Chapter 24
Morning came too soon, and while I waited for the meeting with Cash, Grey and I did some work in my home office. While he touched base with clients, I checked on Brittany.
Tennessee had put the girl with a trustworthy foster family, but even weeks later, there was still no sign of Sabine—or any of the other informants, for that matter. They were just gone. It broke my heart to hear Brittany cry on the other end of the phone, and I promised myself I’d find out what happened to them, no matter what. It was the least I could do. They were family.
Hanging up with her had a sense of urgency flowing through my veins. Cash needed to go. He had no issues ripping families apart, and I wasn’t going to allow it anymore. For Brittany and Sabine, he needed to die.
I wasn’t prone to overthinking when it came to taking someone’s life, and this was no different. Cash was a cancer in my city and my people. If I let him live, he’d spread until there was nothing but rot, decay, and death at his feet.
Since I had time, I called Troy Kincaid too. With everything going on with the Aces, we hadn’t met up for lunch. It was too risky for him to be seen around me, especially after Cash bombed Nate’s car, but we’d sorted out transport for his latest piece, which was due to arrive any day. It wasn’t the way we usually handled his deliveries, but Troy didn’t mind. He knew we all had to make compromises until the Aces were snuffed out.
After a few more emails, the phone on the desk between us vibrated, sending my heart rate skyrocketing. The burner phone was what I’d texted Cash from after I tossed Jerron’s. As expected, Cash was trying to move things around in his favor.
Change of plans. Meet you at the industrial district near North Admiral in an hour.
An hour gave us enough time to contact the other families, load up, and get there early enough to scout. Perfect.
We’d spread the families throughout the city so there would be eyes and ears on the streets in case Cash decided to double-cross us—which he was likely to do—and there was a higher chance one of them would be close enough to help us when the fighting inevitably started. I was positive we had at least two families in the area to help us when it came down to it.
I responded back with an agreement and handed Grey the phone on my way into the dining room. Instead of food, weapons, holsters, and ammunition lined the massive mahogany table. At least Moore remembered to put down an old tablecloth. Amara had nearly had a stroke when he’d scratched the antique wood with his rifle last time.
Grey read the text with a slightly feral grin. He was as excited as I was to get things over with. “I’ll call the others.”
“Already done,” Cameron said, stepping in to take his spot on the other side of the table. We were seasoned pros, ready to do battle. The only difference was the fourth pile of weapons on the table for Dominic. “I sent a few of my guys into the city before dawn to get a read on things. Everyone else is on standby. Just text them the location, and they’ll be there. In fact, I think the Vipers are stationed a few blocks away. They’ll be there before we are.”
A wave of relief swept over me. Even if I wasn’t sure what was happening with Dominic, Greyson and Cameron had my back. They always did.
As if he heard my thoughts, my cousin shot me a shit-eating grin while Grey sent off the required texts. “What’s up with your boy toy? He was awfully grumpy when I ran into him earlier.”
“Which one?” I asked absently, piling weapons near my chair. Greyson smiled to himself while Cameron’s unreserved laughter echoed through the room.
“That one.”
I looked up to find a silent Dominic stalking into the room.
All morning, we’d moved around each other without speaking, out of sync and uncomfortable. He stared at me like I was a ghost only he could see. A walking, talking, fire-breathing reminder of the girl he’d stolen kisses from in the dark. He haunted my home like he was mourning, until the whole place felt like a fucking mausoleum.
Here lies Marianna Marcosa, the golden princess, lost in the heat of battle. Gone but never forgotten.
Christ, what was he going to think when he saw firsthand how bloodthirsty I was? Would he stand by my side while we took Cash down, or would it be too much for him?
Would this be what broke us for good? I didn’t know, and I hated it.
For ten years, I’d wished for Dominic to come home and remember that he had someone who cared about him. That he had me. For ten years, I’d hoped he’d like what he saw. I wanted him to see the same growth I did when I looked in the mirror. The strength, the courage, the determination. I wasn’t the little princess who did what she was told anymore; I commanded armies. I was powerful in my own right. I wanted him to see that I’d become so much more than I’d ever dreamed. To see me.
Not once had I thought he’d hate what he found, and it hurt.
That’s tomorrow’s problem, I reminded myself. I had other things to focus on. All I could do was hope that Dominic didn’t let his feelings fuck up our mission, because Cash had to go. Dominic checked me over briefly, jaw clenched as he took the final spot and began packing weapons onto his body.
Shaking my head, I responded to Cameron. “Difference of opinion.”
I thought he could love me; he thought I was the devil.
My cousin stared between us, and it took a lot for me to ignore the soft, sad look he gave me. Rey had always been my confidant, but Cameron had this intuition with people that made it easy for him to see the heart of a matter in seconds. It was what made him such a good capo and such an irritating family member. There were no secrets when he was around.
Sorry,he mouthed, but I waved it off. He couldn’t control Dominic’s feelings, and neither could I. The only person who could was the person who didn’t want to.
Breaking the moment, Grey dropped my bulletproof vest in front of me, and I immediately put it on over my shirt before working on stuffing the pockets.
