But I knew better than to believe it was.
“All right,” Tate said, settling into his chair. He wore a dark blue suit and a light blue dress shirt and looked every inch the professional businessman he pretended to be. “Let’s get this meeting started. First, let’s welcome our visitor today, Lucas Donahue.”
Everyone sat, murmuring quiet welcomes in their designer suits and ties.
Chris just raised a brow at me.
I stared back at him.
The men took turns speaking and solving problems. One by one, they discussed territories and deaths and errors. It was a management meeting, and I had nothing to add, because I didn’t manage a damn thing besides Heidi, and I even sucked at that.
Leaning back in the wood chair, I watched my companions through my lowered lashes. Tate sat kind of separated from the rest of us, and Brian was to his left. Chris sat on the right, and I was next to him. Across from me was Tommy, and he watched me with skepticism, as if he couldn’t figure out why the hell I was sitting at this table in the first place.
Hell, neither could I.
But I’d been summoned, and so here I was.
“The crew in Center City is having a hard time locking down sales. They keep getting busted and think we need to move away from the high school,” Tate said, rubbing his forehead. “So we need to come up with a better place to deliver.”
Chris smirked at me. I stiffened, knowing this wasn’t gonna go anywhere good. “You got any thoughts on this, Luc?”
“Uh . . . yeah.” I sat up straighter and tapped the fingers of my good hand on the table. “Center City is heavily policed. We need to move away from it.”
Brian nodded. “That’s what we just said. So what do you suggest?”
“Yeah.” Chris leaned back and crossed his arms. “Whatcha got, Luc?”
I shrugged, not liking the way my blood brother put me on the spot like that. This was obviously some sort of test, and the stubborn asshole part of me didn’t want to fail it. An earlier conversation with Heidi came to mind, and I sat up straighter. “I don’t know. Maybe . . . maybe we throw the badge for a loop and move closer to Steel Row High rather than farther from it. There’s an alley near it, right?”
Tate leaned forward, his lips parted. “Yeah. It’s got a few. And there’s a deserted Laundromat, too, only a block out.”
“So what if we use those alleys to our advantage?”
Brian shook his head. “Too dangerous. We’d be vulnerable to an ambush.”
“Agreed,” Tommy said quickly.
“But the police usually avoid the alleys if the homeless are in them. They don’t waste their time with them, since all they want is a place to sleep.” I leaned on the table and locked gazes with Tate. “A few wads of cash and a couple prepaid phones here and there, and we can not only have that alley empty and waiting for us, but we’ll have people who can warn us if the Boys are coming.”
Brian shook his head. “I don’t know. Too many risks.”
“It could work, though,” Tommy said, eyeing me with new respect. He rubbed his jaw and slapped his hand on the table. “It could actually fucking work. He’s right. The Boys avoid the usual homeless haunts.”
Tate cracked a smile. “All right. Then I say we should case the place, see how it looks. Take a few days to make sure we’re right, and then we make the move, if all the pieces line up the way I like.”
Chris nodded once. “Seconded.”
“Third,” Brian said.
Tommy nodded. “Fourth.”
They all stared at me. I shifted in my seat. “I came up with the idea, so obviously . . . fifth . . . or whatever the hell I’m supposed to say.”
Tate laughed, his blue eyes shining like sapphires. The guy could be a ruthless killer, but there was no denying his charismatic charm. It was a dangerous combination, if you were on his shit list. “You’ll get the hang of it. Don’t worry.”
“The hang of what, exactly?” I tugged on my collar and picked up my whiskey, which had been previously untouched. “Why am I here?”
“That’s a conversation we’re going to have alone.” Tate nodded at the other men. “If you’ll excuse us, gentlemen?”
The other three men grabbed their drinks and left without another word. As Chris passed, he winked at me. I flipped him off under the table. He laughed. As soon as the door shut, I set my glass down. “Is there something I can do for you, sir?”
Tate shoved a hand through his red hair. “You’ve been loyal to us for over thirteen years now. A member since before you were old enough to grow hair on your chest.”
I laughed. “With all due respect, you’re only two years older than me.”
“Yeah.” Tate smiled slightly. “But I was born into this life. You weren’t. You chose it, embraced it, lived it.”