Page 33 of Royal Shark
I get back to my original purpose. “My friend is running a poker game here in Brooklyn, and I was hoping you might know something about some local Russians playing in the game.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to make sure they’re legit.”
He takes a long drink of water. “There’s a large Russian community over in the Brighton Beach area. Good people, very family oriented. I mean, yeah, the Russian mafia is there, but there’s plenty of good folks too.”
“I don’t think they’re from there. They’re new immigrants with accents. Really wealthy, young, living in the Park Slope area, and I don’t know where else.”
He lifts a brow. “You got names?”
“Just a few.”
“Well, gimme.”
“I only know two. Sergei Rivkin and Yuri Petrov.”
“Don’t know Sergei. Now Yuri. If that’s who I think it is, his dad’s a big-time real estate developer.”
“Yes, he mentioned that.”
He shakes his head. “My uncle told us never to work for his projects. His dad gets into ridiculous debt, gambles with other people’s money, and then doesn’t pay his contractors. He puts good people out of business. I’d stay away from that one.”
“He asked all of us to buy into a deal in Queens.”
“Wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Sergei already put in some money. Like right away.”
“If Sergei’s connected to the mob, it could be a way to clean his money. If not, he made a really bad investment.”
I watch as he finishes his sandwich in a few bites and then drains his water. He wipes his mouth on a napkin and gathers his trash on a tray. I get the feeling he’s about to leave.
“Thanks for meeting me, Dylan. I was hoping to meet the rest of your family while I’m here too. I’d really like to connect again.”
His expression is stone. “You met me. That’s enough.”
“But we’re family. Don’t you think they’d want to meet me?”
He presses his lips together. “No, I don’t. It’ll only hurt them.” His blue eyes narrow. “You think we don’t know what you think of us? My father told us. He was thrown out and told that he and his riffraff family could stay in Brooklyn forever exiled. No wealth or privilege that comes with his title, not even an allowance. You think it’s easy for a man raised to the throne to make a living starting from scratch here?”
“What did he do?”
“He did what he had to. My uncle offered him a job in construction, asking him to keep the books. He’s the office guy and worked like hell to learn everything he could about the business. My brothers and I joined them as soon as we were old enough. Byrne Construction is a family business. The Byrnes are my family, my mother’s side. Not yours.”
“I’m really sorry for the way things went down back then, but we’re the new generation. We can make it right. The Rourkes are your family too.”
He scowls. “You don’t get it. I would’ve been king down the line. Instead, I’m here working hard labor while you’re enjoying the good life up at the palace. Look, I came today out of respect for Silvia. I like her. That’s enough Rourke family time for me.”
“Will you come to dinner tonight at her place?”
He stands. “I’m beat, so I’ll pass.” He sets his dishes in the bin on top of the trash can and tosses his trash inside the can. “Gotta go.”
I stand and cross to him. “There doesn’t have to be so much bitterness between our families.”
He tilts his head. “Doesn’t have to be, but there is, and we both know whose fault that is. I’ll let you know if anything turns up about Sergei. If you don’t hear from me, it’s all good.”
“Can you tell your father I’d like to meet him?”
