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Shay appeared thoughtful but concerned, while Piper pursed her lips and asked, “You really think they’re going to try to take down the Hand?”
“I don’t think it, I know it. It’s why we can’t waste any time,” I said.
“Then why even bother getting on the Hand?”
It was Shay who answered her, “The connections, the respect. He thinks he has them all now.”
“But he doesn’t,” I said. This, what we were doing, was pretty much the biggest fake out in history. Honestly, I was surprised Shay had gotten the others to be in on it. Atticus, Dex, Jett, Nixon, Slade, Piper; everyone Shay trusted. “His plan probably involves mass murder and pinning it on the Greenback Serpents, on Atlas.”
“Atlas,” Shay echoed. “I’ve heard Atticus talking about an Atlas before. Was he one of the men interested in the Black Hand position?”
Whether he was listening from the nearby hall or not, Damian appeared, and he wore that cocky smirk as he swaggered over to us. “Atlas is a man of taste,” he said. “He came here looking for some answers. He didn’t really care about getting on the Hand.” His dark eyes were on me as he said all that. Him being Atlas was still our little secret.
“And you would know why?” Piper asked.
“I’m here on Atlas’s behalf. Had something worked out with Atticus,” Damian said, glancing between us. “The Serpents are Atlas’s crew, and they’ve been a thorn in Miguel’s side for years. I’m sure Miguel will manage to point all fingers to the Serpents.”
Letting out a frustrated groan, Piper shook her head. “I still don’t get why we even let him on the Hand, then. Why bother letting him think he won? Could’ve just killed him and been done with it.”
“It’s not just about killing him,” I whispered. “It’s about—”
“Making him pay for everything he’s done,” Shay finished my sentence for me. Her brown eyes were on Piper, and something unspoken passed between them. Almost as if she was reminding her friend that, not too long ago, she’d wanted nothing more than revenge, too.
Revenge was a funny business. It wasn’t just about the comeuppance or the final blow. No, it was about the journey, the dedication, the misery and chaos and pain you brought with you along the way.
I pushed away from the island, pacing the area in front of it. “If I know Miguel, and I like to think I do, since I believed he was my father for eighteen years, he already has a plan in motion—that means we need to beat him to it. We need to make the first move before he has the chance to.”
“This is your thing,” Shay said. “What’s the first move?”
That’s something I’d thought long and hard about. Frankly, nothing really jumped out in my head… not until I started to think of Miguel’s co-conspirator, the second man who’d made me want to die.
“Rocco Moretti,” I whispered.
“You know, technically, we aren’t supposed to attack other Black Hand members,” Piper deadpanned. “That’s, like, rule number one: other members are off-limits. And since Rocco and Miguel are now on the Hand…”
Damian chuckled. “It’s a good thing she’s got her choice of champion, then. She don’t need you for this part.”
I stopped pacing, my stare on Damian. He was right, of course. For this, I did not need Shay or Piper or anyone else on the Hand. I actually had someone in mind for this particular job.
“Rocco goes missing, the position falls to Luca, right?” I asked.
“Right,” Shay said.
Miguel will think Luca’s easily controllable. He wouldn’t lament Rocco’s loss at all. Outwardly, he wouldn’t let anyone see just how concerned he was that someone like Rocco could go missing right after being accepted onto the Hand.
“You guys should go,” I said. “Have a party in Rocco and Miguel’s honor. Celebrate them. Toast to them. Feed their egos. Invite everyone who’s important to the Black Hand.”
Piper tapped her fingertips together like she was an evil mastermind coming up with the plan herself. “Ooh, am I sensing some intrigue? Something going to happen at this party? Rocco going to drop dead in the middle of the toast?”
“Not exactly,” I muttered. There was still another unknown. The Black Hand had another secret, something that made Shay act uncomfortable, something Miguel obviously planned to use against them, perhaps to take all the power out from under them. If anyone knew what it was, it was Rocco.
And I had just the torturer in mind.
“Well, I guess we should go plan a party,” Piper said, pushing away from the island. She moved around Damian.
Shay waited until Piper was near the front door before saying under her breath, “I hope you know what you’re doing, Giselle. Sometimes when you play with fire, it bites back. Fire can’t tell the difference between friend and foe.”
Hmm. A weird nugget of advice, but I let it slide off me as I watched them leave.
