Page 10 of Dark Secrets

Not that they ran into many civilians who knew what they were about. Declan made sure syndicate men were strategically placed in jobs around the city where they needed them most. His own sister-in-law Reagan worked for PPD as a forensics tech.

“Last thing before we wrap up,” Evie said. “Now that the syndicate has its first female heir”—she glanced at Declan, who smiled—“we want to offer more positions to women.”

“We have women working in the syndicate already,” Aidan pointed out. “Reagan and Aisling both work for PPD.”

“Can you name any others?” Evie cocked her head while she watched Aidan think. “I didn’t think so. We lost our ED nurse…” Evie’s eyes slid to James, and she gave him a sad smile, clearing her throat. “Almost three years ago, and we haven’t put in anyone new at any hospitals in the city.”

She leaned forward, resting her clasped hands on the tabletop. “But beyond that, beyond all the opportunities we can give to women who want them, I don’t want my daughter rising to lead a bunch of men when we have several decades to lay a solid foundation and do things differently.”

Leaning back again, she gestured to Aidan. “Or your daughter. Or Cait’s. Or Brogan and Libby’s kids, if they have them. Those are the people who will be sitting at this table in another forty or fifty years. I don’t want them to be starting behind.”

“What did you have in mind?” James wondered.

“Reagan knows some women who are already interested in taking a more active role,” Declan said.

“And I have a few in mind too,” Evie added. “So, I want to approach those women directly.”

“But beyond that,” Declan continued, “I want to call a meeting of the twelve families. Take their temperature on this.” Evie snorted. “My wife doesn’t agree with me on that.”

“It’s not that I don’t agree it’s the right thing to do,” Evie said. “It’s the fact we even have to do it.”

“I know, love. But if I learned anything from the changes I started making five years ago, it’s that some of them need to be eased in slowly. So we’ll meet with the heads of the families first. Figure out who’s going to be a pain in the ass about it.”

“And then?” Brogan said.

“And then I think we can start with simple self-defense and tactical classes. We’ve got a group of boys coming of age. They can train together.”

“You think that’s wise? The training is pretty tough.”

Evie shot Brogan a searing look. “Yes. I think it’s wise.”

Brogan held up his hands in defense. “I’m not saying this isn’t a good move. Libby has been whispering in my ear about it for weeks, so I know it’s been on your mind. I’m only asking the question.”

“We’ll gauge interest,” Evie said. “See how they measure up, where we can use them best. We have to start somewhere.”

“Any questions?” Declan wondered. “I want the family to be on the same page about this. I know we’re going to get pushback from some of the older heads, and I want to be a unified front. So if any of you have something to say, say it now.”

“Mick Donahue is going to be a real prick about this,” Aidan said. “Remember how he threw a fit about Aisling becoming a cop?”

“Mick Donahue can and will answer to me if he has that much of a problem with how I’m running things,” Declan replied.

“I’m on board,” James said, and the rest of the room agreed.

“Thank you,” Evie murmured to James as the rest of the room readied to leave.

“For what?”

“Agreeing to this. You’re the one who runs hand-to-hand in these trainings.”

“You’re right, Evie. Avery deserves to grow up seeing the kind of syndicate you dream about. And Maura would have loved it.”

Evie’s eyes filled with tears, and she blinked against them. “She would have, wouldn’t she?”

He nodded, chest aching a little at the thought. “Besides, I’ve seen you with a gun in your hand. You’re almost as good a shot as Brogan. The syndicate needs more women like you, and we’ve got them waiting right under our noses.”

He shoved away from the table when Evie did, slipping his arms into his jacket as he trailed the group to the stairs. There would definitely be pushback from some of the men on this, the ones who still felt a woman’s place was in the home and the kitchen, but Declan had done a lot of work to drag them into the twenty-first century, and Evie was determined to drag them even further.

Emerging from the dark of the windowless club, James shielded his eyes against the sun peeking through the clouds for the first time in days, turning the piles of snow to diamonds. At this time of day, Addy would be finishing up prep, Mike would be double-checking the bar’s inventory, and Clara would be gossiping while she rolled silverware.

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