Chapter Sixteen

Eamon

“What do you think, E-money?”

Shae turned to me expectantly. We were on site, checking out the newest location for another underground casino. He leaned in, waiting for my opinion.

“Pretty fucking great, right?”

He flashed his wide, toothy smile and looked around, gesturing at the fixtures as if I couldn’t see everything right before our eyes.

It was a familiar look. I knew it well and when I looked at the spacious location, I felt it too. The burgundy carpeting with the gold pattern swirling through it was outdated but it had that retro seventies feel I knew our clients would appreciate.

I’d gone over it carefully, did some numbers in my head and said, “It has to be gutted and it’ll take about six weeks of work but I think it’ll do.”

“It’ll do? That’s all you have to say about this amazing space?” Shae shook his head. “You’re getting old if the thrill of the find is gone, brother.”

Maybe he was right, I thought. But then, I said, “Maybe you’re just overly excited because you found this property.”

I had to agree, it was a damn good location and a gem of a find considering how many of these places the Connelly family already operated within Rocket city limits, not to mention the surrounding areas.

“Maybe I am,” Shae replied, “but that doesn’t mean it’s not incredible.”

I cast my eyes over at the realtor listening in at us. I scowled at Shae.

“Maybe you should talk a little louder about how incredible it is, so the realtor can jack up the price or even better, start a bidding war for this space.”

It was the one thing Shae lacked, good business sense. Maybe it was because he was such a good time guy, working, well, schmoozing the other organizations to keep anyone’s feathers from getting a bit too ruffled in this line of work. Or maybe it was because he was the baby of the family. Either way, it was a gap in his education that none of us had been able to fill.

Shae grinned and then shrugged like it was no big deal. “She knows who we are and what we do. No way in hell would she dare.” And that was the other problem with Shae. He saw a problem and immediately grabbed the sledgehammer when a scalpel would get the job done.

“This is business baby brother, and we all play the game. Sit back and watch.” I strolled over to the realtor with a jovial grin. “Josie, this place looks great, but I think it needs some work.”

She flashed a mile wide grin and looked around with an appraising eye.

“The work is all surface, just beauty work and it’ll turn into a spectacular place.”

“Those bathrooms are more than a beauty job. We’ll have to gut them and start over, check the plumbing, too. Maybe even pull up the carpets to be sure there’s no mold. You have a report on this place?”

Josie’s shoulders sagged in disappointment. “Yeah, I’m sending it to your phone now,” she said as her fingers flew over her phone’s screen.

“Everything looks good Mr. Connelly and the price is fair with very little wiggle room.”

“How little?”

“Ten, fifteen off, tops.”

I could work with that. “And what about the parking lot? If you throw that in, I’ll pay full price before I even open up the report.”

Josie nibbled her bottom lip and just like that, I was transported to this morning with Layla. The way she nibbled her lip when she was nervous or when she was thick in the middle of passion, completely undid me. I couldn’t stop thinking about her, dammit. Every fucking thing I saw made me think of her. I imagined laying her out on the bar with the leather bumper, legs splayed wide with my cock buried deep in her sweet pussy.

“Are you even listening?” Shae looked at me like I was a stranger.

“What? Just making plans in my head,” I told him casually before turning back to Josie.

“I’ll take this to the seller but I can say with confidence we have a tentative deal.” She stuck her arm out with a satisfied smile, giving me a firm shake I appreciated. Josie dressed the part of a sexpot but she’d never once attempted to cross the line, which was why we’d made her a very rich woman once she learned how big a premium we put on discretion.

“Sounds good. Let me know when you have a definite answer.”

“Will do.” She grabbed her bag, stuffed a few papers inside and headed for the door. “Thanks again, Eamon. Shae.”

When she was gone, my brother turned to me. “What the fuck, man? You spacing out on business now?”

“What? You’re fucking crazy, baby brother. Didn’t I just turn your incredible space into a done deal? Get off my ass.”

“What’s up with you or should I say who? You haven’t been yourself lately.”

I laughed and shoved my hands in my pocket, taking another long look at the space. “Finally decided to pursue that psych degree so you can move past arm chair psychologist?”

“Don’t be an asshole, man. Just tell me that whatever it is won’t affect the business.”

That pulled a sharp, bitter laugh from me. “That’s rich coming from you, Shae.”

“Yeah, I know the signs.”

I clapped him on the back. “You worry too much. I’m fine and things are fine. I can’t help it that I have a lot of shit going on and didn’t give you enough attention. Think of it this way, at least I got us parking space out of the deal.”

His gaze narrowed in my direction. “The old man will love you more for it.”

“Nah, you can take the credit. It means more to you.”

“Fuck you, asshole.”

“Not my time, brother. And I’m pretty sure that’s against the law.”

“Not that it ever stopped us before,” he added with a smirk. “You did good with the negotiating.”

Of course I did, I’d been trained to do this shit since I was old enough to understand the art of negotiation. “You’ll learn baby brother, because you’re going to secure the vendors to get this place up and running.”

“You already cleared it with Dad?”

“No, but I will. Don’t worry.”

“Hey, you think we should ask Josie if anyone else has come looking for a space similar to this one?”

I smiled at my brother and wrapped an arm around him because I knew he hated it. “That is a great fucking idea, man. Track her down and let me know what you find out.”

If we could fuck with the Milanos in any way, make them see how difficult life would be with us as enemies, maybe we could squash this small problem before it became a bigger, deadlier problem.

“On it. Talk soon, E-dogg.” Shae hurried toward the door, eager to catch up with the pretty lawyer and find his way into Patrick’s good graces, which wasn’t necessary but Shae was the only one who didn’t believe it.

“My phone is always on.” I pulled the phone from my pocket and glanced down at the screen with a smile. I only had two more nights with Layla and after last night, and this morning, I knew it wouldn’t be enough to get her out of my system. She was a rare kind of fuck, the kind that fucks with your head and makes you question which way was up. I sent a message.

See you soon, princess.

There, that should keep her on edge. Hot and bothered and curious about what I would do to her next.

I tried to shove aside thoughts of Layla as I went on with the rest of my day, but it was useless. The peach scones served at Patrick’s place reminded me of the smell of her hair, the fresh raspberries brought to mind her stiff nipples, hard and aching from my mouth. Everything brought her to mind, so much so that after updating my father on the day’s business, I left in a hurry.

Eager for another taste.