Chapter 16 – Mari
Iknew Cash worked quickly, but I was still in bed with Nate when the phone rang less than a day later.
“We need to meet.” Kosas sounded more subdued than he’d been when I’d shown up at his house. He’d been nervous then, eyes darting back and forth on the street like he was expecting an Ace to show up and kill us both. Hell, maybe he was. I had no idea what the terms of the truce with Cash were. When I’d suggested he reconsider it, Kosas nearly spat in my face before slamming the door on us. Rude, but not a shock.
Still, I didn’t think he was calling because he’d seen the light.
My stomach twisted, even as I responded calmly. “Last we spoke, you told me to get lost. What’s changed?”
“Everything.”
One weighted word and I knew I’d meet him. I heard more than just exhaustion; Kosas sounded bleak and desperate. If I didn’t get to him now, Cash might reel him in too far for me to ever pull him back.
“Beanistry, one hour.”
The local coffee shop was as close to neutral territory as I could guarantee at the moment. Kosas grunted his agreement. “Don’t bring your entire army.”
Scoffing, I went to the closet and pulled out clothes and weapons. If he wanted to meet, there wasn’t time to argue about this. “I don’t leave the house without my men.”
Nate grumbled about being woken up as he got ready behind me, rummaging around in the dresser where he kept his stuff, despite his room being down the hall. I refused to tell him or the others how much I liked having their things in my room. It made it feel so much homier.
“I’m not asking you to come alone. I just—I need this to stay between us for now.”
Again, he sounded cagey and uncomfortable. “We’ll see.”
When I hung up the phone, Nate was pulling a shirt over his chest. The tattoo was covered with Saniderm, but I could still see the vague outline of my crown on his skin and I liked it.
“Stop looking at me like that when I don’t have time to fuck you.”
“Who says we don’t have time?” We definitely didn’t.
“I do. Need to head over to Beanistry and scope it out. Make sure it’s not a trap for you.”
Humming, I pulled him in by the hips and laid a kiss above the tattoo. “I like this.”
Nate wrapped a hand in my hair and pulled my head back so he could give me a kiss that made me weak in the knees and wetter than I should’ve been. As if he knew what he’d done, he smirked. “Show me how much you like it later.”
“I will.”
By the time I was done, I’d have that man covered in my marks.
With the two of us grinning, he let me go. “You want Dominic for this?”
Knowing whatever happened was Cash’s fault—and not wanting Kosas to transfer the blame to Nate—I nodded. “Please.”
Thankfully, he wasn’t upset. Just pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’ll be watching. Be safe, angel.”
“You too.”
When he was gone, I slipped into the new outfit and grabbed a few weapons I could easily hide. The point was to look as unarmed as possible, to remind Kosas I didn’t consider him a threat. Until I found a real way to end this war, mind games were all I had, and I was going to play to the very end.
We made a quick stop by the office floor to give Greyson a heads-up—he’d met with Killer, hoping to touch base before anyone else was awake, lest we make the wrong people suspicious. He gave me a stern warning to watch my back and a smack on the ass that made Killer’s whole face turn red before I left, glaring him black and blue. Dominic took one look at my face, wrapped an arm around my shoulder, and laughed himself silly at the kid’s expense until I elbowed him in the diaphragm.
I felt much better after that.
The drive was short, and even though the hour wasn’t up, I wanted to get there before Kosas. As we pulled in, my phone buzzed with a message from Nate.
He’s already inside. No signs of an ambush, but we’ll keep watch.
I knew he’d grabbed Moore and a few others for additional eyes, so if he said it was clear, I believed him.
Turning my phone off. Call Dominic twice for emergencies.
Got it. Love you, angel.
Love you too.
Relaying the relevant parts of the conversation to Dominic, I was more than comfortable leisurely hopping out of the car and strolling inside.
Beanistry was a quaint seaside café that smelled heavenly of fresh-brewed coffee and homemade pastries. The tables were scuffed and the leather chairs had seen better days, but the interior was warm and inviting despite the obvious use. Exactly the opposite kind of place I normally met people in the underworld.
“I’ll get you a drink and check the place out,” Dominic whispered, kissing my cheek before making his way to the counter. Not a problem since I’d already spotted my target.
Kosas sat at a table in the farthest corner of the café, his back half turned to the wall, staring down into a cup of coffee like he’d never seen it before. When I got closer, he looked up, and my blood froze.
I’d never seen someone look so empty before.
“You’re early,” I said carefully.
“He killed them.” Fuck, even his voice was empty. The words sank into my skin, but I ignored them. I had to.
Sliding into the chair, I made sure my entire back faced the wall. Last thing I needed was a bullet or knife in the back.
When Dominic sauntered over with our drinks, he slid his chair next to mine and slung an arm over the back of my chair.
“We’re good,” he whispered, and I picked up my cup, comfortable now that he’d confirmed we weren’t about to end up at the center of a bloodbath.
“Killed whom?”
“My son and daughter-in-law.”
