Page 3 of King of Ruin
“What problem?” Mason asks.
Luke eyes my phone like I’ve betrayed him. Did he not want Mason to hear this? That’s too bad. We don’t keep secrets from each other.
“The problem is that there aren’t enough ventilation vents in the tunnel and the place they’ve requested we add one, is underneath the land of a small nonprofit animal sanctuary.”
Small animal sanctuary? In the city?
“Judging by what I heard,” Mason clears his throat. “Offers have been made, but she’s refusing to part with the land?”
“That’s right,” Luke nods, looking at me with a pained expression that tells me there is more that Luke isn’t sharing.
I set down my glass and scrub a hand across my jaw. “We’ll take a look at the property. See what size it is, what facilitiesshe’s got. My guess is if we offered a larger parcel with more amenities somewhere else, she’d take that deal.”
Luke’s eyes light up.
“I agree,” Mason rumbles. “The sooner the better. We could do with a few less problems.”
We certainly could.
I hang up with Mason and pick up my glass, draining the drink. “First thing tomorrow?” I ask, wishing for nothing more than the bliss of my quiet apartment and the comfort of my bed.
Luke shakes his head. “I’m not sleeping tonight. I think I’ll go now.”
“You can’t show up at a woman’s place at one in the morning without ending up in a jail cell.”
“I just want to do a drive by and it’s a business, not a home.”
I scowl. “I’m going to bed, and I’m not picking up my phone, so if you end up in jail, I’m not bailing you out tonight. You’re sleeping with the drunks.”
“You’re not coming with me?” Luke asks with a frown. “I could use your eyes on this one. Without the vent, the project will be stalled for months. Our first permits are running out the end of this week.”
That was what he didn’t tell Mason. The two of them have a weird dynamic. Mason is my actual brother. Luke is the cousin that is like a brother. But the two of them…it’s different. Mason was long gone by the time I moved in with Luke. Off at school.
I mutter several curses because that’s Luke. Leaving out important information and running things down to the wire. “I hate you right now.”
“But you’ll come?”
I let out a long breath of air as I look down at the second glass of scotch I just finished.
Maybe it’s the drinks, or the hellish day, but a sense of dread fills me. “Fine. Asshole.”
“Thanks, dickhead.”
He strides toward the elevator. “I’ll drive.”
I set down the glass and follow behind him. “What do we know about this woman?”
“She’s some hippie, I think. She takes the birds that get wounded running into the skyscrapers and doctors them or some shit. There can’t be any money in it.”
This is decent information. She’s probably not motivated by our offer and she’ll want to be close to the city. “She probably doesn’t care about money, Luke. People who start non-profits sometimes don’t.” Unless they use them to launder. Which is an interesting possibility. “This hippie have a name?”
“Maddie Reid.” Luke presses the button at least a dozen times as we wait for the doors to open. “It’s a tiny tenth of an acre parcel but she’s refusing to sell, despite the offer being four times the value of the property.”
I frown as I take in that particular piece of information. “Either she’s crazy or she’s got some ulterior motive.” I’ll keep my theories to myself until I know more.
Luke shakes his head. “I agree. Which is why I want to gather a bit of information where I can assess the property without being observed.”
The elevator opens and I give him a long glare as we step in. “I’ve had enough shady dealings for today.”