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He let me swing for a bit, turning away to catch his breath and his composure. When he came back to me, he steadied my body gently, and I wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be an apology or just because he hated that I’d gotten to him.
“I don’t intend to change, but maybe you’re right. Maybe I just need a woman’s touch.”
“I’m taken,” I deadpanned.
“Are you still taken if all your men are dead?” Cash’s feral smile filled my vision, but I ignored his words. I couldn’t believe them. Not yet. “I wasn’t talking about you, though. Your little Irish friend is another story altogether. She’s certainly someone I’m interested in.”
Aislynn.
Rage swarmed all over me, and I wondered if it was possible to burn my way through the metal. “She’s already promised to someone else.”
“Your remaining cousin, Cameron. I’m aware. Except it seems like he might not be around much longer either. Once he’s gone, I’ll be able to snatch her up for a good deal and get O’Bannon too. Do you think the Irishman will throw in his part of the city for getting his daughter off his hands? Rumor on the street is she’s been up for sale for ages.” He tapped a finger against his taunting smile. “Do you think there’s something wrong with her?”
“No, but there’s something wrong with you.”
“That’s not very nice to say to an old friend.”
“We’re not friends, and you’re delusional if you think anyone is going to do what you want. That includes Ash. Kill me, and the other families will wipe you from this planet before you can make a single demand. Take Ash against her will, and she’ll gut you while you sleep.” I almost hoped he would. What a fitting way to go.
“They’ll be too busy fighting for power to think about me.” Of course, no mention of Aislynn. She wasn’t the actual target.
But everything he said was wrong. He’d obviously studied at my father’s knee because while Cash was focused on the end goal, he didn’t understand how people moved yet. My death would unite the other families, even temporarily. They were all smart enough to know they could fight for the throne after Cash was dead. “This must be why my father got rid of you. No forethought.”
With an enraged growl, he yanked a knife from his pocket, pulled back and slammed it into my stomach. The impact knocked the breath from my lungs and fire seared through my body, but I still didn’t scream. Even the twist of the blade wasn’t enough to make me do it.
I was no stranger to pain. I’d been born in it, trained in it, reveled in it. Once upon a time, it was my only friend. Cash wouldn’t break me, and I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of hearing my pain. “Impulsive, too. Dangerous combo.”
“Your father was a moron,” he spat. “He let his own feelings about your mother and the cartel keep him from gaining more ground. If he’d have listened, we could’ve had all of Washington at our feet. Instead, he kept us stuck in this fucking city.”
“If you hate it so much, you should leave,” I panted. Blood pooled against his wrist where he still held the knife, and I snickered at the red stain creeping up the white fabric of his button-down. “Hope you have a good dry cleaner. Blood’s a bitch to get out.”
Cash looked down and grimaced, pulling his hand away but leaving the knife in. Though it still hurt like hell, I didn’t mind. The longer it stayed in, the more time I had to live.
Cash yanked off his jacket and tossed it to the side, doing the same to the button-down. Only when he was down to a T-shirt and his slacks did he seem to relax. I’d been right before. He was almost obsessive about his appearance. “It doesn’t matter. Soon, you’ll be dead, and Seattle will be mine.”
“You’ll have to get through everyone else first. Not just the other families, but my people. My men.”
“Who says I haven’t already?” He smiled, and the cold glee in it had my heart racing. “Your little robot was bleeding out on the floor when I last checked. The same with the other one, the fighter. I doubt they made it out before the flames took them. Now I just need to get the mouse, and I’ll be four for four. Including you, of course.”
I closed my eyes against the agony of that, not willing to give up yet. They had to be alive. There was no other choice. “What’s with you and fire?”
“I’ve always been fascinated by it. Something that can destroy and heal. It’s beautiful and cleansing, don’t you think?” He smiled, a feral twitch of his lips. He flicked the handle of the knife, and I had to grind my teeth together to keep the scream in. Pain stole my vision as he did it again and again, little adjustments against the agonized flesh. “Maybe I should show you firsthand. We can fix this right up. Extend our time together.”
Cash’s grin got wider as he slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out a lighter. It was obviously custom-made and expensive, and I saw the flash of the Ace symbol before he flicked it open and lit the flame.
“What do you say, Mari? Want to play with me?”
Absolutely the fuck not. I rocked myself away from him despite the way it shifted the knife again, ready to kick and bite any part of him that touched me. I wasn’t going to be his plaything. He reached above me and unsnapped my wrists, letting my arms fall heavily in front of me as my whole body swayed. I hadn’t expected to be on the ground again, and it messed with my equilibrium. Cash’s grip was the only thing keeping me upright, and I wanted it off immediately.
Ringing interrupted us, and while Cash snarled, I used the distraction to pull myself out of his hold. He tried to grab me back, but I was already on the floor. The landing rattled my teeth and I hissed through them, but at least I was free and I hadn’t landed on my stomach. That was good enough for me.
“What?” Cash snapped, having answered the phone at some point. I attempted to slow my breathing, trying to hear what the other person was saying, but I couldn’t. “I’m busy. Yes, I’m aware. I’ve taken care of them. That too. Don’t worry, little brother. It’s almost over. You’ll be back to your life soon enough. Fuck, all right. I’m leaving now.”
He hung up the phone with an unsettled huff and shoved it back into his pocket before focusing on me again.
“Now look at what you’ve done,” he reprimanded. “You’ve definitely made that wound worse.”
Like I cared. “Didn’t know you had a brother,” I said instead. He hummed, not answering, but it didn’t matter. I filed the information away for later, just like I did with everything else I’d learned. If I made it out, I was going to use every morsel of knowledge I had to make it hurt before he died.
