The three of us were quiet as the words settled in.
“The answer has to be in these numbers,” Ciel answered. “Blackmail, to start. He must have blackmailed Tommaso, knowing that Luciano had been paying him. Maybe he has leverage over the other Dons, too.”
If he had leverage against the other Dons, he could turn them against us, too. And if that happened, it wouldn’t matter what alliances we forged or how much we tried to chip away at Max’s power. With all Five Families against us, we’d be done. It would be over.
We had to get in front of this.
This only confirmed we needed to get to LA and secure this trade with the arms dealer as soon as possible. We had to start distracting him or bleeding him or doing whatever we could to gain power against him.
“We need that leverage,” I said. “Whatever Max knows, we have to know, too.”
Obi rubbed a hand across his chin. I could practically see the thoughts turning inside his head, but he didn’t say anything else.
“I’ll find it,” Ciel said. “Just give me time.”
I kissed his temple, squeezing his shoulder. “I trust you, Ciel.”
His hand covered mine, and our fingers looped together. “I’ll keep you updated.”
17
OBI
Flashes of memory, images twisting with terror. Screams. Nails scratching. Swords and guns and bullets.
Blood covering my face, dripping from my hands. Our home, burning. Severed limbs strewn across the street. Vengeance. Control. Power.
A boy, dead at the gate. Shot in the heart.
My youngest sister, accusing, pointing her finger. Tears falling, words thrown in anger and fear.
The truth spoken: I had become what I fought against.
I had become their nightmare.
I woke from the dream with a start, sweat dripping down my back. Brutal, terrible visions of the past.
Reminders of what I had done.
Reminders of how I had to press forward until we were safe.
There would be no more sleep tonight.
After a cold shower to clear my head and shake the tremors from my hands, I found myself drawn to the library. It was my usual refuge of peace and quiet, but since the day we had made our plan to undermine Volpe and steal his power from beneath him, this room had become more.
It was shameful. The way I stared at that couch from my desk, my laptop forgotten on the desk in front of me. I’d tried to imagine what happened between Wynn, Ciel, and Leona.
No. I drug my hand down my face and tore my gaze away from it.
I must do better—be better—if this plan was going to succeed. I could not control how the others felt about her, or she them, but I could no longer let my interest in her distract me.
A boy, dead at the gate. My fault.
The explosion at the club was another reminder, and we had been dangerously close to losing everything.
If I keep my emotions and my desires separate from our plans, we would succeed. As the leader of the Shadows, it was my responsibility to remain in control. To navigate us down the right path. I could not afford to fail by letting my personal desires get in the way.
I’d learned that lesson through the blood painted on my hands.
