Chapter 4 – Greyson
The cheerful knock came the next morning when the sun wasn’t even up.
“Come on, cousin. Let me in.” Cameron’s singsong voice barely reached through the door. “I brought you presents from our travels.”
I wasn’t sure presents were going to help, but I was pretty sure that Cameron would. Whatever we did, whatever went down, Mari found safety in her cousins, and Cameron was the last man standing. God, I hope this works.
I pulled open the door, nodding to the dining room, where she stared into her cup of coffee the same way she had for the last twenty minutes.
Instantly, all that peppy cheer was gone, replaced by nothing but worry. Pitching his voice low, he asked, “What the hell happened to her?”
“I’ll let her explain.” I took the bags out of his hand, putting them on the kitchen counter. Mari was keeping this as quiet as possible despite Joaquin’s interference, and I didn’t want to step on her toes. She’d give her cousin whatever he needed to know, and that was it. “Just be gentle. It’s been a rough few days.”
With a nod of pure resolution, he plopped down on a chair, snatched her coffee, and took a sip, grimacing at the no-doubt cold liquid. “You look like a zombie.”
“Is that a compliment?” she asked, voice raspy with disuse.
“It wasn’t supposed to be. Care to tell me why I’m not allowed to go home?” He asked it casually, but the way he glanced back at me said he was trying to be gentle. He just had no clue he’d slapped his hand onto a bomb.
Mari looked over at me, a fleeting wish that I could fix this crossing her face before she threw her shoulders back. I stayed silent as she explained the meeting, Cash and Nate. The pain I could feel floating through the room was a blade digging into my own side, and knowing Mari was hurting ate at me.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Cameron’s harsh voice broke the soft silence after Mari finished. To his credit, he’d stayed quiet while she spoke, but more than one napkin lay shredded in front of him. The man moved quickly. “He was an Ace the whole time?”
“Yes,” Mari said through gritted teeth. “Which is why we’re here. The mansion isn’t safe anymore. If you need to get your things, do it, but we need you and Aislynn here.”
“No.”
The answer was immediate and without question.
Mari sighed and tried again. “Cameron, I know this is too close for you. I know you need your space from Joaquin and us, and I promised that you could have it after the wedding, but I need you to be safe more than I need you to be comfortable.”
“I didn’t say I won’t be safe, but I can’t live here. Besides, I told Ash I would take her home.”
“Home?”
“To my place.”
I wasn’t aware that her cousin had a place that wasn’t the mansion, but Mari nodded in understanding. “I’d prefer you to be here, but if that’s not an option, your house is secluded enough.”
Meaning, it was a decent option for now. But if anything else happened, she’d pull rank and yank him home before the sun set. Cameron grinned, relaxing in his seat. “Considering barely anyone knows about it, I would hope so. Either way, the missus will be pleased.”
He said that with a little too much relish to be anything but sincere.
Mari rolled her eyes, continuing as if he hadn’t spoken. “Keep your guard up. Make sure you have security members close by, if not for you, then for Aislynn. She is not allowed to go anywhere alone. If that’s a problem, she can talk to me.”
“Agreed,” he said easily. “Not that she was going to anyway.”
Mari smiled, the barest suggestion of laughter on her face, and it took my breath away—the faintest hint of who she’d been yesterday and a reminder of why I was desperate to help her heal. “Of course not.”
They talked a little more about plans and Mari’s expectations, but eventually, there was a lull.
“I’m sorry.” Cameron reached out to lay his hand on hers. Immediately, she pulled it back, hiding it in her lap where she thought neither of us could see the trembling.
“It’s fine.” He looked up at me, brows furrowed as Mari stared unseeing out the window. That one look told me we were on the same page. Mari wasn’t okay.
I wasn’t sure she would ever be okay again.
But we would be there for her, nonetheless. We’d help her, guide her, tether her until she was grounded in her own body again.
Then we’d burn Cash’s empire to the ground and hope Nate went with it.
Cameron cleared his throat, catching her attention, and pasted a smile on his face. “What’s the plan for the empire, boss?”
“We redo everything,” Mari said, falling back into the leadership role. “As of now, everything we know about Cash could be fake, so we pretend it is. If no one could figure out that he has a living brother, there’s no way the rest of it is right.”
I wasn’t so sure since the best lies were rooted in the truth, but I also wasn’t going to correct her. She needed this. We all did.
“We already moved some safe houses, but pull whatever favors you can. We need to figure out who we’re up against, and we need to take action.”
“And the uncles?” Her cousin wasn’t stupid. This big of a stone in the pond would send ripples so far-reaching, everyone would feel them. The fact that Dominic was already feeling the effects was a very bad sign.
