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“O’Bannon.”
“What about the Irish fuck?” Dominic asked, balancing his chair on two legs. He’d gotten increasingly angry the longer I talked, but I couldn’t change the past. I could only help them clean it up so our family had a future.
“He sided with Cash,” Mari guessed. I nodded, but she wasn’t surprised. “He’s never really been on my side. We’ll deal with it later. Right now, we need to make a move.”
The loud smack of Dominic’s chair legs hitting the floor stole our attention. “I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but nothing he told us matters now. Cash will be scrambling to move everything out of our reach.”
“Maybe not,” I said. It was possible Cash assumed my loyalty was still with him, or that I’d keep my mouth shut to keep my mother alive. And one look at Mari leaning by the window said she’d already considered that. “Cash knows losses are inevitable. He’ll assume we’re going to hit some of his empire. In fact, I can guarantee he’s planning on it, and he’ll have a trap ready.”
“So, we either hit one or all, no in-between. The quicker we take everything down, the less likely he’ll retaliate against our most vulnerable people.”
Because that was where he’d strike. He’d hit the weakest links and move up from there, if only to kill morale.
Mari tapped her fingers on the counter, falling silent as she thought through everything. I could practically see her mind working. Plans and fallback options, consequences and what a worthy sacrifice would be.
Finally, she looked back at me with a mix of sadness and compassion. “There’s no way to avoid it. We need to move your mom.”
The fact that it was the first part of her plan was telling. She cared. She loved me. She’d forgiven me. It was more than I’d hoped for.
“I know.”
“I’ll go with you,” she offered, sharing a quick glance with Greyson. “Dominic can stay here.”
“Don’t worry about us.” Greyson squeezed her hand before turning to me. “The only thing you didn’t mention was Cash’s cartel contact. What do you know?”
“Nothing.” It was the one secret my brother truly hid from me, and I had been searching for years to figure it out. “Maybe Two-Bit?—”
Mari slashed her hand through the air. “There’s no way he’ll give it up, if he even knows. We’ll need to find some other contacts to figure it out. Maybe Rafael will know.”
“I may have a solution for all our problems.” I snatched one of the phones and sent off a text before I could second-guess myself. Please don’t let this backfire.
“Which one’s that?” Mari asked.
“The past.”
It was nearly two a.m. when we pulled into the parking lot to find Shady Oaks overrun by trucks as big as tanks and an army of men outside.
“I assume the men loaded down with high-caliber weapons are friends of yours,” Mari drawled, hand drifting toward her gun just in case.
For a moment, my heart tripped, wondering if Cash had made his move before I could. Then I saw the tactical gear, the flash of the rifles, and the head of someone I knew almost as well as I knew myself.
“Something like that.”
“Fucking mercs.” I laughed when she rolled her eyes.
In the time since I’d moved away from black ops, I hadn’t spoken a single word to any of my contacts. That was the deal the company had given me.
Sever your connection, and we’ll let you move on. Open your mouth and die.
For as long as I’d been out, I’d done exactly that. Mostly, it was self-preservation, but part of me didn’t want to be involved. Didn’t want to be reminded of everyone I’d lost and what I’d done. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to see the men I’d worked with before, but if facing my demons got Mom safe, I’d do it.
“Is it weird that I’m excited to see this little part of your life?” Mari asked.
I parked the car and turned, taking in the faint smile on her lips that had been absent for the last few days. I couldn’t help myself; I had to taste her.
Wrapping a hand in her hair, I pulled her halfway across the center console until I could take her mouth. Her lips were sweet, the taste of her just as addictive as ever. Like a lifeline, she clung to my arm, giving as good as she got. “I’ll show you anything you want to see,” I said, pulling away.
“I know.” The door slammed behind her as she waited for me in front of our SUV.
