“You can’t tell me everyone you’ve approached has cooperated.”
“No, but I never said I needed your cooperation. It would make things easier, yes. But I don’t need it. I’m perfectly capable of finding Gorcey on my own.”
“And yet, if he’s in my employ—which I’m neither confirming nor denying—he is untouchable.”
“That’s ridiculous. No one is untouchable.”
“I am.”
It wasn’t a boast. Jack had spent the majority of his adult life ensuring he was beyond the reach of the police department. Beyond the reach of city hall, with their corrupt Tammany machine. Above the rest of the criminal class, who worried about being pinched.
Not Jack. Not any longer.
He’d amassed enough money and power that he didn’t need to look over his shoulder anymore. The police may not like it, but he had enough of the dirty officers on his payroll that the department couldn’t do shit to Jack’s organization without his approval. No one held more sway in this part of town than he did—not the mayor, the police commissioners or the head of Tammany Hall.
This hadn’t come easy. He’d toiled, fought, plotted and schemed for his position atop downtown’s criminal class. Had been knifed and shot. Endured countless brawls and fights. Suffered broken bones and dislocated joints. His face might not tell the story, but below the neck was a different tale. His body was riddled with the scars and marks of his violent past.
Yet he’d emerged the victor—and he would never fucking apologize for it.
Miss Justine Greene didn’t appear impressed with him, however. He didn’t quite understand it. Women had never posed a problem for Jack. Even when he was poor his face had ensured he was never lonely. Now that he was rich, women were even easier to come by. Singles, pairs, even groups . . . Getting a fuck was like cleaning his teeth.
Yet this one had laughed at him.
He didn’t hate her for the slight, though, which surprised him. No, he admired her for it.
“You’ve never come up against someone like me,” she said. “I’ll get to Gorcey whether you help me or not.”
He almost believed her. Of course, he had ways of hiding people that she’d never dreamed of, with her proper uptown upbringing.
Truthfully, Jack didn’t like Gorcey. And if the accusation was true? Jack liked him even less. But Jack didn’t care for anyone messing with his men or his organization. He preferred to stay in control.
“Well?”
Justine’s impatience broke through his thoughts. “I want to see her.”
Brown brows dipped in apparent confusion. “See who?”
“Mrs. Gorcey.”
“Absolutely not.”
He pursed his lips. “Then we are at an impasse.”
“Hardly.”
“I can make things very difficult for you, do-gooder.”
“By kidnapping me?”
He didn’t care for the twitching of her lips as she uttered this, as if the notion were ridiculous. He hadn’t kidnapped a woman before . . . but this one sorely tempted him, if only to prove that he could.
Just how much would Duncan Greene pay in ransom to get his youngest daughter back? Now, there was a business opportunity to be considered.
Not a villain, indeed. He nearly snorted. This girl had no idea.
Suppressing the urge to twirl an imaginary mustache, he said, “If I meet Mrs. Gorcey and hear her side, then I might be willing to force Robert to do right by her.”
Instead of appearing appeased, she frowned. “Hear her side? There are no sides to this story. The idea that she has to convince you of her hardships so that her husband will live up to his promises is insulting.”
Merde, this woman. Was she always so difficult? “Take it or leave it, Miss Greene. You may have your man before the sun sets, or you may flounder for weeks wondering where he’s gone.”
“Fine. I’ll take you to see her.”
“I don’t think so.”
Streaks of gold sparked in the brown depths of her eyes, tiny bolts of lightning that portended her anger. “I haven’t time for games, not when—”
“No game. We shall see her here.”
Justine folded her arms. “Mr. Mulligan, she has five children to tend. Do you honestly believe she is able to leave them and come traipsing over, merely because you don’t wish to be bothered?”
He hadn’t thought of that, but he wouldn’t budge on the issue. His help, his rules. Always. “The children aren’t my problem. You want Gorcey, then the meeting must be here.”
“I’ll ask her. That’s the best I can do. Perhaps one of her neighbors can watch