Page 47 of Brutal Power

Elena laughs and shakes his hand. “A pleasure, Randy.”

“Pleasure’s all mine. But I guess I should call you Elena Quinn now, right?”

She seems a bit startled but recovers. “Right, yes, I’m not used to that yet.”

“Come have a drink with me,” Randy says, gesturing toward a booth, but I wave him off.

“We’re working,” I tell him, which he understands and lets us pass over to the bar.

I order a whiskey and Elena asks for some wine. The drinks show up fast as more people I know come over to say hello and introduce themselves to Elena. Not only is this place right on the edge of my territory and the majority of these people are friendly with my organization, but I’m also a lawyer and I know a lot of these people professionally. The Irish community in Chicago is close-knit and we take care of each other, even if we don’t necessarily always get along.

Part of me wondered if Elena would draw too much attention, and she’s definitely getting a lot of that, but it’s not really a bad thing. Turns out she knows most of these people too since her family’s as deeply connected as mine, if not more so, just notnecessarily with the cops. She knows all the lawyers in this place though, with the exception of cretins like Randy, and happily asks questions about their personal lives like she’s known them all for years.

“How the hell do you do that?” I ask after an older public defender walks off. “Seriously, how did you know that guy has a daughter?”

“We met once or twice. I’m good with people.” She pats my chest. “Don’t worry, darling, you’re with a professional now.”

If she didn’t look so damn good, and she weren’t living up to her lofty standards, I might be annoyed.

At least I take over when it comes to the cops. Despite her family’s underworld dealings, most of the officers we speak to are more than happy to shake her hand and introduce themselves, probably because it’s like seeing a minor celebrity wander into the room. Any of these law enforcement types would be happy to bust a Bianco. That’d make their damn careers.

Elena charms their pants off. She practically glows in social situations like this, laughing at the right times, telling good stories, basically being engaged with everyone she speaks to in a way that makes them feel special. Even I’m starting to like her more watching her work, and I already knew she was incredible before tonight.

Things are going great until we reach Captain Niall Kennedy. He’s a grizzled old bastard with a head like a brick and shoulders like two eighteen-wheelers. His body’s slumped over his drink and nobody’s bothering him at the end of the bar, which makessense, because he’s everyone’s boss in this place. Also, he’s crabby as fuck.

“How are things, Captain?” I nod at the bartender and buy him another drink. He glances at me and shrugs.

“Things are fine, Quinn. The fuck you want? Parade your new pretty criminal wife in front of the rank and file. They’re more impressed than I am.”

Elena leans against my side, smiling as if he told the best joke in the world. “Actually, I’d much rather talk to you. This is the first time I’ve been surprised all night.”

Captain Kennedy lifts his head slightly and glances at her. He’s frowning, but he’s also not telling her to fuck off, which is a good thing.

“You and your people have been trouble lately, Ms. Bianco,” he grunts at her. “Sorry, I meant Mrs. Quinn. We’ll have to update our files on you.”

Anger unfurls in my guts. I don’t like the way he’s speaking to my wife, and I’m about to tell him so when Elena squeezes my shoulder. “Please do, Captain. I wouldn’t want the CPD’s paperwork to be incorrect. We all know how much you cops love your paper.”

That gets the tiniest hint of a smile. “You’re funny, Mrs. Quinn.”

“Please, call me Elena. I’m sure you know me better than I know you.”

“You’d assume right.” Captain Kennedy accepts the new drink the bartender places in front of him and turns in our direction. “What can I do for you, Brody?”

“I wanted to discuss some of those files you just mentioned.” I swirl my drink and glance at Elena. If Captain Kennedy had been a little kinder to her, I might do this the easy way, take a nice soft approach with him. Instead, I’m kind of pissed off, and I want to rub his smug fucking face in it.

“I’m not interested.” He starts to turn away again.

“But I’m sure you’re interested in your wife’s medical debt.” I say it nice and casually, but he stiffens. I feel Elena tense at my side too, but I ignore her. “Yeah, I know where my money’s going, Captain, and I know you’ve been taking a nice, big bite out of the CPD’s cut. How is she doing now?”

“In remission,” he says, not meeting my eye. “The department’s got a good medical plan, but—” His shoulders slump. “Fuck you, Quinn. That’s but what.”

“There are too many officers interested in the Bianco family,” I say softly, leaning in closer so only he and Elena can hear me. “I need you to make sure they’re busy working other cases.”

“Why the fuck would I do that?”

“Because your debts can go away.”

His big hands tighten around the glass. “You’re using my wife’s cancer against me. That’s pretty fucked up, even for you.”

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