AllFreeNovel
Share Us
If there was anyone who could come back from the dead to haunt us, it would be that annoying asshole.
Nate had nearly crushed my good hand while we watched, but that was fine. He’d just lost a brother after nearly losing his life and me. If he needed to squeeze me too tightly for a while, I could deal. As long as he was here.
My right arm was broken, which was beyond inconvenient. I also had a concussion that took a week to heal and more cuts and bruises than expected. Nate had fractured ribs, which meant he was wrapped like a mummy until they healed. Greyson and Dominic were bruised, which they took great pleasure in teasing Nate about. Grey’s other wounds were relatively superficial, thank God, but Dominic had nearly torn his left ACL fighting while Nate and I were with Cash. The strain was hard on him, but far better than surgery.
Christian ended up with two new bullet holes that Shara had berated him about over the phone for almost twenty minutes. Two-Bit had a graze on his forehead, another on his shoulder, and a through and through on his side. When I asked what happened, the brothers were cagey as fuck, so I let it go.
Not my circus, not my monkeys. God help Shara with those two.
Victor survived as well with nothing more than some bruised knuckles and a black eye. Maximoff looked as fresh as a daisy when it all was said and done, which was beyond creepy. Who walked out of a battle clean? Especially when I knew he’d killed at least four people.
Not everyone was as lucky, though. Our side of the battle lost a lot of men, but Cash’s lost more.
Everyone, in fact.
After the initial waves that killed most of their comrades, the remaining Aces fled. Rafael and Eagle each took teams to hunt them down. Since they were too stupid to truly hide, we rounded them up fairly fast and gave them a proper burial.
Sea creatures loved to eat dead Aces.
After they were gone, we’d realized just how much damage Cash had done to the city—which the war had obviously made worse. We had our work cut out for us, but with Two-Bit’s help, we’d get the city back to normal within the year.
He’d survived, as had the other leaders who’d come with me. Well, except Kosas. One of the Aces who had killed his son got a lucky shot to Kosas’s stomach. It wasn’t enough to save the guy, but it was enough to ensure Kosas died with him. His nephew was due to arrive in the city next week to take over his territory fully, and from the few interactions we’d had over the phone, he seemed smart enough. As long as he stayed on my good side, he’d be allowed to stay.
Cash had shone a light on my failures, making it obvious I’d been too lenient with the other leaders. I blamed most of it on grief, but that wasn’t the only culprit. Thankfully, it was an easy fix. All I had to do was explain to the other leaders that if they crossed me even once, they were dead.
Everyone fell in line when they realized it was their head on the chopping block.
Without the weight of Cash and the Aces hanging over us, the air smelled sweeter. Though, that could’ve been the victory high I was still on.
Christian, Two-Bit, and Shara were set to be married.
I was at the Marcosa mansion, which I’d decided to turn into a base of operations for the recovery efforts for now, though who knew what it would be next. My capos and I were discussing recovery payments for families who’d lost someone in what we were calling the Battle of Seattle when the text came through from Killer.
The package is loaded.
Perfect.
Waving the phone to my men, I left Greyson to take over and made my way to the driveway.
Three white vans were parked outside the mansion, all with the same fake construction logos on the sides. In the middle, the door was open, giving me a perfect view of my cousin strapped down to the seat.
Cameron was pale and subdued, though he had an almost feral edge to him that I knew came from his solitude. There was a reason solitary confinement was a punishment in jail. Loss of human interaction had a way of making even the sanest person lose their mind.
That edge took over when he saw me in front of him. “What is this, Mari?”
Pasting on a smile was easy. I loved seeing my enemies on their knees. “Aw, you didn’t enjoy your ride? I thought you’d like some fresh air after being cooped up in the basement for so long.”
He snarled at me, struggling with the straps that held him down.
“Give us a minute, Killer. My cousin and I need to talk.”
He was years younger than both of us, but the way he glared at Cameron as he walked away gave me the shivers. How interesting.
When it was finally just the two of us, my cousin glowered at me. “Are you here to gloat?”
Actually, yes. “Thought you might like to know it’s over. Your boss is dead.”
“He’s not my—wait, Cash is dead?”
