Page 3 of Forged

Once Cash closes the door behind us, he looks up.

“Hale,” Cash says, gesturing vaguely. “Marchetti finally landed.”

Hale gives me a once-over. “Chicago sends the fancy ones.”

“Good to finally meet the Lone Saints’ brain,” I reply, reaching out to shake his hand.

His mouth tilts just enough to acknowledge the hit. “And the Marchetti hammer.”

The tension in the room isn’t hostile; we’re just three men who understand each other’s world.

Cash moves to the table and taps a folder. “You’re here for Sera. I want you to see what Maravilla pushed into my city.”

I step closer, picking up the folder, but a video steals my attention. The screen shows a man face-down on cracked pavement, blood pooling beneath him, a tattoo of a snake winding up his neck. By his ear rests a black rose—lacquered and glossy. As Cash zooms in, I see a single thorn left intact on the short stem.

I frown. “Is that hers?”

Hale straightens, folding his arms. “That’s her calling card.”

“She started leaving evidence that Veleno is executing these hits?” I ask.

Cash exhales through his nose. “They’ve started calling her the Obsidian Rose.”

The name means nothing to me yet, but the way they say it makes my spine straighten.

Hale taps the screen. “She leaves one every time. Same flower. Placement depends on how she took them out. Always near the neck or the heart. It doesn’t matter who the target is—runner, lieutenant, driver. If the rose is there, the message is the same.”

“And what do you think the message is?” I ask.

“That she was there,” Hale says. “And she’ll be back.”

Cash nods. “It started months ago. First in El Paso, then theValley, and now Austin. Maravilla’s crews are saying she moves like a ghost. They don’t see her coming.”

“She’s escalating quickly,” Hale adds, leaning back against the table. “Hitting higher-value targets. Less time between incidents and always leaving behind the rose.”

“She’s being bold. She wants them to know.” I let the information and the scene on the screen roll through my mind. “Or…she wantsusto know.”

Hale’s mouth twitches. “Whatever her reason is, everyone from here to the Rio Grande is trying to track her down.”

Cash folds his arms. “She’s hitting Maravilla where it hurts, and he’s losing his shit. He’s brought in muscle from El Paso, Laredo, Monterrey—anyone who can shoot and follow orders.”

“And Falco?” I ask.

Cash’s jaw ticks. “He’s circling Austin’s edges. Philly wants a foothold in the shipments from Mexico. It doesn’t matter if it’s drugs or arms; they want a piece of it. If Falco gets to Sera first, Chicago becomes ground zero. And Maravilla will be our problem to face alone.”

Hale lifts a photo from the table. “She’s a ghost. Veleno protects her at all costs. She doesn’t appear in the public eye. She hits, disappears, then resurfaces somewhere new.”

Both men look at me. I already know what Enzo expects. I also know what happens if I fail.

“If you need her alive,” Cash says, “you need to get to her before Maravilla or Falco does. And I need both of them contained so Austin doesn’t turn into a battlefield.”

“Think we can manage it?” I ask.

Cash snorts. “You’re a Marchetti. If you can’t bring this to a controlled end, we’re all fucked.”

I nod. “We’ll end it.”

Hale leans back, twirling a pen. “Anything else you need while you’re here?”