Chapter 1
“You can’t be serious?” Connor Falciano snarled. His stepsister Kollette may have married into the Lawson family, but no way in hell did that give any of them the right to dictate who Connor worked for. Of course, he’d anticipated the conversation happening, just not this soon. “My employment is none of your business.”
Ethan wouldn’t let it go so easily. “There are things you don’t know. Things that…”
“My sister doesn’t know?” Connor finished.
Ethan nodded. “And I need to keep it that way. There’s…history between the families.”
Connor had noticed it the very first time he’d seen Dean Henderson and Seth Lawson in the same room. There was a tension between them that said they didn’t trust each other. Connor leaned back in his chair. “Then why don’t you fill me in?”
Connor was caught in the middle here, for sure, but he wasn’t crossing any lines, or taking any sides. Not now, anyway. If it was something that could hurt Kollette, that would change things. Kollette had told him she didn’t need his overbearing protection. But even if she was tough as nails, she was still his kid sister. And the fact that Ethan was keeping secrets from Kollette was enough to raise concern. Ethan had promised to love and honor Kollette. Lying wasn’t a good way to start.
“It’s not something I care to discuss,” Ethan commented firmly.
“Yet you brought it up,” Connor challenged. He was giving Ethan the chance to come clean, to be up front. If he had to, Connor could find out for himself what Ethan was hiding. It would require him to do some digging on the Hendersons. He’d been working for them for almost six months now, so he’d had time to develop concerns. Each time Connor asked questions about what they were doing in Tabiq, their answers were exact, almost rehearsed. His gut told him there was a lot more than just business going on in Tabiq. He wondered now if Ethan knew.
“I shouldn’t have mentioned it,” Ethan replied.
It was too late. “No problem. Maybe the Hendersons will be more forthcoming.”
Ethan grunted. “I highly doubt it. And your working so closely with them concerns me.”
“It shouldn’t,” Connor responded flatly. “I notice your brother Gareth is working in Tabiq with the Hendersons now, too. Do you have reservations about that?”
Ethan snorted. “More than you can imagine.”
“Enlighten me,” Connor said.
“Lawson Steel has always been a family-run business. Gareth breaking off and starting his own business was, let’s say, unexpected.”
Connor knew that was the truth, but only part of it. “I thought he was still involved in the family business.”
“He is, but it’s not the same. He’s usually in…”
“Tabiq with the Hendersons. It always seems to come back to them, doesn’t it?” Connor knew it wasn’t jealousy that was eating at Ethan, but rather that he didn’t like his brother becoming so close with the rival family. Understandable. Then again, Connor wasn’t thrilled about Kollette marrying a Lawson either.
“I didn’t ask you to meet me here to talk about my family,” Ethan said.
“But they are Kollette’s family now. So, I guess in a way, that makes them mine, too.” Whether I like it or not.
“I wouldn’t compare us to the Hendersons,” Ethan scoffed.
Connor chuckled. “Because they have secrets and you don’t?” Ethan glared at him. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Ethan, you don’t need to tell me anything you don’t want to. However, I strongly suggest you tell your wife.” Because you don’t want me to do it when I find out what the hell the big secret is.
“Some things are best left buried,” Ethan said.
“There was a time I believed that, too. But I learned that the harder you try, the more likely it will come out. Guaranteed, when it does, you’ll regret keeping it from her.” Not only did he know how Kollette would react, but also, he had learned that lesson firsthand. Sometimes a relationship didn’t survive a lie. Mine sure as hell didn’t.
It had been years, but he never forgot the look on Carol’s face when she walked out the door. It had been clear; nothing he said would earn her forgiveness. Not that it should.
Even now Connor could tell that Ethan wanted to open up, to tell him, tell someone. Whatever it was, it seemed to be eating at him. A bar probably wasn’t the right place to have the conversation, even one as high-class as this one. He chose not to push any further.
“I’ll think about it,” Ethan said. “The timing isn’t good. Not with her being pregnant. She’s already emotional.”
When isn’t she emotional? “And you think this can wait?” Connor asked.
“It really won’t change anything. At least not in the way you think.”
“Ethan, I’m not sure what to think about this. All I know is you’d better not be involved in anything illegal, because I’ll bust your ass, family or not. Got it?” Connor warned. There were things rooted deep within him, and following the law was one of them.
“Trust me, Connor, it’s not. It’s personal.”
That was going to be harder to uncover. He did much better with facts, hard evidence. Feelings were subjective, hard to pin down. “Don’t make me regret giving you my blessing, Ethan. Because I promise you, I’m not someone you want as an enemy,” Connor warned.
“I told you before, I’ll never do anything to hurt Kollette,” Ethan stated.
“I sure as hell hope not, but remember, secrets are as bad as lies.”
Ethan’s phone rang. He glanced at it, and by the expression on his face, Connor could tell he didn’t like who it was on the other end.
“Tell me that’s not Kollette’s call that you’re avoiding?” Connor asked.
“Hell no. It was Alex, your boss.”
One of them. “Nice to know you ignore their calls.”
“Unlike you, I don’t work for them.”
“True,” he replied.
He wondered why Alex was reaching out to Ethan. Before this meeting, he never would’ve given it a second thought. It was going to be awkward, and possibly unethical, but he’d have to do some investigating. His gut said there was a lot more to the casual business relationship than either the Hendersons or Lawsons wanted to publicly admit. Connor didn’t like to get blindsided. Thankfully, Connor knew Roger Patrick, a former colleague in the DEA who was tightly linked to the Hendersons. It might not be a bad idea to invite him for a drink and see what Roger was willing to share. Roger was a decent guy and wouldn’t stand by and work for someone who was involved in illegal activity.
Ethan downed his beer and said, “Thanks for meeting me.”
“I’m not really sure why you wanted this to be kept private. It’s not like we actually discussed anything.” The Hendersons knew that Ethan was married to his sister. They wouldn’t question the two of them meeting. So maybe it was Kollette that Ethan was hiding from. It’s a slippery path, if that’s where he’s going.
“I didn’t want my brothers to know I was in the city. At least not when I don’t have time to see them on this trip.”