“Direct. I like that.” Dmitri took his shot without flinching. “We spend too much of our days wasting time making small talk. You and I, well, we know there is nothing guaranteed in this world.”
He didn’t like this guy lumping them in together, especially when he still had no fucking idea what his game was. “For the second and final time—what do you want?”
Dmitri seemed to be considering him. “It’s bad luck to turn down a drink.”
“I don’t drink anymore.” It didn’t matter if his hand itched for the glass. He wasn’t touching the damn thing. Cillian had been weak too much of his life. It stopped now.
He nodded like Cillian had admitted to something entirely different. “I understand. As for what I want…perhaps I want a friend.”
“A friend.” He put every ounce of his derision and disbelief into the last word.
“Is that so hard to believe? Men like us don’t have many friends. We have pawns and enemies and family—and sometimes those circles even overlap.”
That was true enough, but that still didn’t answer the question. The small hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention. “Trust issues go with the territory.”
Dmitri laughed, a deep rolling sound that instantly made him want to join in. That laugh was a weapon, and one he’d bet the man had honed to perfection. He shook his head. “Let’s be frank then, shall we?”
Somehow, he doubted there was anything about this conversation that would be frank. The man talked in circles, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was giving Cillian enough rope to hang himself with. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t done anything or agreed to anything to merit the feeling. It was there nonetheless. “Let’s.”
Dmitri ignored the sarcastic tone. “Your father is keen to marry off your oldest sister.”
He knew that. Hell, everyone knew that. “I’m aware.”
“I’m one of the men in the running, such as it is.” Dmitri shrugged, as nonchalant as if he was talking about the weather. “If I’m going to become family, it wouldn’t hurt to get to know her brothers. And you’re a kindred soul of sorts.”
He blinked. This guy had a set of steel balls to come in here and chat him up like his sister was a sure thing. He sat back. If Carrigan had settled on someone, he would have heard about it. Most likely. He hadn’t exactly been playing dutiful O’Malley minion recently. It was possible he’d missed the announcement.
But Cillian didn’t think so.
There would be no reason for this guy to come cozy up to him if he thought Carrigan was a sure thing. No, this was something else altogether. He turned the shot glass, eyeing the writing on the side. It was the bar logo, one he’d seen a million times. He watched Dmitri out of the corner of his eye. The man didn’t seem impatient or worried or scheming—which meant he was even more dangerous than Cillian had originally guessed. Dmitri was a player in this game of power, and it would be stupid to underestimate him.
So he didn’t tell him to get lost. “Sure, I get that.” If this man had his eye on Carrigan, Cillian had to figure out what his game was. He didn’t seem like the normal power-grabbing sort their father liked to string along by their noses. Dmitri practically reeked of power.
Not to mention, Cillian had never seen him before. If he was someone of note in the Boston scene, he would have before now. All of which added up to the conclusion that the man was from out of town.
What the fuck did you invite into our lives, you old goddamn fool?
Dmitri plucked the shot glass out of his hand and downed that vodka, too. “Perhaps next time we’ll manage a meal.”
It wasn’t a question, but he answered it anyway. “For sure.” He didn’t want to spend another minute in this man’s presence. If Devlin were alive, it would just be a matter of a few hours on the computer and they’d know where Dmitri was born, everything about his childhood, and what he ate for breakfast that day. Cillian was learning software and had fledgling hacker skills, but he was nowhere near as good as his little brother had been.
Devlin.
The loss reached up and sucker punched Cillian. He took a careful breath, all too aware of Dmitri’s attention on him. He had to get out of here. Showing weakness wasn’t acceptable in front of his family, let alone in front of a man who might very well be an enemy. He pushed to his feet, weaving slightly. “I’ll see you around.” He was aware of the man’s gaze on him as he walked around the tables between the bar and the door.
“You can count on it.”