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And I was done. “What else would you like me to do, O’Bannon? Do you need me to put a protective detail on your home? If your forty-plus-man security team isn’t enough, I will absolutely procure you some new ones. Hell, I have plenty of men I could personally lend you. Would that suffice?”
We both knew he couldn’t say yes. The second he took that much help from anyone, he’d be deader than Popsicle Man. It didn’t mean he liked my insinuation that he needed it, though.
“I don’t need your help protecting my people.”
“Then what do you need my help for? You called me here, and I’m taking the body off your hands. What else do you want from me?”
Silence was my answer. Despite our supposed alliance, it felt like tensions would always be high with O’Bannon because he wanted territory and power, and I had it. That kind of desire wasn’t going to disappear just because I put a Marcosa jersey on him and claimed we were family.
Not for the first time, I wondered if it had even been a smart idea to take him up on the alliance in the first place. Then I realized it didn’t matter. I’d done it, and I had to suffer the consequences or kill him and hope his sons were better.
“Whatever you think is best,” he said finally.
I nodded to Warner, who called the rest of his team over. “Since we already wrapped the back of the van in plastic, all we need to do is put the body in and head out. Unless you want us to send a message, boss?”
I was already shaking my head. “If he was willing to kill the Ace, he’s not important enough to send a message. Get rid of the body and make sure he’s in pieces. The last thing we need are the Feds finding out our body count is rising.”
“Got it, boss.”
“Call me if anything changes,” I told O’Bannon as Warner’s team prepared to lift the body. “Whether you like it or not, we are allies. I intend to honor that commitment.”
I turned, heading for the car with Nate close behind.
For a moment, there was only grunting as the men slid their hands under the heavy body and lifted, the sound of Nate’s footsteps behind me and the grumbling of O’Bannon as he stomped his way toward the front door.
It was normal. Easy.
Too easy.
I wasn’t even surprised when the blast came, when heat raced over my skin, burning my arms.
It was the scream that got me.
Nate’s voice, echoing in pain.
I twisted, reaching for him even as I lost my footing. Then he was on top of me, shielding me with his body as the front of the house fell.
After that, there was nothing but echoing silence.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Greyson
Amoment of stillness hung in the air before chaos erupted. A moment where all the hair on your body stood up. It was almost like being in the eye of a storm, the only safe place.
Then the moment was over, and pandemonium reigned.
We’d just pulled past the gate when the bomb went off, and I watched from the edge of the driveway as the house fell. As Mari was buried.
“Call Dominic,” I barked at Tennessee, bolting out of the car before he’d even stopped. I didn’t wait to consider whether there were people waiting to pick me off as I ran into the open. All I cared about was what was under the rubble.
Who was under it.
Mari. Alone and terrified. Hurt.
Not alone, I told myself. Nate was there. He would protect her. He had to because she couldn’t die.
None of us would survive it.
