It wasn’t until everyone had finished dining and the dishes had been cleared away that the blond man finally looked like he meant to say something as his gaze fixed with that of her oldest brother across from him.
“I have an offer for you,” he said, his voice sounding to be a bit more cagey and stern than when he’d ordered.
Her oldest brother raised his eyebrows and tilted his head down in a responding nod, but said nothing, his face conveying his expectation of more information.
“One point five million dollars,” the blond man said quietly. “If you will deliver sensitive cargo.”
Her oldest brother maintained his expectant expression.
“Sometime this week there will be an eighteen wheeler coming to town from the west,” the blond man said. “Black truck, black trailer. The company name is ESM Secure Transport Services. It’ll be headed for Charleston.”
Her oldest brother gave another single nod, still looking expectant.
“You’re to gain the confidence of the driver and tag along to Charleston,” the blond man said. “The cargo will be loaded there. You are to contact us once that is done and direct the driver according to our directions.”
“On one condition,” her oldest brother finally replied.
The grey-haired man looked indignant and angry, but the blond man looked only subtly surprised.
“Which is?” he asked.
“We receive thirty percent of the promised money upfront,” her oldest brother replied.
“No,” the blond man replied flatly. The grey-haired man nodded.
Her oldest brother sat up straight and looked the blond man in the eye. “Your father had rapport with mine, but you don’t have any with me. I don’t trust you to give me what you’ve promised unless you give me money up front.”
The grey-haired man had a disgruntled scowl on his face; the blond man looked slightly uncomfortable.
“You probably don’t trust me to do my job for the same reason,” her oldest brother added. “Even if I told you we’d do it right, which is a guarantee you wouldn’t likely be able to get from anyone else. I don’t blame you. At the same time, you knew my father as much as I know yours, and I’m sure we can both acknowledge that we resemble our fathers in many ways. As a result, you should know what you run the risk of having happen to you if you don’t pay me upfront.”
She saw the blond man’s throat shift, indicating that he’d swallowed out of discomfort with the thoughts that she knew had come to his mind — and she didn’t even know the details of Papa’s business transactions, she just knew he had a reputation for being a man few dared to cross, and those who did never dared again.
The grey-haired man, however, looked derisive, suggesting he knew nothing of Papa and his reputation, which she felt was rather interesting, considering that the blond man knew.
“You’re giving us thirty percent upfront in forty eight hours,” her oldest brother said. “Or what you just thought of is going to happen to you.”
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