Evan Arden 05 Irrevocable Read Online Free PDF Page A

that.  I don’t want her to.”
    Rinaldo takes another swig from his scotch.  I’m tempted to rethink the offer of a drink.  Alcohol consumption is not a normal pastime for me, and I’m definitely not a “drink to forget” kind of guy, but a drink does actually sound good right now.  Maybe more than one.
    “Are you ready for business?” Rinaldo asks.
    Focus on business is a better remedy.
    “It has all my attention.”  My confirmation is enough for him.
    “I want you completely involved in all the channels.  Guns will be back in your hands, obviously, but also the caviar and meth.  There are the legitimate businesses as well—the clubs, uniform manufacturing, and car lots.”
    “We’re dealing meth now?”
    “Dealing, no.” Rinaldo takes a folder from the top of his desk and hands it to me. “Transportation from the south and distribution to Chicago dealers, yes.  You should recognize the local names.”
    I look at the top sheet of paper from the stack.  I know most of the names.  Everything else is a bit of a surprise to me.  I’ve only been on the periphery of the legal businesses under Rinaldo’s umbrella in the past.  I don’t even deal much with the laundering of my own money.  I just keep it stashed away in cash.
    I know plenty about the guns, caviar, and clubs.
    “Everyone knows you,” Rinaldo says.  “They know who you are, and they know what kind of influence you have.  You are the best I have to keep everyone in line.”
    “Are people skimming?” I ask.
    “It’s always an issue with the new managers,” Rinaldo replies with a shrug.  “More with the clubs than anything else.”
    “I can take care of that.”
    “I am quite sure you can.”
    He’s right.  I’m already forming plans in my head, based on the club managers.  None of them will be too difficult to handle.  If anyone is, they’ll be replaced.
    “The thing is,” Rinaldo says, continuing, “I’m not sure it’s the clubs this time.”
    “I’ll check it out.  Dig into some numbers.  I’ll figure out where money is going.”
    Rinaldo and I go over a few more details about caviar importation.  They’re all tasks I can handle, and I’m not concerned.  I prefer sticking to the killing, but I am always pulled into the other ventures.  Rinaldo trusts me to get the job done, whatever it may be.  We go over some numbers before he switches the subject.
    “I’m thinking of sending Nick away,” Rinaldo says.  “Since Milena came into his life, he has less interest in the business than he had before, which was little to none.”
    “At some point, he’ll become a liability,” I say.
    “I would rather send him away than have him end up on the wrong side of your rifle.”
    I raise an eyebrow and give him a little nod.  If it needed to be done, I wouldn’t hesitate, but killing Rinaldo’s offspring isn’t something I’d look forward to doing.
    “I could send him out West,” he says as he taps a finger against his lips.  “We need eyes in Seattle, and considering what a mess they are right now, I don’t think he’d be in much danger.”
    “It’s too soon.  It’s unlikely, but if Landon Stark or someone else gets a notion that we had something to do with Franks’ death, Nick would be an immediate target.”
    Landon Stark, former trainer of death-match participants for the Seattle mob had gone missing shortly after I killed Joseph Franks and sent the Seattle folks scrambling.  They haven’t recovered, but it’s only a matter of time.  Landon is also the mentor and father figure to my half brother, Sebastian Stark.  Sebastian has no idea of our relationship and had nearly succeeded in killing me during a tournament game in the Arctic.  I’d traded my life in exchange for killing Franks and removing the hold he had over Sebastian.  In return, Sebastian had agreed to let everyone believe I was dead.
    That didn’t last long.
    “Landon is still missing,” Rinaldo says.
    “He was a