Chapter 120 Ty
TY
We gathered in my office to discuss our next steps. Uncertainty pressed down on us like a heavy cloud. My eyes darted around the room, taking in the faces: Liza, Hiram, Sven, Liam. They were all focused and determined, but something was off.
“Everyone’s here.” I turned to face them. “Let’s get down to business.”
“First off,” Hiram said gleefully. “Benny’s gone underground. That leaves Sven here with the opportunity to take over his territory.”
Sven was leaning against the wall, his hands tucked in his pockets. Despite the heavy atmosphere, Sven’s self-assured expression was obvious. “I’ll have control of Benny’s territory soon.”
“Good,” I said tersely, my mind racing with the potential implications of this development. Gaining control of Benny’s territory was a significant advantage for us, but it also raised the question that had been gnawing since our meeting began. “What will Castro do now?
“Anyone got any ideas?” Liam asked, rubbing the back of his neck as he paced around the room, searching for a spark of inspiration, or a nugget of information that might lead us to our next move.
I looked over at Liza, who was usually full of energy and ideas, but she was withdrawn. There was an eerie calmness about her that set me on edge. It was like she was holding back a storm within herself. The sensation nagged, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
“Without Benny, Castro’s options are limited,” Hiram said, scratching his beard thoughtfully. “He’s gonna be desperate, and desperate men are unpredictable.”
“Unpredictable, yes,” I said, my nostrils flaring as I took in the scent of unease wafting through the room. “Not invincible. We need to find him before he finds another way to strengthen his position.”
“Perhaps we should gather more intel on his connections and resources,” Hiram said. “That way, we can cut him off before he has a chance to strike.”
“Good idea,” Sven said. “If we can weaken more of his support, we can make it easier to bring him down.”
As the conversation carried on, I continued to steal glances at Liza, trying to gauge her emotions. Her blank expression and lack of input only intensified my concern. I knew her well enough to be sure that something was definitely bothering her.
The scent of unease lingered in the air, making my wolf pace restlessly within me. Liza’s forced calmness bothered me.
“Listen.” Liam leaned forward and placed his palms on the table. “We should take the fight to Castro.”
“Easy for you to say,” Hiram said. “But we haven’t seen a single sign of him since that day outside my restaurant.”
“True,” Liam said. “Now that Benny’s gone, one of the other bosses Castro managed to wrangle in might be hiding him.”
“Taking the fight to him would be reckless,” Sven said with a shake of his head. “We need more information before we make any moves.”
My attention kept drifting back to Liza. Waves of tension emanated from her, making it hard to ignore her unease.
The door suddenly burst open, and Isaiah strode into the room, commanding everyone’s attention. “I’ve got news. Castro has no one else in his corner.”
“Are you serious?” Hiram exclaimed. “No one’s backing Castro anymore?”
“Exactly what the hell are you talking about, Isaiah?” Suspicion flickered across Sven’s face as his eyes narrowed.
I glanced at Liza, but my attention was quickly drawn back to Isaiah when he began to explain himself. The confidence radiated from him as he spoke, leaving no doubt that he believed what he was saying.
“I’ve been working with moles from other packs for the past few weeks, gathering information,” Isaiah explained.
“My main goal was to compile a list of everyone who was backing Castro—all the bosses, enforcers, anyone with even a hint of loyalty to that bastard.” He paused, gathering his thoughts before continuing, “What I found was that Benny was pretty much the linchpin holding everything together. With him out of the picture, the other bosses have backed out. They think Castro’s cause is lost and don’t want to risk their own necks over it. ”
We stared at Isaiah in shock, none of us saying a word as we tried to comprehend what he’d just said.
My heart raced, each beat echoing the building hope within me that maybe, just maybe, the end of this nightmare was in sight. But I couldn’t let myself get too carried away until we had more concrete evidence to support Isaiah’s claims.
“Can you confirm this, Isaiah?” I asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. “Is there any chance some of them might still be loyal to Castro?”
“From what I gathered, it’s highly unlikely.” Isaiah’s dark eyes met mine. “Of course, there’s always a chance some could be hiding their true intentions, but the general consensus among the bosses is that Castro’s finished.”
