Page 6 of Jordan

“Okay. And, Jordan?”

“Yes?”

“Happy New Year.”

“Happy New Year to you as well.” I ended the call and handed the phone back to Reghan, who walked over to retrieve it. He’d given me space while I took the call. Since he was one of the few allowed in my home as protection, he’d earned a bit of my trust.

Tonight was the end of the year. Another would dawn tomorrow. I didn’t dare hope for more than I had. As long as those I cared about were alive and safe, that was what mattered. Everything else I could deal with. Everything else I could remedy.

A life… I couldn’t get that back once it was gone. There was no reversing it, no rewinding time, or traveling in reverse. It was permanent.

I’d already buried two people I loved. I refused to do it again. If that meant I would be alone forever with just the people who worked for me and those in my inner circle, so be it. At least no one else who lived in my heart would be killed by my hand. I’d had enough of that and learned my lesson the hard way. One I didn’t want to repeat.

2

JORDAN

There were no bad areas of East Dremest, but there were less desirable sections. This was a city, after all. While a creek divided it in half, the entire city was much better than others. On the eastern side of Pennsylvania, north of Philadelphia, Dremest was named after the Dremest family, each generation working hard to keep their businesses running and a prominent name for themselves.

The elder Dremests were retired with their sons taking over their businesses. Dexen had his hands full with not only his own ventures, but the ones he took on from his father. His brother, Xaiden, was in the same boat. Both men were working their asses off. I had to respect them for that.

West Dremest was where most of their businesses were. Dexen had some on the eastern side of the city. The other family who ruled West Dremest was my blood. Perry Altair Jr., or as I called him, Junior. My brother, Perry Sr., passed away years ago from a massive stroke, leaving everything to his son. I saw Junior occasionally, but we weren’t close, never had been.

My brother and I had kept to our sides of the city, given how different our lives were. It wasn’t that we didn’t care for one another. We simply went in opposite directions. The division had remained over the years, with me maintaining my hold on East Dremest while my nephew and the Dremests mostly kept to the western side.

As we drove through the streets of my domain, I took in every aspect, like I always did. If something was happening here, I wanted to know about it. There weren’t skyscrapers in Dremest. This wasn’t a city as large as Philadelphia or New York. I preferred it that way. It was easier to keep my finger on the pulse when it was smaller.

We were venturing toward an area where the residents didn’t have as much money and the building facades reflected it. The funds I regularly donated to the improvement of the city were slowly working their way here. I saw it as we went from where there was construction and fresh growth to where nothing happened outside of people getting through each day, doing the best they could.

The car stopped in front of a building that had seen better days. White paint peeled from the stucco of the three-story dwelling. There weren’t any signs out front to say this was a business. Just a number—five sixty-five—in black wrought iron with the second five hanging askew.

“Are you sure this was the address you were given, sir?” Albert asked. He was nearing seventy and his hair was gray but neatly combed. His black suit disguised the strength he held. To others, Albert appeared as more of a grandfather driving me around. The reality was, he was very capable and could handle himself with ease. I didn’t have weak people around me when I went out. There was power in numbers and everyone with me had to be more than capable of neutralizing a threat. Albert was no exception.

Opening the email on my phone, I found the information Tristan had sent to verify this was the location I was told to meet Hartley Weathers at. I’d thought he would be in a better area, given how Tristan had described him with his nice clothes, trimmed facial hair, and sharp gaze. Then again, I knew better than to judge a book by its cover. People weren’t always as they seemed. I was. I needed others to fear me.

“Yes,” I replied. “This is it.”

I heard doors close outside, my guards exiting their vehicle. It wasn’t that I couldn’t take care of myself. I had to be armed and didn’t slack on making sure I was in shape. But I was still one man with a sea of enemies looking to take me out. It would be foolish if I traveled by myself. I might as well draw a target on my back and stand in the middle of the city if I did that.

Exiting the vehicle, I straightened my suit jacket and waited for Reghan and Raiden to flank me. They were twin brothers and able to fight in sync.

Before walking up the handful of stairs to the door, it opened to reveal a man standing in the doorway. My breath caught the moment I saw him, but I kept putting one foot in front of the other, needing to get to him so I could see him up close.

Shorter than me by roughly half a foot with light brown, wavy hair trimmed neatly and a matching beard cropped close to his face, he captivated me. Brown eyes held mine as he peered up, not cowering in the least. It turned me on. Few could look me in the eye and hold it without a bit of a tremor running through them.

“Mr. Altair, it’s nice to meet you.” He held out his hand. “I’m Hartley Weathers.”

I took his hand in mine, noting the calluses most likely from his trade. “Mr. Weathers, thank you for having me.”

He released my hand and stepped back. “Please, come in. I assure you there are no threats in here,” he added as he looked my guards over.

“That may be, but you’ll understand if I have them sweep the area before I go farther. Once they’re finished, one will wait outside while the other will stay near the door inside with us. This isn’t a lack of trust, Mr. Weathers. Simply me covering my bases like I always do.”

He nodded, but I didn’t miss the way his jaw remained clenched. He didn’t like my men in his space. That was too bad for him.

Reghan and Raiden went through the building, all three floors, to make sure there was no one lying in wait to harm me. As they did, I thought back to the list of rules Hartley had emailed Tristan before he agreed to work with me.

1. I will be the one to handle this request, not anyone on my team.

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