Fierce Monarch (Gilded Empire Book 3)

Chapter 29 – Mari

Traditionally, wakes were somber as people settled in to wait over the soul of the dearly departed. For us, it was an excuse to party, and even the fact that Joaquin was a traitor didn’t dampen our spirits.

Although, that was probably all the booze.

Everyone had made the drive back to the mansion for the funeral because even I couldn’t burn a whole-ass body in the middle of the city. Cameron and Aislynn had to stay in the hospital, though she’d texted that they were having a private wake together, which I appreciated. My cousin needed someone with him, and his wife was the perfect option.

Meanwhile, I was strolling through the garden, pouring shots from the bottle in my hand for my buzzed men to use as they raised toasts, not to Joaquin, but to Rey and Antoni and even my father. Cameron’s men also raised their glasses to stories of him as a child, though they were told less in honor of my uncle and more in appreciation of his legacy.

His shrouded body lay elevated in the center of the garden, the space between him and the stone slab below covered in ready-to-burn wood. There were small trinkets and photos from those brave enough to leave those memories with him, though I wasn’t sure if, like the stories of his children, it was to honor what they thought were memories instead of the reality of his demise.

Either way, I hated seeing the pyre set up. The last time, it had been Rey lying there. The time before that, my brother. In moments like this, where grief crowded me like an unwanted shadow, it felt brand-new. Like I’d done no healing at all. It sucked.

Thankfully, my men stayed close by, keeping an eye on me. I’d let myself have a single glass of wine with Shara, who’d left almost immediately after she’d come, so I wasn’t struggling through it all totally sober. Still, I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

Unfortunately, duty called.

Because of my uncle’s extensive history in the city, I’d had to issue invitations to all the leading factions, though I kept his traitorous nature to myself. Kosas and Ajilon had come and left almost as quickly, barely stopping to pay their respects. Haru had sent a text that he was unable to come at all. The only leaders who’d made themselves at home were O’Bannon and Two-Bit. The latter set himself up near the bar and merely raised a glass in toast when I spotted him, but O’Bannon was on the warpath.

“I hear my daughter’s in the hospital again.”

Honestly, I was surprised Ash had even told him. It was obviously her decision, but from what I knew, she’d barely spoken to her father since the wedding. He certainly didn’t reach out to her often.

I nodded noncommittally. “She is. It’s been taken care of.”

“My little girl was almost burned alive, and you think burning a fucking building means it’s taken care of?” The anger in his voice was real, but I didn’t think it was actually about Ash being his precious daughter. Sean O’Bannon was a proprietary man.

Aislynn was his property, and someone had tried to take her away from him.

“Cameron was the only one truly hurt, and he got that way making sure his wife was safe. What matters is they’re both okay.”

He huffed, downing his whiskey like it was a shot and reaching for a bottle nearby. “If you think blowing up a building is enough to make up for someone nearly taking out one of my heirs, you’re wrong.”

“No, but since Ash is now a Marcosa, she’s mine to avenge as I see fit. The building had sentimental meaning to Cash, so I took it from him like he tried to take Aislynn. When we get him on his back, I promise you can gut him for his part in Ash’s pain if it makes you feel better.”

When I thought he’d say something else, Kieran dropped a hand to his shoulder and whispered in his ear. Without looking away from me, Sean nodded, and the tension in the air dissipated. “I’m sorry for your loss. Your uncle was a good man.”

My uncle was a betraying fuck, I wanted to scream. Instead, I gave O’Bannon a tight smile. “Thank you for coming.”

“Keep my daughter safe, Mari,” was what he said, but I could read between the lines.

Don’t lose my investment, or I won’t help anymore.

“Of course, Sean.”

Dominic took his place almost immediately. “What did the Irish fuck want?”

“To tell me I was doing a shit job protecting his kid.” Dominic huffed, and I laughed. “What did you need?”

“Greyson sent me to tell you it’s time.”

There was no announcement, but as I made my way toward the slab that held my uncle’s husk, everyone stopped to watch. The unspoken command to follow my attention was too strong for even the drunkest of them to ignore. The sun had set, and torches had been placed everywhere to give us some form of light. We didn’t use electricity in the wakes if we could avoid it.

As we got closer to the pyre, Dominic moved to be nearer to Greyson, giving me the floor. Just like before, I wasn’t sure what I should say, but with Two-Bit in the crowd, I knew I couldn’t say everything I wanted to.

