Page 106 of Pucked Around and Found Out

“I don't know anything about running a cartel!”

“You don't have to run it,” he says. “You just have to be visible. To show the men that the Kellar family is still united. Still strong.”

“We're not united!” I shout. “You let Dad lock me in Walter House! You killed my best friend! We're not family anymore!”

“Then what are we?” he challenges. “What do you think happens if the cartel falls apart? If the power vacuum creates a war that kills dozens? Hundreds?”

“That's not my problem!”

“It became your problem the moment you walked into Walter House to get me,” Masen says harshly. “The moment you decided to extract Dad's intel. You're in this whether you like it or not. Don’t fucking act like this isn’t what you wanted. I know you want to go to war against your boyfriend to prove you are strong enough to beat him, I’m giving you the fucking weapon you need!”

“Stop saying that!” I shout, standing abruptly. “Stop acting like I chose this! I didn't choose any of this!”

“None of us chose what we got,” Masen says, his voice rising to match mine. “But here we are. And we have to deal with it.”

“By making me stand in front of two hundred criminals and pretend everything is fine?” My voice cracks.

“By giving us a fucking chance to survive,” he corrects. “Look, I'm not asking you to become a crime boss. I'm not asking you to make decisions or give orders. I'm just asking you to show up. To let the men see that the Kellar family still exists. That's it.”

I want to say no.

Want to tell him to go to hell, that I'm done with him and this family and everything they represent.

But I can't.

Because he's right about one thing—if the cartel falls apart, innocent people will die.

And I can't have that on my conscience.

Not on top of everything else.

“I need to think,” I say, my voice shaking. “I need—I can't make this decision right now.”

“Fair enough,” Masen says. “But tomorrow night, those men will be at the house expecting answers. Expecting leadership. And if we don't give it to them, things are going to get very ugly, very fast. You can’t cut the head off the snake and not replace it, there always has to be a leader and it’s better to be a Kellar in the power seat rather than a Devlin.”

The threat isn't subtle.

The words hit like physical blows because they're true.

I am in this.

Deep. Irrevocably.

He’s speaking the truth and hearing it out loud⁠—

“We're done for tonight,” Carn says firmly, his hand going to my lower back.

Halo steps forward and gestures for Masen to follow him. My brother stands slowly, his eyes never leaving mine.

“I know you hate me right now,” he says quietly. “And you have every right to. But I meant what I said, we're still family. And I'm trying to protect you the only way I know how.”

“You and Dad dragged me into this!” I snap bitterly.

“I’m trying to keep you alive,” he corrects. “Because if the cartel falls and the wrong people take over, you're a target. You and that baby. And I won't let that happen.”

The words send a chill down my spine.

“Is that a threat?” Carnage growls.