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I rolled my eyes. “Don’t make me seem like a saint, cousin.”
“Never said you were. I just said what you’re doing is admirable. Admirable enough that you’re not really on our radar.”
The warning was crystal clear. We have the information we need to take you down. We’re choosing not to.
“But Cash is,” Grey prompted, readjusting himself until he was sitting up. I tried to move off the edge of the bed where I’d been planted, and he dragged me back until I was pressed against his side, head tucked under his chin. Not the most dignified, but with his heart beating under my ear, I wasn’t going to complain.
“The FBI and the DEA have a joint task force for Mr. Beckstrom.”
“The drugs,” Nate said softly.
Two-Bit’s eyes flashed to him. “Your brother is acting as an import partner to one of the cartels, and while we know they have other partners, he’s one of their biggest. It’s important we shut that down.”
He didn’t mention the Osorios, so I had to assume this partner was someone else. But I noticed the narrowing of his eyes, the stiffness of his shoulders. It was plain to see this was something Rafael’s son wasn’t going to tell me.
“Why help us if you’re here for Cash?” I asked, settling back into Grey’s arms.
“Because you are the closest thing we have to an ally. You can get rid of him.”
“Have you been paying attention?” We’d been working for months to unravel the Aces and every hit we landed didn’t seem to be enough. He’d had over a decade to plan his war, and every turn we took made it obvious we were playing catch-up.
“You’re failing because you don’t have the support to take him out head on. We are willing to give it to you.”
“Bullshit,” Dominic spat. “Since when do Feds trouble themselves with gang wars?”
“This isn’t a gang war. It’s the only way to ensure a dictator doesn’t take over a major point of access to the country.”
“National security shit.” Dominic’s sarcasm was thick, but Two-Bit still nodded.
“Essentially, yes. Cash needs to be removed from power. We have the money and the tools to make it happen, but we don’t have the foothold. He has too many people watching us to get close.”
Sighing, I held his gaze. “Be straight with me. What do you want? Am I supposed to turn him in or something? Because asshole or not, I’m no snitch.”
Two-Bit and Griz laughed, the latter taking over. “We’re not asking you to be a witness. We’re asking you to be a weapon.”
“So, you see the three-headed snake, and you want me to be the sword that chops them all to pieces. Is that it?” They said nothing and I nodded. “How typical of the government. You put your resources up, but not your people. God forbid your little soldiers end up in a tiff they can’t get out of, so you ask mine to instead.”
“He needs to die,” Two-Bit said.
I didn’t disagree, but I wasn’t going to say that to a Fed. Not when I had no clue just how far he was willing to go if I said no. Could he arrest me? He’d already insinuated that he had the leverage. If I declined playing God, would he take me in? What about my men?
Greyson squeezed my shoulder weakly, knowing where my thoughts were. “What exactly are you offering?”
“To look the other way,” Two-Bit said carefully. “Tools and weapons as needed. Ammunition, money, safety for some of your people. You, included.”
“You’re giving me a get-out-of-jail-free card.”
“One that you desperately need. Don’t forget, if you end up in jail, you’re dead. The Aces have more of a foothold in the system than you could ever imagine. The fact that he survived was a miracle.” Two-Bit pointed to Dominic, who grunted like it didn’t matter, but I saw him glance at Nate with the barest flash of appreciation. After all, it had been Nate’s men who’d saved him while he was inside. It went a long way toward Dominic’s hard-won forgiveness.
“So, you’ll turn a blind eye to everything that we do if we kill him. What’s the catch?”
“There isn’t one. At the end of the day, either Cash ends up dead, or you do. In which case, my deal is null and void. If you survive, you’re free to move on as if nothing happened. This isn’t exactly an easy mission, and we knew the bribe would have to be enough to entice you to risk it.”
God help me, it was. I didn’t want to work with the Feds, but we needed allies. We needed safety and protection, more than I could give us with Cash chipping away at the foundation of my empire. Still, the Feds were going to be the last fucking place I turned.
No use surviving if the rest of the city leaders killed me thinking I was a snitch.
“We’ll need some time to discuss,” Nate said carefully, hoisting himself out of bed.