The energy in the room shifted, crackling with anticipation and hope. Each face around me brightened at the prospect of Castro’s vulnerability. I felt it, too—that sudden spark of exhilaration, knowing we had a real chance at victory.
“Well, goddamn.” Hiram smirked, leaning back in his chair as he looked around the room. “I never thought our plan would do this much damage. Good job, everyone.”
My pack mates and our allies couldn’t contain their excitement, grinning and slapping each other on the back as they celebrated the unexpected turn of events. We may have stopped the war before it had even started.
I should have been celebrating, too, but I kept drifting back to Liza.
She stood apart from the others, her arms crossed and expression distant.
The news about Castro’s dwindling army had barely registered with her.
As I watched her, dread settled in the pit of my stomach.
Was there something she wasn’t telling me?
After all that crap the other day about teamwork, too.
Something that might put her or the rest of us in danger?
Hiram cut through the excited chatter. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’m going to confirm what Isaiah told us, speak to the other mob bosses, and find out if they really have backed out. Until I can verify it myself, we need to stay sharp and be ready for anything.”
“Of course.” I tore my attention away from Liza and met his stern expression. “We’ll keep our guard up.”
Isaiah huffed. “I’m a reliable source.”
“Hey, I know.” I chuckled as I patted him on the shoulder. I silently hoped Isaiah knew how much I valued him for all he had done. “You’ve done amazing work. I’m glad to have you as my informant.”
“Thanks,” he said, finally cracking a small smile. “I want to help end this as much as any of you. For all our sakes.”
“Your efforts haven’t gone unnoticed.” I slapped his back before turning my attention to the group gathered around the table. Everyone was discussing plans and possibilities,
Liam’s hand on my shoulder caught my attention, and I turned to face him, sensing both urgency and resolve in his touch.
“Ty, there’s something I need to tell you,” he said somberly.
“Sure, what’s up?” I asked, my curiosity piqued by his demeanor.
“Once all this is over, I’m going into hiding.
” The declaration hit me like a punch to the gut, making it hard for me to breathe for a moment.
I stared at him, trying to process what he was saying.
“I’ve got things to handle. Things that don’t involve Liza.
While I’m doing that, I can’t be her brother, I need to be the mob boss. ”
“You sure about that?” Liza would be devastated if her brother just disappeared without a word.
“Positive.” Liam’s determination was etched into his features. “I can’t be around Liza while I’m the mob boss. It’ll only put her in danger.”
He made a valid point, but it didn’t make the situation any easier to swallow.
The thought of Liza losing her brother without knowing why tore at me. I couldn’t let him just slip away from her life without a word. She deserved better than that.
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “You can’t just disappear on her. You have to tell Liza what’s going on. She needs to understand why you’re doing this.”
“Ty—”
I held my hand up. “Disappearing is not fair to her. She’s your sister, and she loves you. She deserves to be told the truth.”
Liam stared for a long moment, his jaw tense and eyes flickering with indecision. Finally, he exhaled heavily, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “Fine. I’ll speak to her, but I need to handle one last thing.”
“Thank you. It won’t be easy, but she needs to hear it from you.”
I watched him go. He had promised to talk to Liza, but there was something else hidden beneath the surface. A secret he didn’t want to share. I had a feeling our conversation wasn’t quite finished.
“Wait.”
He stopped and looked over his shoulder.
“You said you have one more thing to handle.” Comprehension dawned on me. “Sabrina?” I stared at Liam, concern and disbelief swirling.
He sighed heavily, his expression clouded with uncertainty.
“Yeah, it’s Sabrina.” He rolled his shoulders back.
“I’m going to have to break our bond. I’m not even sure how it happened, but I need to reject her.
That’s how it works with us wolves, so I’m hoping it’ll be as easy as that for a human, too. ”
“Are you sure about this?” From what I’d heard, breaking a bond was painful, like tearing apart one’s own soul.
Liam nodded. “I’m a mob boss, Ty. The last thing I need is a mate just so people can put a target on her back.” His words were heavy with a sense of duty, but I detected the pain lurking beneath them. Losing a mate was not something anyone took lightly, especially not an alpha wolf like Liam.
