Page 48 of Mob Knight

It’s all good and well to have somebody buy a spot into an Ivy League, but it’s not like an idiot can stay. At least not an idiot who doesn’t figure out who to pay to keep their grades up for them. I made a small fortune doing homework and taking tests for those very types of people.

I’d say all of us have had an entrepreneurial spirit since we were young. No lemonade stands in the neighborhood, but we all came up with jobs once we were in high school. There were those our families assigned us, and there were the other independent ventures.

“Cormac, could you fecking pay attention?”

Dillan’s staring at me. My mind wandered, and it doesn’t even have anything to do with Jocelyn. I don’t know that I’ll get used to thinking of her that way. I’m just entirely distracted this morning.

“I have plenty on my mind. I’ve got two cases right now, and neither is turning out to be simple.” That’s not a lie, and I’ll make myself think about that instead.

“Where do we stand with that?” Dillan’s not letting me off the hook, which is fine because it’s on this morning’s unofficial agenda.

“The biotech acquisition stalled because the lawyers aren’t willing to present our offer to their clients. They believe they’re stonewalling us in their clients’ best interest.”

“It’s hardly in those lawyers’ best interest.”

I nod to Sean. His observation is correct. It’s not like we’re going to whack the opposing counsel, especially since two of them are women. But we’ll put the screws to them.

“How about you, Seamus? What’s going on with the robbery case?”

I breathe easier when Dillan turns his attention to my brother for his update. Seamus swallows the massive bite of pancake he practically inhaled and shrugs.

“We have a continuance until next month. The homicide trial starts in two weeks. Discovery’s been a bitch. Prosecution’s definitely withholding something. But I’m not worried I won’t learn what it is in time. My CIs are working overtime, and info’s trickling in. Not as fast as I’d like, but better than nothing.”

Finn speaks up with the quarterly audit’s results. The man isn’t obsessive, but he doesn’t sleep well if he can’t account down to the last five cents. Even that makes him twitch. Shane looks at me before he speaks.

“I need to go over to Staten Island today to check on the mini mall project. Where do things stand with Pablo?”

“Same as it usually is. We didn’t make any progress the other day when I ran into him in Port Richmond. I distracted him while Luke collected the last payments from the shops. They want us to stay out of there. I’m not interested in giving up those deals. However, now that those shop owners know there was never a need to pay us for protection, I’m going to have to find businesses somewhere else on Staten Island.”

It won’t be Port Richmond anymore, which might be a blessing in disguise since it means I won’t see Joey—Jocelyn—by accident. However, that’s like a knife to the chest since all I want is to see her again and fix my major fuck-up. Just going to Staten Island today will blow.

“I’ll scout out some new neighborhoods and their small businesses today. What’s going on with Misha and Pasha? They were bringing in a big shipment.”

Sean’s the head of our intel gathering, so he’s bound to have an update. Finn’s a talented hacker because he’s a forensicaccountant, but his little brother can hack a government site and leave it cleaner than he found it.

“Yeah, it’s due to arrive today. I’ll have guys go out and watch it come in, see if it’s what we think it is, and get a rough appraisal. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be worth our efforts to snag it, but one of my CIs says they’re expecting us. After all the shite that went down with the Polish, they’re being extra cautious with any of their deals. They’re going to have this shipment guarded tighter than Fort Knox.”

Dillan sweeps his gaze around the table as our cousin finishes. Misha and Pasha own an import/export company—Bear Imports—original name for fucking Russians—and they bring in a shite ton more than just pineapples and guavas and send out a lot more than corn and soybeans.

“We’ve got buyers lined up, so just let me know when we’re ready to move on it.” Finn will ensure we know where and when we should make the move once he gets the report from his brother, and we know how much cargo we need to store.

We finish the meeting, and I head back to Staten Island. I rarely spend that much time in this borough. The only thing worse would be this much time in Jersey. At least the red hair keeps anyone from confusing me with someCosa NostraGuido. Perish the thought.

I’m trying for more inconspicuous today, so I’m not rolling in one of our SUVs or even my Audi. I left my car in the parking garage we own, so we can house our fleet of vehicles. I switched to a nice midsize Lexus sedan. I’d look ridiculous pulling up in a Civic or Corolla when I’m wearing a custom-tailored suit. The Lexus will stand out, but it won’t appear as ostentatious as my souped-up sports car.

Fuck my life.

The only parking spot available on the entire block is behind Jocelyn’s car. With my luck, we’ll walk out of neighboringbuildings at the same time. She hasn’t responded to my text, which makes me think she won’t. I doubt she’s stewing over the perfect response since I doubt she’s considering answering.

I recognize several Cartel cars along with hers. They’ve upped their surveillance in the Latino communities, which doesn’t surprise me. The Diazes knew I’d be back to conclude my business here. These men won’t confront me. They’ll react if I go on the offensive, but none are high enough to take on a senior mobster. They’ll just tattle-tale to Enrique and Pablo within the next thirty seconds. It means I have little time to work.

I head into the first shop—a bakery—and the owner freezes. I see the guy’s gaze dart to the new security camera I immediately noticed as I walked in the door.

“Eduardo,mi amigo, you didn’t pay on time when my guy stopped in to say hi. I hope you remembered to add the interest.”

“O’Rourke, I’m not paying. The Diazes own my ass now.”

“They can have the left cheek, and we’ll keep the right for now. You’ve always prided yourself on not reneging on business deals. That means you need to make a final payment. Since you’re still in business, it means Pablo didn’t throw a tantrum about you paying us. I can’t say I’ll be as forgiving.”

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