Chapter 26
Once we were outside, it took no time to find Dominic on the other side of the lot. He was checking bodies with Cameron and intentionally ignoring me. The twat. My cousin threw me a thumbs-up, laughing at something the grump said, and I let relief sweep me under. No casualties on our side. It was a fucking miracle.
Grey tapped me on the hip with a finger. “Come on, let’s get this over with so we can get you home to Doc.”
“Deal.”
Two-Bit was talking to Joaquin near the cars, so we headed toward them. Joaquin saw me first, frowning at the blood on my head. “Hope they’re dead.”
“They are.”
As if even that was too much emotion, he scoffed and stepped back. “My crew will take care of any survivors.”
Meaning he’d double tap to make sure everyone was actually dead, which was fine by me. I didn’t enjoy the overkill, though I wasn’t precious enough about it to stop them. Caution and paranoia kept me alive. “Make it quick. I want everyone out in ten minutes or less.”
It was an impossible timeline, but he nodded anyway. “You got it, boss.”
With my uncle sorted, I turned to Two-Bit. We shook hands while Grey nodded at the men behind him. “Thanks for coming. You got here at just the right time.”
The gangster shrugged. “It’s what we agreed to. Sorry we didn’t get him.”
“Me too, but this was a long shot anyway.” Despite how badly I’d wanted it, we’d all known that anyone who had pulled off the assassination of a heavily protected underboss wasn’t likely to show up for a small-time ambush. “At least we took out some of his men.”
As if the universe had whispered that we were talking about him, my phone rang. Grey dug it out of his pocket—because men’s pockets were way better—and showed me Cash’s name on the screen.
“Here we go,” I muttered, accepting the call.
“Mari, darling.” Cash’s voice was all seduction, though I could hear the faint lilt of amusement. He was laughing at me, the fucking weasel. “How are you today?”
Normally, I’d let it slide, but I was hurt and pissed that he was still alive, so I let myself be petty.
“I thought we had an appointment, snookums. Did you forget the date? I know the memory gets hazy as you get older.” It was a stab in the dark, but Cash gave me the vibe of someone who cared greatly about his appearance, and everyone knew that age was the enemy of vanity.
I could hear the grit of anger in his voice when he spoke, and it made me smile. “Sorry about that, I double-booked myself, and I really needed the massage. Gorgeous woman, wandering hands. You get it, right? All those men ready and waiting for you.”
I didn’t respond to the baiting, mostly because it was untrue. “Let’s reschedule. Though, I suppose you’ll need time to consult your calendar. Lots of funerals to plan.”
A snort echoed down the line. “Lamenting cannon fodder is below my pay grade.”
I knew he was an asshole, but I couldn’t understand that. Those people had bled for him, died for him, and he did nothing to honor that sacrifice? “Better be careful, or greed will be your only ally, Cash.”
A faint giddy squeal ran through the line, and my lip curled in disgust. “She already is. Luckily, my dreams are big enough to satisfy us both.” Another squeal and a long moan, and I wanted to throw up in my mouth. If he tried fucking her on the phone with me, I was going to go nuclear. “Congratulations on making it out alive, by the way. You were glorious.”
I knew it!I peered around again, searching the eaves until I saw a camera hidden almost completely behind one of the metal beams. With a snarky grin, I flipped it off. Cash’s warm chuckle told me he was still watching, and that made me all sorts of uncomfortable.
If he starts stalking me, this is going to go downhill quick.
“Too bad about your man almost getting blown away. Dominic, was it? I promised my guy a fat bonus if he could bring me your beloved’s head. Instead, he got a bullet to his. Oh well. I’ll get him next time.”
The idea that he’d not only set a target on Dominic but a fucking bounty was enough to send me into a rage blackout. Cash had already taken my cousin from me; he wasn’t going to get anyone else I loved. I dropped the pretense and stared straight into the camera. “When I find you, I’m going to rip you apart myself. You’ll be in so many pieces they’ll never find all of you. Not that anyone would look. You’re poison.”
“You say the sweetest things.” The psycho laughed. “Can’t wait to see you try. Talk soon, queenie.”
The phone beeped as he ended the call, and Grey pried it out of my hand before I threw it at the ground.
“Get a guard on Dominic immediately. Make it discreet. Cash has a hard-on for him.”
“Not just him. Word is he’s got a pretty big bounty out on all your boys. All three of them.” Two-Bit’s pointed look was a reminder I didn’t need. As long as I was with any of my men, they’d all be at risk. Apparently even Nate.
