His last name being spoken behind him permeated the red fog. He wanted to turn and take a swing at whoever stood there, like a wounded animal. Then the voice registered and his blood ran cold.
Connor. What were the odds that he would arrive just as Sera disappeared downstairs? He didn’t have time to think about it, only knew he had to keep the man there. The chance he’d been waiting for to help Sera had presented itself. It would also prevent him from ever seeing her again. The irony of that made him want to bang his head against the bar.
“Connor.” His voice sounded rusty.
“Shouldn’t you be hiding shirtless in the shadows somewhere?”
The other man eyed him suspiciously.
“Union break.”
Bowen nodded to the empty stool beside his own and gestured to the bartender. “You allowed to drink on the job?”
“Who gives a fuck?”
“Point taken.”
They stayed silent as the bartender pulled a pint of beer for Connor and set it in front of him. Tension lay thick between them, but both were waiting for the other to acknowledge it. Bowen understood this dynamic. He had it with Wayne
and
his
father.
Passive—
aggressive bullshit that passed for being friendly in Bensonhurst. But he’d never dealt with Connor before, a man who actually had something more than greed going on behind his eyes. He just didn’t know what it was.
“Heard about what happened last night outside of Marco’s,” Connor said, taking a sip of his beer. “Also heard you let him off with a couple broken bones.”
Remembering the sound those bones made as they broke, nausea rolled in Bowen’s stomach. “What’s it to you?”
Connor shrugged. “It’s not like you to be
so
benevolent.
That
Sera’s
influence?”
Never going to see her again. Never again. “I don’t like you saying her name.”
“I don’t care.”
Bowen’s fists started to shake, so he hid them under the bar. He didn’t get challenged very often and he shouldn’t let it stand, but he had Sera to think about. On top of it, there was something in Connor’s tone that stopped his words from being a taunt. Almost as if he were amused. At least someone was. But he didn’t like this asshole throwing him off guard, so he decide to surprise him.
“Speaking of benevolent, I hear you starting working for your cousin, Hogan, just so he’d help pay off your mother’s medical bills.”
The beer paused halfway to Connor’s mouth. “Mind telling me where you heard that?”
“I don’t kiss and tell.”
Connor’s lips twitched, but Bowen could see murder in his eyes. “All right, you don’t want to tell me who’s been running their mouth, that’s fine. I’ll find out on my own.” A tense pause ensued.
“What about the nonalcoholic beer? You turning over a new leaf?”
“Just watching my waistline.”
“Where’s Sera?”
Gone. She’s gone to me. The sickening thought rattled around his skull like dice, but he managed a casual laugh.
“She’s working, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. The atmosphere isn’t exactly captivating.”
“I mean, where is she now?”
Bowen held the man’s steady gaze. As far as he could tell, Connor hadn’t glanced once at the dining room since walking into Rush. “If you have something to say to her, you’ll say it to me first.”
A muscle jumped in Connor’s cheek.
“My cousin will be back in the morning, a day ahead of schedule. He asked me to talk to you personally.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “Our contact overseas got in touch with Hogan. The shipment has been rescheduled for tomorrow night. It’s risky, but he wants to stay the course. Same plan, different night. He wants to make sure you’re still in. If not, we call it off and wait another month. We need your manpower.”
The back of Bowen’s neck tingled. It didn’t sound right. “I’m just supposed to trust the word of this contact who I didn’t speak to directly?”
Connor nodded, before pulling a slip of paper from his jacket and sliding it across the bar. “I told Hogan you’d ask, so here’s his phone number. Do whatever you have to do and get back to me by tomorrow afternoon.”
Bowen shoved the paper into his jeans pocket. Tomorrow. He almost laughed.
Tonight was a difficult enough concept to wrap his mind around. Tomorrow sounded like a far-off place when his present had just walked away from him without a backward glance.
“Driscol,” Connor said, drawing him back before he could be sucked in permanently by the red fog. He jerked his head toward the dining room, where Sera had vanished from five minutes prior. “If you haven’t already, I’d suggest handling this little matter before it’s taken out of your hands.”