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“I know we will. But at what cost?” He stared at his phone like it held everything he wanted and all the nightmares he ran from. “Will it be worth it at the end if all we have is a pile of rubble and memories?”
“We’ll have Mari,” Dominic said quietly. That was the only thing that mattered for us.
“Yeah, we will.” Nate’s lips quirked into a soft smile, and some of that torment blew away like dust on the wind. “Cash needs to go, subtlety be damned.”
“The Feds have given us an out, but who knows if it’ll hold up.” Dominic’s reminder was necessary. I’d nearly forgotten about Two-Bit’s little surprise.
“Is it safe to take it, though?” We turned to Nate since he was the only one of us who’d worked with the Feds before.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’m not sure it matters either way. We’ve been playing Cash’s game, hoping to minimize the casualties, but that ship has sailed. If we’re at war, we need to treat it like one.”
And I had no doubt he’d be the first general in line to lead our troops into battle. The fierceness in his eyes was a stark reminder that, like Dominic and me, Nate was in it for the long haul. He was Mari’s champion, too, and we would do whatever was necessary to make sure she survived.
Chapter Eleven
Mari
“Iknew that Irish fuck couldn’t be trusted.” Gabriele’s irritated voice echoed around the conference room.
Probably would have been better to silence him, but I happened to agree. “Allying with the Irish was a calculated risk. One that’s paid off immensely.”
Leonardo and Mathias stared at me like I’d just lost my mind.
“How has it paid off?” Uncle Leo asked.
“We got Aislynn out safely.”
Again, both looked at me so dumbfounded, I was tempted to laugh. “O’Bannon was always going to be a wild card. At least with his daughter in hand, he was supposed to be manageable.”
“So, you overestimated his love for her,” Mathias said plainly.
Dominic laughed. “He has no love for her.”
Sad but true. Aislynn was, and always had been, a tool for her father’s games.
Mathias watched me closely. “You did this because she’s your friend.”
“I did it because it was the right thing to do,” I corrected. “Even if he betrayed us, we got more out of this alliance than he did.”
Leo scoffed. “How is some fashionista princess worth more than giving O’Bannon access to our resources?”
I wasn’t surprised that my uncles had counted Aislynn out without even knowing who she was, but I was disappointed. “This isn’t the fifties, Uncle. Women have a place in society now. They have rights.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m talking about here and now. What tangible benefit did she bring to the family?”
Any other day, this conversation would have been maddening, but I knew that had I not made the unilateral decision to marry Cameron and Ash, we would have had it much sooner. Instead, my uncles had bided their time, waiting for the right moment to speak. I couldn’t begrudge them that.
“Aislynn’s power isn’t in her cunt, it’s in her network. That fashionista princess has access to all the high rollers, not just in this city, but in every other major city in the country. People with money and power and prestige. People who owe her favors, favors that are now our favors.”
None of them seemed particularly happy, but they did seem to understand the implications of Ash’s network.
Leo grunted. “What are we doing about the Irish fuck? We aren’t keeping him alive for the daughter’s sake, are we?”
“As I said, O’Bannon has no love for his daughter, and the feeling’s mutual.” I nodded at Dominic, who immediately stepped in.
“The plan is a sneak attack. We aren’t giving him the satisfaction of a full-frontal war. He dies in his tighty-whities, curled up in bed beside whatever poor, unfortunate soul he’s fucking at the moment.”
All three of my uncles shifted uncomfortably. Dominic and I waited, knowing they’d have to wrap their heads around the situation.
