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Dominic
Faint wisps of sunrise lit up the night sky as we gathered our forces in a parking garage a few blocks from Gilded.
We’d decided to hit the Aces early in the morning, when most people had finally passed out from partying. Nate said that dawn still had some stragglers awake, but they were half in the bag and unlikely to be much of a defense. The men Cash had at Gilded would be different, but at least the other teams would have an easier route to success.
Mari greeted Victor before moving to do the same to Christian. Their low conversations couldn’t be heard, but I knew Mari. She was checking on her girls. She wouldn’t be able to focus if she wasn’t sure they were okay.
Kosas settled quietly next to where I leaned on one of the SUVs. “Are you sure you want to stay with us? We’ll have a target bigger than the state on our backs.”
It was a risk to have us all together, but it was one we’d had time to accept. Mari had taken some convincing, but she knew we wouldn’t back down.
She’d go into this fight with all of us at her back, or she wouldn’t go in at all.
After that was settled, we spent our time focusing on contingencies to keep ourselves safe. The four of us were a bigger target when we weren’t spread out, so we needed to mitigate the increased danger. Weeks of late-night talks had finally led us right back to the beginning.
Separating into smaller groups meant the others could be used as bait. We couldn’t afford to stretch our resources even further for a hostage rescue. So, we’d stay together, end Cash, and get out alive.
It was almost strange that the day was finally here, but I was ready.
Ready to wake up tomorrow to a Cash-free world. Ready to watch the stress of his existence wash off my woman’s and my brother’s backs. Ready to begin our fucking lives together—the family we’d lived, breathed, and bled for.
Today would be filled with carnage so tomorrow could be brighter.
I couldn’t fucking wait.
Kosas grunted, which I took as a yes to my question. As I looked at him, it was almost hard to see the man he’d been a month ago. His cheeks were hollow, his eyes dead. There was some life to them, a pit of vengeance buried and waiting to burst out, but it was fleeting. There was no more righteous anger, no more jokes, no more laughter. He was empty, and my stomach sank with the realization that, for him, this was probably a one-way ticket to the afterlife.
He had no one to come home to. Nothing to fight for. He was going into Gilded with us, but I knew in my soul he wasn’t coming out. Standing taller, I held out a hand to him. “May this balance the scales.”
Pain trickled through his gaze. “They’ll never be balanced.”
He left without another word, but it wasn’t long before someone else took his place.
“You look good in black, Killer.”
The kid rolled his eyes, but I meant it. He looked like he was meant to be in tactical gear. A general in the making. Once he’d gotten out of jail, he’d thrown himself into work with a zest for life that I couldn’t believe, and every day he got better. If he kept it up, I could see him leading his own family or maybe even taking over ours when we were ready to retire.
Not that I’d told Mari yet.
“Are you ready for this, kid?”
“Absolutely. Anything for the family.” I looked him over, trying to pick out a chink in his armor, but I found none. He believed every word he said, not because it’d been drilled into his brain but because he was loyal. Indoctrination could only get you so far, but faith like this—in Mari and our family? That shit would take us to the moon.
Just like I did with Kosas, I held out my hand. “We appreciate having you with us, Killer.”
He stared for a moment before finally taking it, giving me a hearty shake. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”
I believed him.
Mari waved him over, and he nodded one last time before he entered the circle of generals. They’d all been briefed already, but Mari wanted to make sure everyone knew their individual parts. We’d gone over ours in the car, so I took my time watching her in her element.
Hair braided down her back, black tactical gear surrounding her body, weapons absolutely everywhere. She looked like a wet dream, but it was the look in her eyes that made me hard.
Fierce. Determined. Ready to slaughter anything between us and our future.
Yeah, that was the good stuff.
“Are you going to eye-fuck her all morning?” Nate asked, standing on one side of me, while Grey mirrored his position on the other.
