Offside

He smiled, and the corners of his eyes tightened a little when he did. I thought about the slight, unintentional movement, and I knew it didn’t exactly indicate honesty. There was nothing about the Lucas family that was on the up-and-up. Max Lucas had been my go-to person for shady dealings and information since I got my first cell phone.

“The will?” I prompted. I didn’t want to be here any longer than I had to. I almost wished I had let Nicole come with me. Almost. I didn’t want her around Lucas. He was a seriously underhanded character and used to dealing with all kinds of nasty shit. Once, Dad said that Lucas was connected to bigger crime in Portland but only as one of their informants or something.

“Very basic, actually,” he said. “I’d been trying to get your father to update it for some time, but it h

asn’t changed since your mother passed. No trust fund, nothing complicated—you are the only offspring. You are over the age of eighteen, and you get it all.”

“What’s all?” I asked.

“The bank accounts, stock portfolios, house, the three cars—one of which is already in your name—the summer place in Michigan, the island…”

“Island?”

“Yes,” Lucas said with a short nod, “your father bought an island some years ago. Just off of Saint Thomas.”

“I have an island?” I was a little taken aback. How could I not know he bought a fucking island?

Lucas chuckled and went on, tallying everything that was worth mentioning. The assets came up to about nine million, plus the stock portfolio, which was another six and a half. Lucas continued to babble.

“Give me the bottom line, Lucas,” I snapped, interrupting him. He bristled a little, but he seemed to remember whose son he was dealing with, at least. I knew how to be an asshole. I’d learned from the best.

“Your father had three insurance policies,” Lucas said. “One from the hospital, one through the mayor’s office, and his whole-life insurance through Arden Mutual. They are all still valid since they’ve been in place for several years. The suicide clause has elapsed, so you’ll get it all.”

“How much?”

“Well, the mayor’s policy isn’t very big, and it will take a while for them to get off their asses and write a check. I did get a copy of the death certificate for them—I didn’t want you to get delayed. The hospital will be more of a nightmare than the city—their administrators are kings of delay tactics—”

“How much, Lucas?” I said through clenched teeth. I did not want to be here all day, listening to him babble.

He looked across the desk at me and wiped the back of his sweaty neck with his hand.

“Combined, once they’ve all gone through and you pay a bunch of taxes on it, about twelve million. Twenty-seven mil with everything else.”

“Damn.”

Lucas smiled, and I was reminded of great white sharks with their rows of threatening teeth.

“That’s a lot for a kid to deal with, Thomas,” he said. His voice got soft, like he was trying to buddy up to me. “My retainer is already paid through the end of the year, and I’m going to make sure you and your money are taken care of properly.”

“I bet,” I said under my breath.

He tilted his head to hear me better, but I didn’t repeat myself.

“Is that all you wanted to tell me?” I asked.

“There are a few other points,” he said. His voice dropped a bit. “How much do you know about your father’s other businesses?”

I shrugged. I knew he did other shit on the side, but I never really paid much attention to it. I didn’t have the details, but considering it tended to be done at very strange hours, I knew it wasn’t legal.

“The vultures have already descended on some of it,” he said. “I could…set things up for you. You and I could continue to do business as your father and I had. I know what’s involved. I know the contacts. That twenty-seven mil will look like nothing if we play this right. The gambling and bookkeeping alone will double that if we’re careful.”

The gambling. Of course. A couple more puzzle pieces clicked together. No wonder he was so hell-bent on me playing for Real Messini. All the people he would meet, the inside information he would have access to—the gambling ring he ran on the side would become huge. I ran my hand through my hair and tried to take it all in.

Twenty-seven million dollars.

Fuck me hard.

I didn’t even have to wait until I was twenty-one or anything. It was mine now. I closed my eyes for a moment, rubbing my fingers into the sockets. I thought about the tiny room Greg and Nicole set up for me. I thought about their little house and Nicole’s dead Hyundai. I thought about Jeremy and how his father had to file for bankruptcy after his mom had a heart attack. Dad could have helped them, worked something out with the hospital, but he wouldn’t. I thought about the kid Nicole babysat for—Timmy—and the shitty prospects his mother faced for her future. I thought about how Sophie had to hide him, completely because of money.