‘One won’t hurt,’ Mauri said. ‘And we can get you a driver if—‘
‘This isn’t a catch-up,’ Dax said, going over and seating himself where Mauri wanted him to sit. ‘I came here because Brad said you were sick. Why didn’t you tell us?’
Mauri took a sip of the liquor. ‘Why do you think? If men like us show weakness, the vultures close in, don’t they?’
‘Men like us…? I’m nothing like you.’
‘That might be a convenient thing to say now,’ Mauri said. ‘But a few months ago you were exactly like me, and proud of it too.’
‘Things have changed for me. I told you that—‘
‘How is Ms. Dune?’
‘It’s Harrow,’ Dax said. He’d bet that these men deliberately used Ivy’s maiden name, but he hadn’t yet discovered why that might be. Did they want to belittle the marriage? Or did they want to remind him that to them she would never be a part of him? ‘And I didn’t come here to talk about her.’
‘Are you having trouble?’ he asked, settling himself back in the chair. ‘Marriage is a big commitment. If you are struggling—‘
‘We’re just fine,’ he said. ‘Marriage is easy.’
‘Either you truly have found your soulmate, or things between you and your other half are more strained than you will confess to me.’
‘I wouldn’t have walked away from this if I hadn’t been sure about her.’
‘You did give up a lot for her, your whole life, is she appreciative?’
‘Every damn day,’ he said with innuendo and sarcasm. ‘Now you want to tell me why the fuck I’m here?’
‘I don’t know. You chose to come. Why did you do that?’
He came because Mauri meant a lot to him and because Mauri had always looked after him. Dax wasn’t ignorant to what Mauri had done for him as a child, and it still troubled Dax that he had flouted that generosity by disappearing with Ivy. He didn’t like to owe any man anything.
‘Brad said you were sick, said you wanted to talk to me, so I came.’
‘Just like old times,’ Mauri smiled. Now that his face was more slender the grooves on his cheeks were more prominent and after taking a closer look, Dax could see that Mauri was tired. But that wasn’t unusual if business was busy.
‘Have there been any shipment issues?’ Dax asked, curious if the man was overworking himself. ‘Is everything running smoothly?’
‘We’ve had nothing but problems,’ Mauri said, putting his glass down and rubbing his fingers across his forehead. ‘Since you left, no one else has been able to keep the men together, there has been tension in the ranks.’
‘Serg was respected—‘
‘And the men seemed happy to take his orders,’ Mauri said. ‘But he is not as efficient as you were. Things have been missed. We almost got fucking busted because Serg gave one of the courier’s directions that ended him up in a police station parking lot.’
Dax could laugh because he hadn’t been there, but Mauri’s frustration was obvious. ‘That’s Cecil’s run,’ Dax said. ‘You miss that third turn and you’re right there at police headquarters.’
‘Yes,’ Mauri said, leaning closer. ‘See, you know it all so well, you just… it’s second nature to you.’
‘I did it for a long time,’ Dax said. He’d been working for Mauri since he was old enough to see over the steering wheel. ‘Cecil is one of our oldest contacts, and he’s a real prick to get on the phone.’
‘We need you to come back, we need you at the helm.’
‘No,’ Dax said, already shaking his head. ‘Not a chance.’
‘Why not? I don’t see why there would be any problem,’ Mauri said. ‘I have taken care of the men, they know that you are married now; Ivy will be safe. She’ll be safer here than wherever you’ve been holed up. She’ll have full protection of the family.’
‘For how long?’ Dax asked. ‘Word is that with you on your way out, the hyenas are circling. When you’re gone the venture is going to be picked apart. Brad isn’t strong enough to hold it together on his own, he doesn’t have the respect of the men, and he’s sure not feared in the community. You ever seen him get blood on those fancy-ass Italian loafers?’
‘You have their respect and you’re feared. No one would cross you.’
‘Yeah, ‘cause I know better than to turn my back on them,’ Dax said. ‘I’m not interested in taking over.’
‘You could,’ Mauri said, locking his eyes on Dax’s and sitting back slowly. ‘Would you be interested?’
‘In taking over…? You’re offering me the business?’
‘There could be something worked out.’
‘No, Brad wouldn’t have it. He’s had his eyes on the company for years.’
‘He can still run things as the legitimate face of the Stark’s.’
‘Legitimate?’ Dax asked. ‘The haulage and dry cleaning firms are fronts, they clean the money, there’s nothing legitimate about that.’ Although they did have big haulage rigs and a few legitimate contracts, but those were meant to distract from the other cargo in the back of those trucks.
‘You and Brad are not enemies,’ Mauri said. ‘You always got along.’
‘We never had to deal with each other. It’s easy to be civil with the guy who’s just another cog in the machine.’
‘You understand that machine. You have an affinity for this industry, Dax. Don’t throw that away for a piece of ass.’
‘My wife is not a piece of ass. If you don’t show her some goddamn respect—‘
‘Respect? I have nothing but respect for the woman who managed to turn your head. I wasn’t sure you would ever lower your defences for long enough to let love in… Your choice might have caused difficulties in the family, but you showed your commitment to her when you walked away from us. I have to say, I was… almost proud of you for standing up for her like you did.’
He didn’t want to be gratified, didn’t want his own humble feelings to diminish his ego until he was under Mauri’s boot again. Sitting straighter, Dax snatched up the Scotch and took a mouthful.
‘Ivy is the best thing I have, and I am not going to disappoint her again,’ Dax said.
‘Ivy is a clever girl, you shouldn’t refuse my offer before you have spoken to her. If she is as smart as you believe she is, then she’s not going to pass up a good thing when she sees it. She would be walking into a position of power and that is very seductive. To be by your side when you take over this empire—‘
‘What does Trystan say about this? Have you told him that Ivy and me are back in town? I don’t think that he’ll be happy with your proposals.’
‘Trystan will be happy as long as there is money to spend.’
‘So he hasn’t straightened himself out? Your plan didn’t work.’
‘We haven’t given up on it yet,’ Mauri said. ‘I still believe that if he can find himself the right woman, he will buck up his ideas. It worked wonders for you. Tell me, doesn’t love clear your perspective?’
‘It changes it,’ he said. ‘It changes a man’s priorities. But you’re not going to get Trystan to fall in love by beating a woman into submission.’
‘We realise that what we did with Ivy was… unsuitable.’
‘She’ll agree with you there,’ Dax said. He would agree too, but as he’d said to Ivy, he couldn’t regret how the Starks had acted, because it brought Ivy into his life, it brought them together.
‘I would love to see her,’ Maurice said. ‘To see you together.’
Which was something Mauri had never witnessed. The request piqued Dax’s interest. Mauri had met Ivy, but she had played the old man, telling him exactly what he wanted to hear and making him believe that their brainwashing had worked on her.
‘Why?’
‘The woman got into your head, that’s something not even I can boast.’
‘You were in my head alright,’ Dax said, slugging the last of the whisky and sliding the glass onto the table. ‘You’ve been in my head since I was thirteen.’