Tyrone and Chloe. The coffee in my mouth turned to ash, and I struggled to swallow it. Dominic rested his hand on my shoulder where Kosas wouldn’t see, giving me strength when guilt tried to drown me.
We’d known this was a possibility. Cash wasn’t going to let this go without a fight, but we’d assumed he’d go after Kosas himself, not the family. We assumed he’d play fair.
Stupid Mari.
Kosas cleared his throat, though his entire being vibrated with agony. “He said he saw pictures of us meeting. Thought I backstabbed him. Said he’d lost trust in me, so I was going to lose something important in return. He shot them in their home, just watching a movie on the couch. The only good thing was they didn’t see it coming. Just there one second, gone the next.”
Every broken word slid into my skin like a dagger, but I took it all. I’d made this call, and despite losing two good people, I stood by it. The leaders needed a wake-up call, and even though I’d started this, I wasn’t stupid. Tyrone’s time was always going to be limited because Cash was always going to use him against Kosas. We just pushed him to do it sooner rather than later. Chloe, though. As she was someone I’d considered a friendly acquaintance, her death stung.
“I’m sorry for your loss. They were good people.”
Kosas shifted, his face changing from blank to enraged. “Cash needs to pay for this. He took my boy. He took my daughter. They were trying for a baby. Tyrone wanted to go home to Greece and retire early so they could have a normal life with their kid. Said he’d already seen too much fucking war in all of this. I was gonna let them go. I should have let them go. He deserved more than he got.” His voice was thick before he stopped himself, taking a long drink of coffee to clear it. When he spoke, it was so quiet it was almost impossible to hear. “You were right. Cash was never going to leave us alone. The truce was a lie.”
It was, but no one should’ve learned this way. I knew all too well how much losing family killed the soul. Forcing my thoughts away from Rey, Chloe, and Tyrone, I kept my mind on the prize.
Defeat Cash, save the city. A few precious lives to protect hundreds of thousands. That was the price I’d paid, and I wouldn’t let their sacrifice be in vain.
I’m sorry.
Leaning back in my chair, I forced my face to look sympathetic yet distant. I had to regain what ground this shitshow with Cash had made me lose. The city needed a strong leader, and Kosas was primed to put me right back on top where I belonged. It just sucked that it had to be this way.
“You gave Cash power in the city that he didn’t need. Now, you need to take it back.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?” When he didn’t answer, I continued. “He’s got you leashed so fucking tight, you’re choking and can’t even feel it. The longer you hesitate, the more he wins.”
He huffed into his cup, looking truly broken. “What do you want me to do, Mari?”
“Get revenge.”
His head whipped up, eyes blazing as they watched me. “How?”
“Help me convince the others to join us.”
“No. Just us.”
I knew the spirit in him, the vengeance that crawled through his skin like acid, but he had to look beyond it. You couldn’t win a war without using your brain. “You and I aren’t enough to take him down. To be honest, I’m not sure that we’ll be able to oust him even if we all work together. He’s got roots so fucking deep here, I’m not certain we’ll ever get him out, but we have to try.”
“I just want him to pay for what he did to my family.”
“He will, if you help me.”
Kosas sighed, but I could see he was on board. “They won’t agree.”
“Then they’ll die, at my hands or Cash’s. But with you on my side, they’re more likely to listen.”
His sigh was weary and grieving. “I’ll call a meeting.”
“Today.”
“Today,” he agreed as he stood.
Before he turned away, I called out, “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“So am I.” Kosas’s shoulders slumped. “I’ll be in touch.”
When it was just Dominic and me, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and forced my head to his chest. “You did the right thing, mariposa.”
“I know.”
All was fair in love and war. It didn’t mean I had to like it.
Hours later, I strode into the meeting room with my men at my back.
The last time we’d been there, Cash had been in my seat, playing fake king. It was nice to see my place waiting for me again.
“Gentlemen.”
“If this is a ploy to speak about the truce, you’re wasting our time,” Haru said. Not much of a talker, but he was always quick to get to the heart of things when he did.
“We’re not going to change our minds, Mari,” Ajilon agreed, not unkindly. He seemed tense, eyes darting around. I wondered how much Cash was tormenting him out of view.
“I have.” Everyone’s attention snapped to Kosas. He cleared his throat, staring down at his fingers. “My son and his wife are dead. Cash killed them.”
Two-Bit’s eyes narrowed, and I was struck by how good of an actor he was. “Why?”
“He thought I was meeting with Mari behind his back. Didn’t even ask if it was true, just broke into their home and slaughtered them.”
Ajilon murmured a prayer under his breath while Haru stared at Kosas long and hard. “Were you?”
“No.” There was a world of grief in that one word.
He wished he had been. At least then, his family would’ve died for a good cause. It was always harder when deaths were senseless. Those were the kind you couldn’t come back from.
A tap of my fingers against the table drew everyone’s attention to me. “I went to see Kosas, to try to get him to reconsider the truce. He refused, but it got back to Cash.”
The accusations in their gazes were easy to read.