“You’re not going to complain about wearing that?” Dominic asked, eyeing the vest.
Grey rolled his eyes, and I nearly followed suit. Of course the first thing he said to me was something stupid. “Only an idiot would walk into what’s almost certainly an ambush without any sort of protection. I may be stubborn, but I’m not stupid.”
“I didn’t mean?—”
“I know what you meant, Dominic.”
He flinched like I’d hit him where it hurt, and it irritated me. He’d hurt me, and he was flinching? I dropped my hands to my hips and stared him down. “Is this going to be a problem?”
“I’m not the one snapping at people.”
“Pretty sure she’s only snapped at you,” Grey pointed out. So helpful, that man of mine.
Dominic scoffed. “Right. She’d never snap at her precious Greyson.”
Grey slammed his hands down on the table, leaning forward like he was ready to vault it so he could go for Dominic’s throat. “Don’t get pissy with me because you fucked up, man. I told you to sort your shit out or leave, and instead, you hurt her. You’re lucky I don’t beat your ass.”
As much as I hated them talking about me like I wasn’t in the room, it was obvious this was something they needed to sort out on their own. They’d been heading toward a fight since Dominic got home, and I was officially tossing aside my referee badge. They could deal with it on their own.
Dominic clenched his jaw. “What happens between Mari and me is just that—between us.”
“You’re not the one who had to hold her while she fell apart. I did. You crushed her, you fucking asshole.”
Shooting a look at me like he knew I was losing my patience and my sanity, Cameron angled his body between the two men as best as he could. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let’s take it down a notch. The last thing we need is more drama before the day’s over.”
“Stay out of it.” Grey and Dominic spoke at the same time, then went silent in favor of glaring at each other. Tension rose through the room until I felt like one errant breath was going to set it and us on fire.
“Going somewhere?”
Every head snapped to the doorway as Nate walked in, eyeing the weapons on the table. I thought he was oblivious to the tension, but the tight set of his shoulders told me otherwise. He was ignoring it on purpose, defusing the situation. Gratitude swept me over just as quickly as reality pulled me back in.
Don’t read into it. He’s just being helpful.
Dominic and Grey were still glaring at each other while I focused on my vest again.
“Going for a walk.” Cameron didn’t even try to hide the lie, and Nate didn’t bat an eye.
“That’s a lot of firepower for an afternoon stroll.”
“Isn’t it? I’ll gather everyone at the cars,” my cousin told me, patting Nate on the back before heading out and leaving me drowning in a pool of testosterone.
Fantastic.
Ignoring all of them, I slid weapon after weapon into their respective pockets as if the men weren’t all watching me. I’d worked with the vest for years, and everything had a place inside it so I could move the way I needed to without worrying about where something was. Fumbling your way through pockets was the quickest way to end up dead.
“Anything I should know about?” Nate finally asked.
Greyson answered before I could. “Since you’re not a Marcosa, no.”
Our houseguest seemed to agree, but I could feel the unease radiating off him. Not knowing bothered him, and it was more than just wanting to be in the loop. It was like the lack of knowledge knocked a leg out from under him. For the first time, Nate looked unsteady.
Something about having him off-kilter put me off-kilter too. Since that was the last thing we needed, I did what I never did—I reassured him. “We’re good, Nate.”
I didn’t bother smiling. He’d made it clear we weren’t friends, that he didn’t want to be friends. I needed to respect that. It was just so hard to remember when he stared at me like he was worried I’d disappear in front of him.
Nate watched me for the longest time as I triple-checked my weapons by feel. I’d worn the vest so many times, it was mostly muscle memory, but I didn’t want to take anything for granted. If my distraction over things with Dominic had me rotating my weapon’s positions by accident, it could get me killed.
“You going to be okay?”
“She’ll be fine,” Grey and Dominic answered together. Cue a three-way glaring match, and I was officially over their antics. Had we not been heading into a literal battle, I would’ve left them to duke it out without me.
“Let’s get to the cars.” We’d be late, but I didn’t care, especially when I checked my phone and found a message from Two-Bit.
In position. No sign of him.
Nate grabbed my arm as I walked past, and I felt both Dominic and Greyson tense behind me. Nate seemed to as well, but he didn’t let me go.
“Be careful today.” There was a weight in his voice, a host of words he wouldn’t say.
I carefully pulled myself out of his grip and smiled. “We will. Stay inside.”
The cars were parked in the driveway with the day’s retinue of Marcosas standing in front. Uncle Joaquin and his merry band of idiots were huddled around the two SUVs that would carry them, while Dominic and Grey hovered in front of mine.
Stepping forward, I addressed everyone. “I’m not doing a big speech. We all know what we’re doing here. We go in, we take out the Aces, we leave. Don’t get cute, and don’t be stupid. The area is closed off to the main populace, so we should be fine, but keep an eye out. The last thing we need is some Good Samaritan getting in the way and getting hurt. Let’s keep the collateral damage to a minimum.”
No one laughed or made jokes. We were all focused.
By the end of the day, Cash would be nothing but an unpleasant memory.