Keep it short, it is.

“Death is the only sure part of life. Beautiful and humbling, it brings us together as much as it divides. Tonight, we gather like this to mourn a man who was instrumental in guiding this family for decades. I hope the afterlife is everything you dreamed of, Uncle.”

Lifting the bottle I’d been carrying around all night, I poured a healthy dose onto my uncle’s shrouded body. It wasn’t unheard of, but it was definitely a sign of disrespect. My final one.

“Burn in hell,” I whispered as I put the torch to the alcohol first and then the kindling below, making sure the fire was burning everywhere before I dropped the torch into it too.

There was no telling how long I stood there, watching the flames envelop my uncle’s body, but I couldn’t move. I needed to see, so I could tell myself he was really gone.

I heard the quietest pop, and then pain bloomed along my shoulder. I raised my hand automatically to check on what I expected was a burn from a falling ember.

It wasn’t.

Red seeped through my fingers, running sticky down my skin as I realized what had happened.

Someone shot me.

I pulled my gun immediately, looking for who the fuck was ballsy enough to shoot at me in the middle of a Marcosa party. Dread twisted my gut as I caught a pair of eyes so familiar, they made my heart ache, but they weren’t Nate’s.

They were Cash’s.

Greyson and Dominic didn’t stop to ask questions, pulling their guns as one, even while their keen eyes went nearly feral at the sight of the hole in my jacket.

Grey’s face was dark with retribution. “What the fuck.”

Dominic spun around. “Who shot my girl?”

“That would be me.” Cash’s grin was as unstable as ever. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’re the entertainment.”

We were all too fucking shocked at the audacity of his interrupting what was culturally known as a cease-fire moment in time. You didn’t shoot people at a funeral. Cash lifted his gun and fired, once again proving he didn’t care about decorum one fucking bit.

“Take cover!” I yelled over the sound, knowing I was going to lose people tonight. We were all armed, but we’d been prepared for remembrance, not battle. Half my men were in the bag, and the other half weren’t armed enough for this.

“Who the fuck fires into a funeral?” I grunted, leaning out from behind the viewing platform to shoot two of Cash’s men before they could creep closer. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I ignored it before realizing it was probably Nate. I was right.

I’m here.

I craned my neck, trying to look around the stone, but I pulled back as a chip was cut away with a bullet.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Dominic asked, hauling me farther into the safety of the middle.

“Nate’s here.” I yanked my earbuds from my pocket, connecting them as I dialed Nate’s number, muttering as it rang, “Pick up, pick up, pick up.”

“The kid’s not our problem right now,” Dominic growled. “Let’s focus on getting out of here alive.”

Fires backlit the windows, and I just knew Cash was going to burn the place down. Fuck it, I don’t like the damn house anyway.

“Meet us by the lower garage,” I said, tapping on Dominic’s and Greyson’s shoulders so they could hear too.

The doors weren’t open, but the garage had an outside entrance we could use without electricity, one big enough for us to drive through. There was also a road nearby that would bypass the bullshit of the Aces’ cars blocking us in.

No way was I letting my people die here.

The boys nodded, and Dominic lifted his head to yell. “Everyone out!”

Amazing how fast men could sober up when their lives were on the line. When I saw most of our men were fighting their way out, or occupying the Aces’ time for us to get out, I refocused my efforts. I had three things to do.

Get Nate, get to the cars, get out.

But first, we needed a distraction. I peered around for something we could use to escape from our current hiding place and saw the bar cart not too far away. Pulling out my knife, I tugged on the hem of Dominic’s shirt and sliced it off.

“Now’s not really the time to get naked, mariposa.”

“Oh, shut up and cover me,” I said, rushing for the cart. A bullet whizzed by my ear, and one fired from the boys right after, the pained yell telling me they’d taken that Ace out as I ducked, wrapped my arms around the mass of bottles, and hauled the whole thing to our hiding place.

It took me less than a minute to prep the bottles, and then we were tossing them over the pyre, staggering the flames to get as much space clear as we could.

Grey peered out from behind the platform, and when no one immediately opened fire, he hauled me to my feet. “Let’s go.”

As one, the three of us stood, moving through the garden as quickly as possible. If we could make it to the side of the house without dying, we’d be okay. We spread out, trying to give them more targets to hit in hopes we could do it unscathed. “We’re nearly out of the garden. Get there, Nate.”

