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Mari got it from her position. Where did Two-Bit get it from?
“You think the Wolf knows about him?” I asked.
“I think he’d be stupid not to know his son procreated again.”
So, that was a yes. Yet Emmanuel had allowed Two-Bit to fall into federal hands. What an idiotic decision. Then again, maybe he thought blood ties were enough to stitch his grandson’s lips shut. Somehow, I doubted it. I got the feeling Two-Bit—Dante—wasn’t an Osorio where it counted.
“What are we supposed to call you?” I asked randomly.
Two-Bit stopped pacing, staring at me like he didn’t understand. “My name.”
The eye roll was second nature. “Obviously, but is that what you’d prefer to go by, or would you prefer Dante when we’re alone?”
Again, he looked like he wasn’t computing what I was saying. “I’ve never been an Osorio.”
“Neither have I, but it’s okay if you want to be Dante here,” Mari said.
Two-Bit looked wistful, and I wondered if anyone had ever said that to him. Rafael had kept his sons apart; it wouldn’t be too out of bounds to assume that he’d told his youngest never to use his real name. For a moment, I thought he’d cave, but he shook off the emotion quickly.
“Two-Bit is my name now. I don’t need you blowing my cover, so stick to that and we’ll be fine.”
“If that’s what you want.” Mari was almost gentle with him, and I wondered if part of her was aching to have another cousin so close, yet clearly out of reach. Anytime we broached the subject, she shut down, so we’d let it go. Maybe when this war was over and she had time to come to terms with Cameron’s betrayal, she’d open up. For now, we’d be there for her to lean on.
Grey readjusted himself, a silent request for attention. “Just how undercover are you?”
Two-Bit’s eyes flashed. “Very.”
“I’m not trying to screw up your job or steal information you aren’t giving. I’m just trying to understand how an Osorio became a Fed.”
Damn. All those years hating Greyson, and I forgot the fucker had the same thought process as me.
Two-Bit hardened. “Because I chose to.”
“You chose to turn your back on your legacy?”
He huffed. “What legacy? I wasn’t raised in this world, and I certainly don’t want to be here. This is the best I could do under the circumstances.”
This is the best I could do. It struck me that Two-Bit might not have been a Fed because he wanted to be. Maybe we weren’t the only ones cornered in a situation we couldn’t control. Grey’s barely there nod confirmed we were on the same wavelength.
“So you lose your name and your identity to get back at Rafael?” Nate asked. Two-Bit turned on him with a lethal glare.
“I’m not doing this because of some daddy issues. I’m doing it to take shitty people off the streets. If I lose myself in it, who cares. Whatever it takes to make a difference in this fucked-up world.”
The more I watched, the more curious I was. What had his world looked like before he came to Seattle? How long had he actually been a government stooge, and had he ever really wanted to join? There was so much we didn’t know about Two-Bit and so many obstacles keeping Mari from finding out, but I was going to. One day, we’d know everything about Dante Osorio—whether he liked it or not.
“If we’re done discussing me, we need to talk about him.” He jabbed a finger at the TV where the news was broadcasting another shot of Cash’s reign of terror. “Have you considered our offer?”
Federal help and a get-out-of-jail-free pass, if we killed Cash. Yeah, we’d thought about it.
“Our goals are aligned, but I’m still feeling some things out. I can’t move on Cash unless I’m sure that it’s going to kill him.” I knew Mari was hedging her bets, hoping Paez got in touch with us. There’d been no response to the text yet, but she wasn’t giving up. The cartel leader was still our best bet moving forward.
Two-Bit watched Mari for a long moment before nodding. “Your opportunity window is getting smaller, and your time is growing thin.”
My heartbeat tripped. He knew something. “What aren’t you telling us?”
“The higher-ups are getting restless.” Two-Bit rubbed his face, and Griz laughed bitterly.
“They’re considering bringing in the National Guard to lock it down if we can’t get this under control.”
