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“Nate,” I said quietly. Regardless of how much I agreed with him, I was not going to rub salt into that wound, especially when we were the ones who had exacerbated the issue. I had no doubt Cash would have gone after their families sooner rather than later, but that didn’t mean we hadn’t pushed him over the edge.
I barely heard his resigned sigh before he took another approach. “I know my brother, as much as I can know someone as unhinged as Cash. I’m helping whether you like it or not, but let me be clear: your trust isn’t important to me. Mari’s is. If you want my help, you have it. If not, then we’ll do this without you.”
The rest of the leaders looked at me, and I backed him up. “I agree with everything Nate said. He’s our best shot at catching Cash off guard. If you don’t like it, you can leave. But make no mistake. If you walk out of this room, you’re my enemy as well as Cash’s. I don’t have time for hurt feelings and scared men. You’re either with me, or you’re dead. Choose.”
I let them sit in silence, giving them one final chance to leave. I wouldn’t stop them, wouldn’t even hunt them down right away. They’d spend the rest of their lives looking over their shoulders until I finally decided to put them out of their misery.
Truthfully, I didn’t want to do it. I wanted them to join me. I wanted my city put to rights and Cash’s influence burned out of the core of it.
Finally, Kieran looked at each of the others before turning to me. “We follow you.”
Thank fuck. I smiled. “Let’s get to work.”
Chapter Seventeen
Nate
Hoping to deal Cash a blow he couldn’t come back from, we decided on a three-pronged attack. Guns, money, and drugs, all struck simultaneously. Granted, he could get more guns and money eventually, but it would take time, and the loss would be a hit to his reputation.
The real prize was going to be the drugs. If we took out his stash house, we made him look incompetent to Paez. Losing the drug money route—and the cartel’s favor—would not only be crippling; it would be deadly. You didn’t lose the cartel’s product without forfeiting your life, and Cash knew it. It would throw him off guard, and while we were certain he’d panic and get more dangerous, he’d also be more likely to slip up and lose control of his people.
Exactly what we needed.
My body buzzed, and adrenaline rushed through my veins as I tried and failed to calm myself. For the first time since this had all started, it felt like we were landing a solid blow against my brother, and I needed it. Mari needed it.
The city needed it.
Ready or not, here we come, fucker.
“Position check. Green team in position.” Mari’s voice crackled over the comms unit. The stash houses were all separated, but only by a mile or two each. She and Dominic were leading Kosas and his men to the money stash, and fighting my instinctive need to be by her side was hell. I hated being separated from her, but we’d made the decision together that keeping me from the group was the best call. We wanted to avoid giving the Aces a bigger target if they caught on to what we were doing early, and having Mari and me in the same group was waving a bright red flag in front of them.
I hated it, though.
“Black team in position,” Haru’s quiet voice said. Along with Two-Bit’s men, the Yakuza leader had a contingency of Marcosa men and Greyson himself to keep them on their toes while they went for the guns.
“White team in position,” I said, desperately wanting to hear Mari one last time.
I’d been saddled with Ajilon and the Irish fuck about four miles from where Mari and Dominic were at the farthest stash, and I felt every foot separating us acutely.
Focus.
Ajilon didn’t speak to me, only talked quietly to his men while keeping a keen eye on the horizon. Kieran gave me a wide berth, and I didn’t blame him. He might have agreed with our killing his father, but he knew one wrong move and he could be next. Or, he would be if we didn’t need him. But since our ragtag team was going after the thing Cash loved most, Kieran was safe. At least until we found the dope.
The warehouse was deserted. Windows were broken and graffiti was everywhere, but there was something ominous about it. Something that screamed stay away. I had no doubt that anyone who stumbled across it would beeline right back to where they came from.
I couldn’t wait to burn that shit to the ground.
“Get in, get out, and stay clean,” Mari said firmly, and I sent up a silent prayer that our family would make it through this unscathed. “On my mark.”
As one, we lifted our guns, and I forced the part of me that worried for my people into the back of my brain. Fear could come later. Right now, it was time for a reckoning.
Falling into that familiar headspace was like settling back into my skin. I’d forgotten how much I liked it.
“Three, two, one. Mark.”
We surged forward as one unit, our steps quiet and our guns silenced. Everyone focused on getting as far inside the warehouse as we could before the alarm went out.
The first set of guards got broken necks before they even realized they were being invaded, and the second set fell just as fast. The sounds of quiet breaths, grunts, and pained yells came over the comms, but I tuned them out. I couldn’t help anyone if I was dead, and getting distracted was a surefire way to end up six feet under.
