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I shake my head. “I don’t mean just me.” Eyes narrow around the group and lips purse, but they stop objecting and give me a chance to explain. “He wants all of us, so we’ll call him out. Have Illren respond to the post on the darknet, saying if you want us, come and get us. We name the time and place, like a shootout in the Old West.”
No one speaks for a long minute as they contemplate my suggestion. Parker is the first to break the silence. He shakes his head. “It’s too dangerous.”
Rook is quick to follow Parker’s lead, nodding his agreement. Charlie and Enzo nod as well. Nick is frowning at them all. It makes me smile. I knew the cowboy would be willing to jump into the fire with me.
“Any more dangerous than waiting around for assassins to pick us off one by one?” I ask. “We’re stronger when we’re together.”
I wait for Terrance to shut me down, but, surprisingly, he still seems to be considering the idea. “We are a very strong clan,” he says slowly. “It’s not ideal, but it does seem to be the best solution.”
A few of my men still look like they want to argue, so I say, “Remember, the collector doesn’t want to hurt me. Even if you all get caught up in a fight, I won’t be harmed. This will be much more dangerous for all of you, but I have faith in you, and I can’t see any other way. We can’t live with a bounty on our heads.”
Finally, Parker nods and Rook sighs, knowing he’s been outvoted.
“There’s still the problem that the collector needs a phoenix,” Illren points out.
I scrunch up my nose. “Yes, but it’ll still work. He wants us enough to pay a million-dollar bounty for every member of our clan. We’ve thwarted all of his attempts so far and scared off nearly every mercenary in the city. Having the chance to capture me and get rid of all of you once and for all? He’ll show up, and he’ll bring his army, and then we’ll get rid of all of them.”
“Plus, we can sweeten the deal,” Nick says. “Give him an offer he can’t refuse.”
When we all look his direction, he sighs as if what he’s about to suggest might literally kill him. “I know a phoenix who just might be crazy enough to join us.” He grimaces. “Crazybeing the key word.”
The crazy comment isn’t what has my curiosity piqued. It’s the look on Nick’s face. Like he’d rather eat glass than call this person. There’s definitely a story there. I’ll have to pry it out of him later. I take a deep breath and clap my hands together. Okay, so we have a plan. Let’s get our clan healthy again, and then we can call out the collector.”