“They’re tomorrow’s problem,” Mari said firmly, glancing at me before looking back at her cousin. Luckily, Cameron was a smart man who shut his mouth with a nod.
Obviously ready to be alone again, Mari stood. “If you need anything from the mansion, let me know. We’re going to head over there soon to pick something up.”
Cameron frowned, likely remembering we kept doubles of everything in the Celestine so we didn’t have to go back to a compromised location. “Is that safe?”
“I won’t be long. I’m only picking up a couple of journals.”
“Journals.” His voice made it clear that no journal was worth her life, and while I agreed, these were worth the risk.
“My father’s journals,” Mari explained. “And Antoni’s, if I can find them.”
“You want to read your dad’s diary? Do you think that’s a good idea, considering?—”
Considering he had been a fan of the ladies and he’d had no problem writing that shit down. Cameron didn’t know Mari, Antoni, and I had snuck into the library more than once as teens to read all about it. It had scarred us for life.
Mari snorted, her lips twitching as if she almost wanted to smile before smothering it. “I’m not looking for my father’s sexcapades. We think there might be information on Cash in there.”
Cameron tilted his head. “Are you sure? I thought you already looked through them.”
“Apparently not far enough back.”
Her cousin hummed then shook his head. “Well, be safe. I already had most of Aislynn’s stuff packed up and shipped to the house while we were gone, so we should be good to go. I think I saw them in the library last time I was there.”
“Perfect.” There was a pause and an uncomfortable silence, and I saw Mari squirm for the first time in ages. “Cam?—”
“I know about the bomb,” he whispered, his hands clenching at his sides as he followed her to his feet. “Warner, too.”
Even though the news should’ve come from her, Mari looked grateful she didn’t have to say it. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t. It’s part of the life. They all knew what they were getting into, and even if Warner had known he was going out that way, he still would have done it. He loved this job, he loved you, and he was loyal to this family. He wouldn’t have changed a thing.”
“I hope you’re right,” Mari said sadly.
“I know I am.” Cameron pulled her into a tight hug, whispering in her ear. “Take care of yourself.”
“Be back later. We have a meeting with the capos.”
“You got it.” He turned back with a wink and a pointed look. “Don’t forget your presents.”
Then he was gone, leaving us alone. I stepped closer, wrapping her up the second the door was closed. She sagged in my hold, her breathing choppy and unstable, but she didn’t cry. She wouldn’t.
“Not yet,” she whispered. “I need a little more time.”
I could see her pulling her walls back up, but when she looked at me, I saw a crack of something warmer. Something closer to my Mari, my reina, and it gave me hope.
“A little more time, love,” I said, letting her go. Knowing that in doing so, I would get her back all the quicker.
While most of the Celestine had been remodeled into suites, three floors below the penthouse, we’d created an office in case we were compromised. The place was bare and beige, but it did the trick. The chairs were comfortable, the coffee serviceable, and the space big enough for what we needed. This was the first time we’d had to use it.
I stood behind Mari in the massive conference room, knowing that what she was about to say was potentially deadly.
“Why are we here, Mariana?” Joaquin asked. Even if Dominic hadn’t told me what happened, I would’ve had no doubt Joaquin was in the know. He was just too fucking shifty not to be.
“We had a security breach,” Mari said simply.
He hummed in his throat, tapping his pen against the table. Tap, tap, tap. “A security breach. Care to be more specific?”
Mari took a fortifying breath. “Nate is an Ace.”
“Not just an Ace, but a Beckstrom,” Joaquin corrected with a cheerful smile, like his niece’s pain made him happy. Dominic and I both growled, and he rolled his eyes.
Cameron’s voice was droll, but his gaze was soaked with rage. “If you knew what was happening, why ask?”
“I wanted to make sure everybody else was aware.”
“How did you become aware?” I asked softly, pinning him to his seat with a glare.
“One only has to look outside to find out what Cash is doing.”
It was only through years of practice reading her body language that I saw Mari tense. Just the slight hitch of her shoulders to betray her nerves. “What exactly does that mean?”
Joaquin pulled out his phone, scrolled, then slid it down the long table to land in front of her. Mari didn’t touch it, but Dominic, who sat to her right, did. He scrolled through, cursing under his breath.
“Cash has been flaunting him around town.” Dominic tilted the phone so Mari and I could see, and sure enough, there was Cash on his mystery tour, shaking hands. Although, instead of kissing babies, he was kissing up. The first picture was Kosas, then Ajilon, and finally O’Bannon.
“Has he been seen with everyone?” she asked quietly.