You did this. You killed them. You’ll get us killed too.
The worst part was, I couldn’t refute any of it. I had done it. I’d gotten Chloe and Tyrone killed, and I’d do it again if it meant this war was over before we lost even more.
Did that make me a bad person? Probably. But Two-Bit was right. Sometimes rulers had to make decisions others couldn’t to protect their territory and their people. What was unfathomable to them was another day’s work for me. I’d forgotten that in the mayhem of Cash’s infiltration, but I wouldn’t forget again. I’d damage my own city if it meant the cockroach would be squashed with it.
Lifting my chin, I stared them all down. “You offered Cash a truce, and he broke it. Are you going to let it slide, or are you going to help me punish him?”
Unsurprisingly, Kieran was the first to offer support. He’d learned immediately that I was no longer playing games when I’d woken him up still warm from his daddy’s blood. “I’m in.”
“You know my answer,” Kosas said quietly.
Two-Bit looked at Griz, then back at me with a sigh. “It can’t be worse than what’s happened. The Vipers are in.”
All that was left were Haru and Ajilon.
My old friend stared out the window. “It’s obvious we made a mistake with Cash. He was never going to leave us alone.”
“Does that mean you’re in?” Grey asked.
Ajilon nodded. “This city has been my home for a long time. I won’t see it go to a madman.”
And then there was one.
“We can’t piss off a hornet. We either kill him, or we die trying.” Haru’s steely expression gave nothing away, but there was more tension in him than I’d ever seen.
“We won’t,” I promised. “When it’s time to take him out, it’s him or us.”
With a steady nod, he agreed, and a wave of relief nearly bowled me over.
I did it. I finally got them on my side. Part of me was pissed it had taken so long, but I didn’t care when it got me one step closer to eradicating Cash and his Aces.
We’re coming for you, asshole.
Two-Bit leaned back in his chair. “I’m assuming you have a plan after all this.”
“We attack,” Nate said.
Kosas glared at Nate, and once again, I was glad I’d brought Dominic to meet with him earlier. It was clear that the sins of the brother were getting laid at Nate’s feet. With a snarl, he twisted to glare at me. “You expect us to fight with your fuckboy at the helm?”
“No, I expect you to fight under me, but you have to admit Nate’s a good asset to have.”
“If he doesn’t stab us in the back the way he did his brother,” he muttered.
Deep breaths, Mari. He’s grieving and lashing out. Even so, it was hard for me to rein in the urge to put him in his place for good.
“I’m going to give you that one shot since you’ve had a rough day, but I won’t have anyone talk shit about Nate. Certainly not in my presence.”
Kieran shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “We’re aware of your feelings for him, but how do we know he’s loyal? He doesn’t wear your mark.”
“Yes, he does.”
Without my asking, Nate stripped off his tee, tossing it on the table and baring the tattoo on his chest. Dominic pulled the collar of his shirt down low enough to see the top of his crown, while Greyson carefully unbuttoned his shirt to flash his as well. The leaders watched warily as my men stood there, proud and unashamed.
It hit me again, with the three of them sharing their marks like it meant everything to them, how much I loved them. How devoted they were to me. How fucking lucky I was. I’d do whatever it took to make sure they didn’t regret choosing me.
Nate stepped up, planting his palms on the table and keeping steady eyes on Kosas. “I’d die for Mari. Almost did, in fact. Can you say the same when you ignored her warnings? Or do you not agree that your son would still be here if you had listened when she was speaking?”
I expected Kosas to rage out, as he often did. Grief was an uncertain thing, and I didn’t want Nate getting caught in the crossfire. Instead, Kosas dropped his head, and the guilt in that one motion nearly undid me.
“Nate,” I said quietly. Regardless of how much I agreed with him, I was not going to rub salt into that wound, especially when we were the ones who had exacerbated the issue. I had no doubt Cash would have gone after their families sooner rather than later, but that didn’t mean we hadn’t pushed him over the edge.
I barely heard his resigned sigh before he took another approach. “I know my brother, as much as I can know someone as unhinged as Cash. I’m helping whether you like it or not, but let me be clear: your trust isn’t important to me. Mari’s is. If you want my help, you have it. If not, then we’ll do this without you.”
The rest of the leaders looked at me, and I backed him up. “I agree with everything Nate said. He’s our best shot at catching Cash off guard. If you don’t like it, you can leave. But make no mistake. If you walk out of this room, you’re my enemy as well as Cash’s. I don’t have time for hurt feelings and scared men. You’re either with me, or you’re dead. Choose.”
I let them sit in silence, giving them one final chance to leave. I wouldn’t stop them, wouldn’t even hunt them down right away. They’d spend the rest of their lives looking over their shoulders until I finally decided to put them out of their misery.
Truthfully, I didn’t want to do it. I wanted them to join me. I wanted my city put to rights and Cash’s influence burned out of the core of it.
Finally, Kieran looked at each of the others before turning to me. “We follow you.”
Thank fuck. I smiled. “Let’s get to work.”