous condition, didn’t tolerate children well. Two teenage boys would’ve killed her.”
Kellan sneered. “Wouldn’t that have saved you the trouble?”
“You better watch what you’re implying.”
Kellan glanced side to side and spread his arms, his eyes wide with mock-concern. “Where is Eileen? I haven’t seen her going on three years. What did you tell me last time I asked—Texas was too hot a climate for her? That she’d run off to Hawaii or something?”
“Yes, Hawaii. And you’d do well to back off that line of questioning.”
“One of these days, you’re going to get your comeuppance, Morton. Someone, somewhere, is going to kill you.”
Rocking onto his heels, Morton laughed. “But it won’t be you, Kellan. That conscience of yours will always be a liability.”
“My conscience is what keeps me from turning into you, old man.”
Morton’s eyes twinkled maliciously. “I’m going to ask you one last time. Why the hell did you come to my house tonight?”
Kellan rubbed his upper arms, feeling the pressure of his heart thudding hard and fast against his ribs. The dogs pressed forward, snapping their jaws, pushing him back from Morton. He relented and walked across the room, reaching for the bourbon. They were arguing in circles, like they usually did, but at least they were back to the information Kellan needed. “What do you want with the Sorentino property?”
“I want to own the Sorentino property, you dumb shit. That’s why I’m encouraging the sisters to sell it to Amarex and Amarex to sell it to me.”
“The property’s dry.”
“So it’s dry. I still want it. If you have it in your mind to stop me, you should know you’re going to fail.”
Kellan lifted the lowball glass in a gesture of salute. “You’re throwing down the gauntlet, Morton? All right, I accept.”
Morton relaxed against the desk, folding his arms across his chest. “You and I are playing on the same side. You do know that, right?”
Kellan tossed the bourbon back and relished the rush of heat down his throat. “We might share blood, but that doesn’t put us on the same side.”
“All these years, I’ve been waiting for you to come around to my way of thinking. To join my empire. But you’re so stuck on past resentments, you can’t see the forest for the trees. Damn shame, it is. You and I could’ve been partners.”
Kellan slammed the empty glass onto the desk. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before that happens.”
“I see that now. Doesn’t make it any easier of a pill to swallow.”
The dogs preceded the men to the front door as though eager for the unwanted guest to depart.
Morton paused with his hand on the doorknob. “The Sorentinos have a week to sign the property over to Amarex before I unleash the lawyers.”
Kellan didn’t trust himself to speak. He pushed past Morton and continued to the driveway.
“I forgot to mention,” Morton said. Kellan kept walking. “Tina called me.”
That stopped Kellan in his tracks. Strange, the way his mother’s name set off a clash of emotions within him—revulsion at the idea of receiving a surprise phone call from the woman he’d avoided for nineteen years, and yet anger that she hadn’t at least tried to call him instead of her brother.
“You want details, but you’re too afraid to ask.” Morton’s tone had an edge of triumph.
Kellan thought about turning to face Morton. He thought about socking him in the jaw. He thought about the rifle in his car. But rather than play into his uncle’s hand by pressing for more information, he set his sights on his truck and kept moving.
Morton’s sinister chuckle followed him across the driveway. “Guess what the big news is? Your father’s out of prison.”
Chapter 6
Kellan squeezed his eyes closed. His father was a free man.
Morton’s voice carried across the driveway. “You’ll never
“You already know what I’m going to say. Eileen had a nervous condition, didn’t tolerate children well. Two teenage boys would’ve killed her.”
Kellan sneered. “Wouldn’t that have saved you the trouble?”
“You better watch what you’re implying.”
Kellan glanced side to side and spread his arms, his eyes wide with mock-concern. “Where is Eileen? I haven’t seen her going on three years. What did you tell me last time I asked—Texas was too hot a climate for her? That she’d run off to Hawaii or something?”
“Yes, Hawaii. And you’d do well to back off that line of questioning.”
“One of these days, you’re going to get your comeuppance, Morton. Someone, somewhere, is going to kill you.”
Rocking onto his heels, Morton laughed. “But it won’t be you, Kellan. That conscience of yours will always be a liability.”
“My conscience is what keeps me from turning into you, old man.”
Morton’s eyes twinkled maliciously. “I’m going to ask you one last time. Why the hell did you come to my house tonight?”
Kellan rubbed his upper arms, feeling the pressure of his heart thudding hard and fast against his ribs. The dogs pressed forward, snapping their jaws, pushing him back from Morton. He relented and walked across the room, reaching for the bourbon. They were arguing in circles, like they usually did, but at least they were back to the information Kellan needed. “What do you want with the Sorentino property?”
“I want to own the Sorentino property, you dumb shit. That’s why I’m encouraging the sisters to sell it to Amarex and Amarex to sell it to me.”
“The property’s dry.”
“So it’s dry. I still want it. If you have it in your mind to stop me, you should know you’re going to fail.”
Kellan lifted the lowball glass in a gesture of salute. “You’re throwing down the gauntlet, Morton? All right, I accept.”
Morton relaxed against the desk, folding his arms across his chest. “You and I are playing on the same side. You do know that, right?”
Kellan tossed the bourbon back and relished the rush of heat down his throat. “We might share blood, but that doesn’t put us on the same side.”
“All these years, I’ve been waiting for you to come around to my way of thinking. To join my empire. But you’re so stuck on past resentments, you can’t see the forest for the trees. Damn shame, it is. You and I could’ve been partners.”
Kellan slammed the empty glass onto the desk. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before that happens.”
“I see that now. Doesn’t make it any easier of a pill to swallow.”
The dogs preceded the men to the front door as though eager for the unwanted guest to depart.
Morton paused with his hand on the doorknob. “The Sorentinos have a week to sign the property over to Amarex before I unleash the lawyers.”
Kellan didn’t trust himself to speak. He pushed past Morton and continued to the driveway.
“I forgot to mention,” Morton said. Kellan kept walking. “Tina called me.”
That stopped Kellan in his tracks. Strange, the way his mother’s name set off a clash of emotions within him—revulsion at the idea of receiving a surprise phone call from the woman he’d avoided for nineteen years, and yet anger that she hadn’t at least tried to call him instead of her brother.
“You want details, but you’re too afraid to ask.” Morton’s tone had an edge of triumph.
Kellan thought about turning to face Morton. He thought about socking him in the jaw. He thought about the rifle in his car. But rather than play into his uncle’s hand by pressing for more information, he set his sights on his truck and kept moving.
Morton’s sinister chuckle followed him across the driveway. “Guess what the big news is? Your father’s out of prison.”
Chapter 6
Kellan squeezed his eyes closed. His father was a free man.
Morton’s voice carried across the driveway. “You’ll never
Similar Books
