“I’m gonna save both of us some time.” I held up a hand to stop him when he made as if to continue his line of bullshit. “There is no way in hell I am ever going to believe that you called me here for a reconciliation. Further, I’m not naive enough to believe you’d hand me a lead on a case out of the goodness of your heart.”
He had the nerve to attempt an offended expression. “Why not?”
“Because there is no goodness in you—or heart, for that matter.” I stared at him with a challenge to try to convince me otherwise. When he remained silent, I said, “So stop insulting me and tell me what you want in return for this information.”
He crushed the cigarette out right on the table. Then he took his time, brushing any stray ashes off his pant legs. Once he was settled again, he looked up. All traces of remorse were gone. Now his eyes gleamed with the calculating light of a seasoned criminal.
“Naturally, if the lead I’m giving you results in a major arrest for the MEA, I’d expect a good word with the parole board.”
The words hung there between us for a good thirty seconds before I responded.
“It’s now my turn to teach you a lesson.” I leaned forward. “You listening?”
He narrowed his eyes, but he nodded.
“The day I put a good word in for you with anyone is the day I put my Glock between my teeth.”
His smile was tight, restrained. “You keep disrespecting me like that, little girl, and I’d be happy to help you pull the trigger.”
Silence crouched between us for a good minute before I responded. Even as I tried to keep my calm, Gardner’s voice kept rolling through my head. If I stormed out and this Raven caused big trouble, it would be my badge that got melted down for scrap metal.
“You want help, I’m going to need something more traceable than an assumed alias.”
“Does this mean you’ll talk to the parole board?”
“It means I’ll tell my supervisor about your request. I don’t have power with the board.”
Abe pursed his lips and watched me for a moment. Whatever he thought during that time, it must have convinced him to take the gamble and play along. “All I know is he escaped from some mental institution in New York.”
I pulled out a small pad and wrote down a couple of notes. “Anything else?” I asked, looking down at the words I’d written. When Abe didn’t immediately respond, I looked up.
A grave expression had taken the place of his calculating smile. “My associate had reasons to believe this guy has plans for the Blue Moon.”
“What kind of plans?”
Abe raised his cuffed hands in a helpless gesture. “Don’t have anything concrete, but this came from a guy I trust.”
“What’s your associate’s name, then?”
“That I definitely can’t tell you.”
“Won’t, you mean.”
He shrugged, as if to imply I was splitting hairs.
“Why do you care if this Dionysus has some dire plans for the city?”
“I’m not a good man, Katie Girl. We both know that. No sense pretending otherwise.” He nodded toward the pack of cigarettes on the ground. With a martyred sigh, I threw them back on the table. He removed one and waited for me to light it before he continued. “But my ambitions have always been about money and power.” He looked up to see if I agreed. I nodded. He chose to believe the move was agreement, but I meant it as encouragement to continue. “Ravens? Those assholes have no honor.”
I snorted.
“Laugh all you want. Least I live by a code. Take care of my people, my family, and I give a man a chance to prove I can trust him. But Ravens are a different breed. They get off on chaos. Ain’t no more chaotic time than the Blue Moon. I’m tellin’ ya, there’s some dirty shit coming, Katie Girl.”
I narrowed my eyes and stared at him hard. “Why should I believe you?”
“Says the girl who turned her back on her family to go work with the Mundane pigs.” He let feigned hurt seep into his words. I didn’t take the bait, simply stared at him without a lick of remorse on my face. Finally, he shrugged. “Think of me what you will, but the Cauldron is mine. Always has been. Cops thought that would change if they stuck me on this island.” He blew out a plume of smoke. “They were wrong.” He licked his lips, and the resulting shine reminded me of venom. “I won’t let some fucking Raven destroy everything I built.”
Unlike Gardner, I could put up with some bullshit in my life. But there was a limit to how much I was willing to wade through from my uncle. He’d overplayed his hand with the martyr routine. “And we’re done here.” I scooted the chair back. “I’d say it’s been nice chatting with you, but I’d rather have spent the last hour getting a root canal with a rusty hook.”
“You remain a delight, Katherine,” he said in a tone that made it clear I was anything but. “I wish you luck on this case. It’s not going to be easy on you.”
I frowned at him in the process of gathering my coat. “What does that mean?”
He slipped another cigarette between those lying lips. “Once the smoke clears and you find yourself the big hero, you’re going to realize you couldn’t have done it without me.” He leaned forward with the cigarette hanging from his lips. “You’re going to owe me.”
I snatched the smoke and broke it in half. “I will never owe you a fucking thing.”
“You owe John Volos.” He sat back and raised a brow. “How’s that feel?”
“The only thing I owe either of you is a bullet.”
“Give him my regards when you see him.” He was trying to get a reaction. To see if I’d show my hand. But I’d learned how to play poker from the best.
I looked my uncle directly in his glittering eyes. “Why don’t you ask Mayor Owens to tell him now that you two are such pals?”
He smiled. “Why waste Owens’s time when you’ll run straight to John to deliver my message yourself. You always were so needy where he was concerned. Panting over him like a bitch in heat.”
I pivoted on my heel and marched toward the door. He was quiet until the guard opened the door. I could see Morales standing in the hallway. Just before I cleared the doorjamb Uncle Abe called, “Kate?”
I stopped and turned. “What?”
“You said you walked away from magic.”