“I see you, baby. I’m coming.” There was shuffling and more heavy breathing. “Just stay low and out of— Mari, look out!”

Nate’s tinny voice blended into Dominic’s and Greyson’s roars as I twisted to find an Ace diving closer on the stone patio, ready for a potshot. One look at the gun and I knew he’d hit his target. There wasn’t time to move, so I braced for impact as my men yelled, vowing to wear Kevlar when leaving the house until this fucking war was over.

But the bullet never came.

Instead, a hard body rammed itself into my side, stealing the breath from my lungs as we went down together. The aim was off, and I felt his head hit the ground at my side, wincing when he didn’t get up. Two rapid shots were all it took to end the Ace, but I was too focused on the big man lying on me and the warm liquid that dripped onto my thighs.

“Where the fuck did he come from?” Dominic asked. Nate was still as the grave on top of me, and my heart was frantic at how true that could be.

“I don’t know, but help me get him off!” I snapped. Dominic rolled him over, keeping his body between me and the melee as I leaped to Nate’s aid. Grey stood over all three of us, our own god of war as he picked off anyone who came close.

Blood seeped from Nate’s shirt, and I lifted it to see a small wound in his stomach. It wasn’t anywhere immediately problematic, so I pulled off my jacket and stuffed it against the wound. It wouldn’t pack shit for long. “We need to get him out of here.”

“Will Cash let us steal his brother back?”

“I don’t care.” I knelt, trying and failing to haul Nate’s arm over my shoulder more than once. Finally, Dominic huffed, handed me his gun, and grabbed Nate in a bridal carry that would’ve made me laugh any other time.

Nate groaned, coming to once Dominic started moving. “Mari?”

I stepped up close, keeping my eyes focused on the people around us. I didn’t want another ambush. “We’re getting you out of here.”

“I didn’t know.”

“I know, baby. We’ll talk about it later.” I took my eyes off the surroundings for a single second. That was my mistake.

Two Aces popped up and fired. The shots pulled my attention, and they were both dead by my bullets in seconds, but the distraction cost me.

Dominic stumbled, his hold on Nate slipping before he righted himself, and I saw the splatter of blood through a hole in his jeans. Someone had grazed his leg just right, so it took a chunk of skin with it. “Fucking cocksuckers, that hurt.”

“Can you walk?”

“I’ve got your fuckboy,” he promised, and, hurt or not, I smacked him upside the head.

“I was asking about you, you asshole.”

He turned, contrition all over his face, but it twisted as he looked behind me. I followed his eyes, and my gun wavered. “Greyson.”

His name was a breath on my lips as I bolted for him. The bullet that had just grazed Dominic had driven Greyson to his knees by force. The other had nicked the side of his neck, and blood poured down his body. I grabbed him under the arms and hauled him to his feet, hissing under my breath as I did. “Up, get up. Get up.”

“Mari.”

“Don’t even think about it.” I yanked off my shirt and wrapped it around Grey’s neck as tight as I could without cutting off circulation. “We’re going to the car, all three of us. Now, run.”

I didn’t know how we made it to the garage. If we had a lucky break or Cash let us go to toy with us more later. I wasn’t sure I cared.

All four of us were injured, and if I didn’t get Greyson to a hospital soon, he was going to die. Not to mention Nate. As I hauled open the door and shoved a very pale Greyson inside, I hoped we’d make it in time.

Dominic snatched the keys from the hook on the wall with an, “I’ll drive. You need to be with them.”

“All four of you, get in the back.” The moment we heard the voice, all of us had our guns up. It was instinctual, and even Dominic, who was farther away, had recognized the threat and hauled the driver’s side door open. “What the fuck?”

I pulled open the passenger door and tried not to let my surprise show. I wasn’t sure who I was expecting, but a smiling Two-Bit in my driver’s seat wasn’t it. “Whatever this is, I don’t have time. Get out.”

All I could think about was Greyson’s drooping eyes and the clock that was ticking in my fucking ear.

They need help. My men are shot. Cash shot them.

Two-Bit crossed his hands over his stomach, settling in his seat. “Make time. We need to talk.”

I peeked at my men, who were all shaking their heads, but it was the blood that made my decision. We didn’t have time for squabbling. Greyson and Nate didn’t have time.

If Two-Bit wanted to come for me now, he could get in fucking line. Slamming the door, I crawled into the back seat and barked at Dominic to do the same. “Get us to the hospital, and I’ll give you whatever the fuck you want.”

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