“When that happens, alliances will shift.Fast.The other crime families will turn the moment he can’t provide or protect.”
Knox leaned forward, gaze sweeping the room.
“We let that play out just enough to weaken him further,” he said.
“It will be easy to buy out what’s left of his loyalty,” I added. “Arca can back a new organization, one willing to enforce the Criminal-Arca Pact and follow every rule explicitly.”
"Do you have a family in mind?" The general asked.
"I'd recommend the Russo family. Their boss won't make waves. He'll keep the rest in line."
A quiet murmur moved through the room.
Knox’s voice cut clean through it.
“And once Bellini’s isolated, stripped of his alliances and his leverage” he said, “we'll take him.”
“My brother and I will handle his extraction and interrogation,” I said evenly. “We’ll get every ounce of intel he has before we put him down for good. Marco Bellini has to die if we want the rest of the criminal world to hear the message, loud and clear.”
I held General Green's gaze.
Then I went in for the kill. “And the message is:don’t fuck with ARCA.”
Around the table, fists slammed against the conference table in rough agreement, the sharp cracks echoing through the room like a pack answering my call.
Low whispers then rippled across the room, voices dropping as Command conferred among themselves.
Director Mallory leaned toward us. “Thanks, gentlemen. Great work, as always. We’ll let you know when the briefing concludes, if we’re ready to move forward.”
He gave a small nod, gesturing toward the door.
We turned to leave, stepping toward the lobby, when General Green’s voice cut through the room, halting our exit.
“Good work, special officers,” General Green said. “Unfortunately for Marco, he forgot one very important thing. A woman scorned will burn your entire fucking empire to the ground if you hand her the matches.”
“And as gratitude for your thorough work, I approved your placement request, personally signing off on the paperwork this morning. The omega witness is officially assigned to your unit now.”
Knox and I both stilled, taking a breath of relief.
Green noticed immediately and snorted. “What? Don’t look so shocked. The girl’s already attached herself to the two of you, and separating an omega from the handlers she trusts is more trouble than it’s worth.”
His grin turned wolfish.
“Besides, you’ll both enjoy having an omega around. My sons have been having entirely too much fun breaking theirs in.”
His crude comment was delivered with the same casual arrogance he used for everything else.
There had been a real possibility Command wouldn’t place Lena with us. With her mind, the way she worked, she was too valuable and rare.
They could have sent her anywhere. The southern border. The northern front. Helix and the shifter colonies were causing enough problems for Arca that external threats had started to take priority over internal ones.
We’d been worried the general would go back on his word. That Command would pull her from us and assign her elsewhere.
But I’d made it clear to Mallory.
There wasn’t another placement for her.
I don’t know if it was the look in my eyes or the way my voice dropped when I said it, but something landed.