“Every single one,” Joaquin said. “And you’ll see it’s not just the leaders either.”
“I think I’ll take your word for it.” Mari nodded, and Dominic slid the phone back harder than necessary. Undeterred, Joaquin caught it and slipped the device back into his pocket with a satisfied smirk.
“What are we going to do about this?”
“Nothing.”
Joaquin laughed, though it was as fake as ever. “You want to sit there and let him disrespect us?—”
“Is your ego so fragile that it can’t handle a little disrespect, Uncle?” She spoke with a chill cold enough to burn, but the passion gave me renewed hope that she was coming to terms with everything. That sometime soon, I’d have my partner back.
“It’s the principle of the matter.” Joaquin leaned forward on the table like he was ready to leap down and attack her. “He’s disrespecting the Marcosa name, our power structure, the family itself—and you’re letting him.”
“I’m letting him do nothing. Cash’s actions have no bearing on ours, and right now, I’d rather take our time and extinguish him permanently than poke holes big enough for him to escape. Nate is a nonstarter. He doesn’t matter.”
“If you really think that it doesn’t matter, then you’re a fool.”
“Is that so?” The temperature dropped ten degrees with every word until I felt like we were all breathing frost. “If you think you can do so much better than me, maybe we should trade seats.”
“Maybe we should,” Joaquin snapped, only to wince and look away at Gabriele’s scowl and the very subtle shift of the table.
Joaquin was silent, chewing on his own petulance until he bent his head to Mari once more. “Apologies, niece. Seeing how upset you are about this situation has me feeling some sort of way. I worry the boy will become a problem for you.”
I held back my scoff, but Dominic’s disbelief was audible across the table.
Mari smiled, sickly-sweet and poisonous. “Thank you for your concern, Uncle, but I assure you there is no problem for any of us. Nate was a mistake I don’t intend to make again.”
“So what do we do now?” Moore asked, guiding us back on track.
“We kill the Beckstrom boy,” Gabriele suggested. It didn’t escape my attention that only two of the capos were speaking.
“If we could kill Cash, he would be dead already,” Dominic pointed out.
“Not Cash. The brother.”
Again, I watched the hitch in Mari’s shoulder, the single tap of her foot betraying her agitation. I stepped forward, giving her a moment to collect herself. “We need to be smart about our course of action. An assassination is one thing. A failed assassination is another entirely. The last thing we need is Cash getting another head of steam.”
“I think we could figure out a way.”
“Then do it,” Mari snapped, and Joaquin’s head jerked back to her. “If you believe that’s true, then you plan things, Uncle. Bring me an assassination proposal that won’t get this city burned down around our ears, and I’ll consider it.”
Joaquin’s surprise was nothing more than a widening of his eyes, then a grim smile lit his face. “Agreed.”
Mari turned to the rest of the table, dismissing him entirely. “We’re operating under the assumption that everything has been compromised. Credentials will be reallocated, biometrics rescanned, profiles recreated. We’re starting from the ground up. Moore will text you with your time slot to get it redone. Until then, assume whatever information we got on Cash and Nate was a lie and start from scratch. Get on the streets and pull info on both of them. Poll the dealers, check the DMV, find their fucking school records. I don’t care what you do, but get me facts.”
“What’s going to happen when we get this information?” Joaquin asked.
Mari looked him dead in the eyes, no flinching. “Exactly what should happen. You find me the information that I need to take out Cash, and he goes down.”
“How is this any different from before?” Gabriele asked, throwing another glare at Joaquin when he tried to poke at her again. Those two had always been oil and water.
I shifted enough to see Mari’s face, sad to notice it was grim and determined. “Let’s just say I’m motivated.”
This was the deadly queen who took out gangs and protected her city in blood. This was the queen who armed her guards and took no mercy. This was the queen who lost a little bit of herself every time someone died.
Right now, this was the queen we needed, even if it sucked.
Mari handed out the orders, excusing people as she went, until all that remained were her closest allies.
“That won’t hold them forever,” Cameron said, eyes tracking his father on his way down the hall. There was no doubt that was the truth. Joaquin was leading the charge against Mari, and if we didn’t end the war before it could actually start, we were going to lose everything we’d worked for.
Moore cleared his throat, tapping his knuckles against the tabletop as he thought. “I might have some options we can try to seal this up quickly.”
“What kinds of options?” Mari asked.
“The nontraditional kinds. They’ll cost us, though.”
“Cost isn’t an issue.” Mari stared at him, unruffled, but Dominic and I both frowned. Moore was as straitlaced as they came, despite the fact that he protected a crime boss. What exactly was his version of a nontraditional intel source?
