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With a chuckle, he spreads his arms wide. “We’ll see. You need what I got, Lorcan.”
“You’re not offering what I need,” Lorcan says. “Stand down.”
Guns clank back into holsters behind me. Easing down my hands, I slide my guns into their places, but I don’t lock them in. What could Lorcan need from a sleazy man like Derry?
Without a backward glance, Lorcan strides past me and the rest of the men. When he gets to the steel door to outside, he slams his hands into it, forcing the door open at an abrupt speed.
On the way back to the vans, he leads the way in sullen silence. I’m still unsteady on my feet. When I weave, Antonio shoots me a look of annoyance.
“I need to eat,” I say before lengthening my strides to catch Lorcan.
As we near the SUV and vans, he slows his stride. He whirls on the men and says, “I need a collection round. Everyone but Antonio and Kim, go collect from people. Protection, tariffs. I don’t care what you gotta do. Money comes straight to me. None of it goes to Finn.”
A couple of the men shuffle and squint at each other.
“Anyone got a problem with that?”
No one says anything, but it’s clear the request isn’t a normal one.
Antonio holds out his hand. I raise my eyebrows.
“Keys. You don’t drive the boss. I do.”
Taking the keys out of my pocket, I drop them into his hand. Do I sit in the front with Antonio who I’m coming to despise or in the back with an angry Lorcan? At least in the back, I might get answers before we arrive at the house.
Going around the SUV, I climb into the back seat. Antonio’s unimpressed gaze meets mine in the mirror. Lorcan’s still talking to a couple of the men outside.
We sit in silence until Lorcan gets in beside me. He doesn’t acknowledge me. Antonio steers the vehicle away from the curb, and the SUV glides through the streets headed back to the house.
“You okay?” Lorcan’s face is turned away, focused outside.
“Didn’t eat enough today.”
“Eat anything yet?”
Darkness is starting to fall on the city around us.
“No.”
“Antonio, call ahead and see if Jackie can have something ready for me to pick up.”
“Sure thing, boss.” Antonio touches the Bluetooth device in his ear.
“Why are you knocking on doors?” I shift in my seat to see him better.
“I need capital.”
“You’re going to raise that through tariffs and protection money?”
“No,” he bites out. “I was going to raise it through a deal with Derry.”
“What happened?”
“He wanted the power and the majority of the money. I don’t need that deal.”
“A product or an investment?”
Lorcan’s mouth twists, and he glances at me. “Product. People rise to the occasion for it.”