As much as I wanted to support him, I worried about Sabrina’s wellbeing. She was Liza’s best friend. My mate saw her as a sister. I had to ask the question that had been nagging me ever since I’d learned about their bond. “What if rejecting her causes more harm than good?”
“Then, I’ll deal with it,” Liam answered firmly. “But I can’t risk her life by staying connected to her. Not when the stakes are this high.”
I understood the logic in his decision, but I still ached for both him and Sabrina. It wasn’t a choice being made out of love or desire but rather cold necessity. “I trust you, Liam. Just be careful. Sabrina’s important to Liza, and I don’t want either of them hurt.”
Liam nodded, his face grave. “I’ll do everything I can to make this as painless as possible for her. For both of them.”
I found Liza in the dimly lit kitchen, staring blankly at a row of gleaming knives on the wall. Even from several feet away, I could sense that her usual strong aura had evaporated.
“Hey,” I said softly, making my way over to her. “Everyone’s gone now. You okay?”
Liza blinked, snapping back to reality, and gave me a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just… exhausted, I guess.”
I frowned. There was more to it than that. Her exhaustion wasn’t just physical, it wore on her emotionally as well, as if she were trying to hold back a storm within her—one that threatened to break free at any moment.
“Hey,” I said softly, putting my arm around her waist. “You should get some rest. We’ve all been pushing ourselves too hard lately.”
She gave me a wan smile. “It’s just been a lot, you know?
Everything that’s happened, everything we’re still dealing with…
” She trailed off, but I understood what she meant.
The constant battles and threats, the looming specter of Castro…
it was enough to break anyone down. Through it all, Liza had shown a strength and resilience that awed me.
“I get it,” I squeezed her hand gently. “But we’ve come a long way, and things are starting to look up. The pack is safe, and that’s what matters most.”
Liza shrugged out of my grasp and drifted to the wall. Her eyes were distant and her body language guarded. She had said she was relieved, but something about her didn’t sit right with me. It was as if a veil had been drawn over her emotions, and I couldn’t quite see through it.
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, Ty, I’m fine. You should focus on finding Castro. Like you said, this won’t be over until he’s dead.”
Her words gave me pause. There was an undercurrent of something in her tone.
Fear? Dread? I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
My wolf stirred within me, urging me to find out what was wrong with our mate.
I trusted Liza, but she sometimes kept things to herself when she thought it would protect others.
I watched her muscles tense as she crossed the room, her slender fingers drumming against her thigh in a nervous rhythm. “I need to keep up with my training,” she declared, her voice steady, despite the unease that vibrated beneath the surface. “I’ll go find Liam and arrange a time we can spar.”
“Actually,” I said hesitantly. “Liam left to speak with Sabrina.”
Her steps faltered, and she whirled around to face me, the color draining from her face. “What? When?”
“Right after our meeting.” I tried to gauge her reaction. “He wanted to talk to her about something.”
The tremor of panic that rippled through Liza hit me like a tidal wave, and I instinctively braced myself for whatever was coming next.
Instead of an outburst or a flood of tears, the room itself responded to her distress.
The faint sound of glass tinkling filled the air as the windows quivered in their frames.
“What’s going on, Liza?” I said, my own anxiety heightening as I stepped closer to her, desperate to help in any way I could.
Her eyes locked onto mine, but I wasn’t sure she saw me through the shadows of fear. “Castro called me,” she whispered so softly I barely heard her, as if saying his name any louder might summon him. “He has Sabrina.”
The air around us thickened, choking me as I tried to process what she was telling me. Castro had been one step ahead of us all along.
“Fuck,” I hissed, my anger flaring at the thought of him laying a hand on Sabrina or anyone else from our pack. “We need to find her, and fast.”
Liza’s fingers twisted around themselves nervously.
“There’s more,” she said, her eyes downcast. “Castro told me that if I agreed to meet with him, he would let Sabrina go. He’s going to send me a time and a place, but I didn’t tell anyone because I was afraid it was a trap.
I was going to figure out how to handle it on my own. ”
“Damn it, Liza.” I growled. “You should have told me. You don’t have to face him alone.”
Looking up, she tried to hide the shimmer of tears in her eyes. “I know,” she said, her breath hitching like she was hyperventilating. “I didn’t want to put you or anyone else in danger.”