Moore cleared his throat again, looking every bit uncomfortable. “One of my friends from the service is a Fed.”
Alarm bells rang, and I swallowed the urge to snap at him. “If finding an Ace in our home was enough to put Mari’s head on the chopping block, what do you think using a Fed for intel is going to do? The other leaders will decimate the city if they find out.”
“They don’t have to find out,” Moore countered.
“How do you expect to hide it from them?” Cameron asked. “The uncles are ruthless. They’ll figure it out sooner than you think.”
“They didn’t last time.” Moore shrugged.
Cameron froze in his seat, and I groaned. We hadn’t told him where the original info on Cash had come from. Moore’s friend had given us just enough to use to convince the leaders to help take him out, but it was outside his investigation and, honestly, barely anything to go on. That wouldn’t be the same case here. We needed cold, hard evidence to get through this shit.
Trying to defuse the situation, I turned to Cameron. “It may not work anyway. We need more than they had.”
If Rafael’s information wasn’t accurate, I doubted the federal government’s would be. A glance at Mari and Dominic—hell, even Tennessee—told me I wasn’t alone in that thought.
“It doesn’t hurt to check,” Mari mumbled, turning to Moore. “Do you think your source will give it to us?”
I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to say yes. Getting in bed with the Feds could hurt as much as it helped.
Moore scrubbed his hand through his hair with a sigh. “Honestly, I don’t know, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.”
“Actually, it could,” Cameron said, earning a nod from Dominic.
“How much will it cost us if we don’t try?” Mari’s words sank into the silence, and I knew she’d made up her mind before she turned to the head of security. “Do it. Let Greyson know what you need.”
Moore nodded, grabbed his phone, and headed outside. Immediately, Dominic turned to Mari, ready to launch an offensive argument, but she shut him down with a single look. When she spoke, her voice was quiet but powerful, even as it nearly shook with rage.
“I don’t care how much money the Fed wants or that it puts us on unstable ground in front of the others. I don’t care, Dominic. He was in my home. He was in my bed. I have to know who he is.” She took a breath, holding it for so long my lungs hurt in sympathy. “I know you’re just trying to protect me, but you can’t protect me from this.”
The suffering in her voice, the way she clenched the pen in her hand so hard that it cracked, obliterated any hope of an argument he had. “Okay.”
His agreement eased some of the tension in Mari’s shoulders and between the two of them. From my spot, I could just see under the table where he grabbed her hand, running his thumb across her skin to soothe her. My breath stuttered out in grateful spurts when she didn’t pull away.
Tennessee clapped, rubbing his hands together with a cheeky—although absolutely fake—grin. “Since we’re in an agreeable mood, let’s talk security.”
Mari sat back in her chair but kept Dominic’s hand. “What did you have in mind?”
“While the Celestine is protected to the heavens, you aren’t.”
Mari raised a single eyebrow. “Doubting your abilities?”
“Never, but this is unprecedented territory. Anyone who thinks for sure they could keep you safe is a fucking idiot.” We all stared at him, and he shrugged. “Guarantees aren’t a thing in this life, and I don’t deal in absolutes.”
“What are you suggesting, then?” Mari’s shoulders were heavier, the weight of the world on them once again.
“We put you and the capos under twenty-four-seven guard.”
“It shows we’re weak,” Dominic argued.
“It shows you’re protected,” Tennessee corrected absently, keeping his focus on Mari. “Everyone knows you can handle yourself. It’s not a concern in this city. Despite whatever it is they think now, no one’s going to come after you like that. Your family is another situation entirely. They were already a threat, and now they’re sharpening knives. They need to know they aren’t getting to you without a fight. You know I’ll follow orders, even if I want to argue. If you really don’t want more security, I won’t put it on you, but I think it’s best. Plus, it’ll give us the availability to watch them too, see if we can figure out what they’re doing before they make a real attempt on you.”
“Is there anything in our world that isn’t a double-edged sword?” Mari murmured.
Another shrug came from Tennessee. “It’s the way things go.”
There, in the silence of the conference room, Mari cracked just a little. Her shoulders slumped, her fingers rose to massage her brow. She let a little bit of the exhaustion she was feeling leak out until she stoppered it again in front of our eyes. Like all soldiers, we steadfastly ignored our leader’s breakdown. If anyone was entitled to one, it was Mari.
Finally, she turned back to Tennessee. “If you think this is best…”
“I wouldn’t suggest it otherwise, and you know it.”
“Okay.”
Tennessee smiled, looking more than a little relieved. “I promise it’s only until this is over.”
Mari stared at him with speculation, but it was gone before she voiced it, leaving the room heavy with the unspoken question of how long will that be?