He shook himself free of his men and staggered a few steps back. They remained between me and him. The Scouse thugs I’d stationed at the door moved closer but held back when I shook my head.
“This isn’t over,” Ewan spat before storming out of the room, leaving the two men standing awkwardly.
The older hurried to follow the pretender. The other nodded to the man who sat next to Emma’s mum, before turning to follow. Was that the cousin she’d told Emma about in their clandestine call?
“Mr. Hunter, my business has been concluded. I’ll leave you to conversations I’d rather not hear,” the solicitor said before he walked to the door.
I turned to Emma. Her perfect playacting continued, a slight smile with attentive eyes. That smile flashed fiercer for a blink of the eye, her silent congratulations… as long as she got her payment.
“The next part is going to be for the family lieutenants only,” I whispered close to her ear. “Why don’t you take your mum to the coffee shop on the corner? I’m sure she’s got a lot of questions and you know how to answer them.”
“What about my brother?” she asked. “He might try something.”
“Bashir is out there. His guys will shadow you,” I replied.
“She’s going to screech my damn ear off,” Emma pouted, “but after that, I’ll have to come back and talk to the lawyer about my inheritance.”
“Our” I corrected, earning a playful swat to the shoulder.
Emma nodded to her mother and then to the door. My mum-in-law and her husband stood and followed her out. I waited until the door closed behind them before turning back to the men at the table.
“Gentlemen, I appreciate your confidence and adherence to the covenant that has kept us together for over a century.” I recited the words I’d memorized for this exact moment. “I want to assure you that my plans will only increase our profits. I’ve gained allies both here and down south.”
A few glances darted to the muscle flanking the door. Neither of them had needed to talk – their Liverpool accents would have given away their origin – but the men at the table didn’t even need to know that to see them as outsiders.
“I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have no interest in just surviving, living off of a smaller and smaller percentage of the pie,” I continued, checking on each and every lieutenant under my command in turn, “but that’s what you’ve been doing, even before my family met their end. I’d like to show you my plans, how we are going to expand with 21st century innovation.”
The men at the table offered rapt attention. Maybe Emma had it right. We were all transactional animals. Adherence to an old contract that had served them well helped keep them on my side, given the circumstances, but only if I kept the taps flowing. The only person whose glare still gnawed at me was Emma’s cousin beside the seat her mum had just vacated.
13
Reunions
Emma
Mom couldn’t even wait until we got to the street before she pounced. Her arm slapped around my side and she pulled me close. Her fingers snatched my hand and held the ring close to her face for an examination. A sour-faced Sal followed a few steps back. We earned some looks from the receptionist as we passed.
“Okay, you have a hell of a lot of explaining to do,” she said as we stepped through the doors, “starting with how many carats.”
“I’m not sure, I haven’t had it looked at,” I replied with a knowing glance.
“Ah.” Mom nodded. The wife of a mafioso understood the idea of hot jewelry. “Still, it is very nice, just like that man of yours, a husband? The boss?”
“I’m going to find something a little harder than coffee,” Sal said before he walked the other way.
He passed Bashir. Just as Ian said, his ally along with another darker-skinned man shadowed me and mom on our short walk to the corner. Mom frowned after her husband.
“You’d think he’d be happy, you’re someone else’s problem now,” she said.
“Like he ever offered me much support,” I grumbled.
I wouldn’t have had to find sugar daddies to pay for college if his income hadn’t made it impossible to get enough loans. Of course, those days were over. Between the inheritance and the money Ian owed me, I’d have more than enough to pay… if that was what I decided to do.
“Are you trying to change the subject?” Mom asked. “We were talking about your husband, not mine. So spill.”
Ian and I hadn’t discussed how much of the truth we’d share with my mom. She deserved to know everything… well, maybe I’d leave out the sex, at least most of it. His position wasn’t unimpeachable yet so I answered in half truths.
“We met the night of Ewan’s wedding,” I answered. Mom could put the dots together.
