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“AudrySantora,” I stated plainly.
The room tensed as the realization crossed both their faces. There wasn’t a good way out of this. If Samuel or any of the other organizations found out, Audry would have a bounty on her head, and the treaty would be null and void. The treaty was the only thing keeping some semblance of law in place. An eye for an eye clause between the families. The ruling neutral court was the Santora’s—no one touched them, and in return they didn’t touch anyone either. Audry had changed that.
No one would care what Nate did. But Samuel sure as hell would care that Audry took his life. Each of the families would agree Nate’s life was worth more than some girls—no matter her lineage.
“It would be war,” Liam muttered to himself. “Fuck!” he yelled, his knuckles jamming into the drywall.
“The treaty would be voided,” I whispered.
“It’s already voided,” Logan corrected, a deep frown twisted on his lips.
“Only if people find out.”
“You think we’re going to be able to keep it on the down low?” Liam rubbed his knuckles discreetly.
“Nate broke the treaty by going for a Santora, and he paid for it in his blood,” I added. “Done and done.”
“You and I both know that’s not how it works. They will demand her life for his death, and negotiations will reopen. Territory lines will be redrawn, and this city—” Liam paused, licking his lips. “The streets of this city will be coated in blood, innocent or not. Affiliated or not. It won’t matter.”
I sighed, my head throbbing.
“If she didn’t kill him, this wouldn’t be a problem. She could go before the courts…before her family?—”
“You expect her to lie there and take it?” I shouted, rising to my feet. “To not defend herself. Because you know Nate as much as I do, she wouldn’t have lived to tell the tale.”
Logan, instead of adding to the conversation, moved into the kitchen, pulling a large bottle of rum from the cabinet. He poured three shot glasses out as Liam and I watched him.
“I don’t know if that’s the solution, man,” I said.
Logan glanced up, surprised, as if he had forgotten he wasn’t alone. “Oh. These are mine,” he said, throwing two of the shots back. He danced his finger along the rim of the third one. He tossed it back and poured another before grabbing a cookie from the pantry and stalking back toward us.
Logan jutted out the shot and the snack to me, forcibly placing it in my hands. “Eat the cookie.”
“This isn’t really a time to?—”
“Put the damn cookie in your mouth,” Logan instructed.
I glanced at the shot in one hand and the chocolate chip cookie in the other before doing as he said. The cookie melted in my mouth.
“Perfect. So, here’s the thing. We could just get rid of Audry, then the problem is solved,” Logan said.
Liam side-eyed him, keeping most of his attention on me. Anger boiled in my stomach, but as I tried to open my mouth to debate, only cookie crumbs fell out.
“If she isn’t around…” Liam started, entertaining what Logan proposed.
I swallowed down the cookie, choking on the sweet treat. “The fuck we won’t,” I coughed out.
“That’s what the shot is for,” Logan pointed to the brown liquid. “Bottoms up, brother.”
I glared at him, taking the shot. The liquid chased off the dryness from the cookie and cooled the anger brewing in my stomach.
“It wouldn’t work,” Liam said, annoyed. “A Santora goes missing? There would be aninquisition. Everyone and their mother questioned and detained. The Santora’s are filthy rich and wouldn’t rest until they had answers. People would be up our asses, and we can’t afford the extra eyes on us.”
“So what do we do?” Logan said, side-eying me with a devious smirk. He set that whole thing up. He knew I would freak out when he said we should get rid of Audry. So he stuffed my face with a cookie.Fucking asshole.
“Do you think she knows?” I asked, uncertain. “Like about the treaty, about her family?”
Another harsh silence fell across our group.
