Page 65 of Dark Secrets

She ached with it, but she knew some secrets you couldn’t come back from. No matter how hard you tried.

ChapterTwenty-Eight

James sat alone at the conference table in the basement of Reign, pen tapping against the stack of papers in front of him. They were supposed to be going over the inventory list for the next set of shipments due to arrive at the docks in less than forty-eight hours. Aidan had closed another big deal, one that promised a long and fruitful partnership with a European contact.

Then there was the revised logistics to go over for New York. Their first two sales in the city had gone off without a hitch. Still, James didn’t want a repeat of their initial move. He hoped to speak to Declan about setting up a system to deliver product directly to New York rather than to Philadelphia and have to truck it.

It would be a much more extensive plan to ensure them the same setup they had at home. More men on the ground in New York so they could strategically place them at the harbor to receive shipments and make sure paperwork was doctored or eyes looked the other way when necessary. They had all that in Philly. They’d have to build it in New York.

He looked up when lights flashed on in the main room, and minutes later, Declan strode in, followed shortly by Aidan. Both of them looked a little pissed off.

“Rough morning?” James wondered as Declan dropped into his chair with a groan.

“A Russian rat who didn’t want to talk,” Aidan said.

“Took all night to persuade him,” Declan added. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

James waved away his cousin’s apology. “Was he involved in the hit on our caravan?”

“Indirectly. He was apparently sharing information with the Russians in New York.”

“That he was getting from where, exactly?”

“His own asshole,” Aidan supplied. “It was pure dumb luck they found us. They were aiming for one of our leaked times and got stuck in traffic.”

“Still.” James twirled his pen around his fingers. “I don’t like the idea of the Russians colluding between New York and Philly.”

“Neither do I. Ivankov has a week to root out the cancer from his own organization, or I’m going to do it for him. Brogan is watching. Now tell me what we’re moving this week.”

James slipped his quickly scribbled notes out from the stack and scanned them. He’d burn them later, but it always helped to jot it down, even if it was in an unreadable shorthand to anyone off the street.

“Six shipments being staggered over two days. Three go to Aidan’s new Belgian friend, two to a repeat customer, and one to a low-level drug lord in”—he squinted at his notes—“Pittsburgh.”

“Not that low level if he’s buying from us.”

“Trust me,” Aidan interjected. “He’s a poseur hoping to buy himself some street cred by waving around a bunch of AK-47s. I’ll be surprised if he’s still alive a week after delivery.”

Declan snorted. “Everything handled then?”

“Yep. Crews established, and since some of them are new to working together, we’re running drills later this week to make sure everyone knows what the fuck they’re doing.”

“Good. How are the training classes coming? I’d like to put more men on the ground soon. People,” he corrected.

“They’re going well. Another month at the outside, and I’ll have a group ready for you for low-level stuff. Security, patrol, shit like that. Brogan has some incredible shooters he’ll want to keep working with. And Holt and I have pegged about eight we want to train for deliveries and special ops.”

“All right. I talked to Sean. New York seems solid, but they’ll want another delivery soon.”

“About that.” Both Aidan and Declan looked up at him, and he shifted in his seat. “I think we should establish a bigger base up there. Have product shipped directly to New York for New York deals.”

Declan leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers in front of him. “That would be quite a base.”

“I know. It would require eyes and ears at the docks and probably in a few other paper pushing places. But we start making regular convoy shipments from Philly to New York, and we only open ourselves up to more attacks. They won’t succeed, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try. Shipping directly to New York eliminates that risk for us.”

“And it establishes a firmer base of power in the city.”

“Which makes us look even better to potential buyers,” Declan added. “All right. Draw up some preliminary plans for me to look at based on our setup here. I trust your father to run it there the way you’re running things here, so it should be an easy thing to wrangle.”

“Done. I can have something drafted before our next meeting. I’ve also heard from a few men interested in making New York a permanent placement. If we decide to stick it out for the long haul.”

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