Grey squeezed my fingers, lifting them to his mouth for a ghost of a kiss. “I’ll sort it out.”
Two-Bit cleared his throat and jerked his head toward the carnage. “I’ll leave this to you, if that’s all right. Dominic already gave the all clear, so the other families are headed home. You should probably call a summit in a few days so we can debrief and make a new plan.”
I thanked him, and then the Vipers were gone, climbing into custom-painted muscle cars that were worth more than one of Grey’s sportsters.
Grey and Dominic went back and forth with the rest of the family, sorting out identities and making sure everyone we killed stayed dead, while I leaned against the car in an effort to hide just how badly I hurt. The longer we were in the open, the antsier I got. The reminder that Cash was watching made my shoulder blades itch. We were too exposed.
I tried to pace but had to stop. The ache in my ribs was too much.
“Mari?” Grey asked.
“We need to get out of here.”
He squeezed my shoulder, pushing me toward the back door. “I’ll get everyone loaded up, and we’ll leave. A few more minutes, I promise. Why don’t you go lie down on the seat until we’re ready?” He brushed his hand down my temple, and I realized my anxiety was turning the dull throb of a headache into searing pain with every heartbeat.
“Five minutes.”
Climbing into the seat, I groaned as my aching body settled in. Shifting around to get the tension off my ribs, I wasn’t expecting the crumpled piece of paper under my leg. Smoothing it out, I bit back a curse at the signature on the bottom.
Queenie!
I learned a lot under your father, but the one thing that stuck with me was this: You’re never as vulnerable as when your heart lives outside your body, and yours is split in three. We couldn’t get Dominic this time, but we still have two more chances to succeed. Who do you think would look prettier in a pine box, your little shadow or the mouse in the house?
Love, Cash
Immediately, I shoved back out of the car.
“Grey?” I searched the crowd, looking for the telltale posture that told me my best friend was still here, still alive. Panic ate away at my hearing until the only sound in my ears was my own roaring heartbeat. “Greyson!”
“Mari. What is it? What’s wrong?” I pulled him close and crushed my lips to his. Despite being in the worst place for a kiss, he dove into it, carefully cradling my cheek even as he pressed me against the car.
“What was that for?”
I shook my head, unable to tell him it was because he was in front of me. Alive. Breathing. Cash was feeding off my paranoia, and it was working. Fucking asshole.
But even if he didn’t have Greyson, Nate was still in danger.
“We need to get home.”
Grey rubbed my back. “Okay. We’ll call the cleaners when we’re on the road.”
One look at Dominic had him hustling over to our car and pulling open the driver’s side door. I noticed our guys had replaced the blown-out tires. Apparently, he was replacing Geneva. I didn’t care as long as we got home.
Cash waited until the entire caravan was at the end of the block before he blew the warehouse to pieces.
I peered out the back window, unsurprised to see it in flames, but since everyone we’d brought was gone, I wasn’t worried about it. The explosion was barely big enough to rock the car.
“What the hell is that?”
I leaned forward, trying to see out the windshield like Dominic, and I immediately wished I hadn’t. A plume of smoke in the distance told me it wasn’t just one explosion, but two. Craning my neck, I tried to figure out where the explosion was, but there was no way to tell from where we were. Before I could redirect Dominic, my phone lit up with a video call from Micah. A call from the dockmaster was unusual, but a video chat was unheard of. A pit formed in my stomach as I answered.
“Bad news, Mari.” Micah flipped to the back camera, and even expecting it, the sight hit me in the gut.
Son of a bitch. We’d found the second bomb.
Bits of metal and wood were everywhere, flames eating them and anything else they could find. The sight of a single uniformed leg hidden beneath the rubble ignited my body with rage. Cash hadn’t just destroyed one of my shipments; he’d blown it to bits and torched the two next to it, taking a life in the destruction.
Fuck the concussion, fuck the broken ribs, and fuck the Aces. Unlike Cash, I took every loss personally, and I wasn’t going to stop until he was strapped down to a table while I chopped him into fish food.
“Get the fire department down there, and sort out the fire. As soon as it’s cleared, inventory everything. We need to know what we’ve got to replace.” I paused, taking a breath that hurt every one of my ribs. “Get me the information on your guard, too. I’ll call the family myself.”
“I will.” Micah cleared his throat, the sound painful on the line. “Johnson was a good guy. He didn’t deserve that.”
“No, he didn’t. I promise to make him pay.”
“I know you will, boss. I have no doubt.”
That made one of us.