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“You really think he sent me here because he wants to protect me from Franco?”
“I’m positive.”
I thought about that for a moment. What if it were true? What if my father really was worried about me rather than motivated to get rid of me? What if he didn’t actually think I’ve done a shit job? What if he didn’t believe my body count was too high and too sloppy? I knew I’d handled things as well as anyone could, but he judged everything I did like I was an incompetent child.
“How much do you know about Franco’s plans?” I asked.
“Not as much as I’d like, but my sources are keeping me fairly well informed. Your suspicions were dead on. Your cousin’s primary motivation in stirring up trouble with the Cafaros is to force your father into a war he’s not ready for, but as much as that is a setup to let Franco shine, it’s also one that will make your father appear weak.”
“Why does anyone trust fucking Franco? Why did my father trust him?”
“I don’t think he ever did.”
“Then why not eliminate him.”
“He needs to learn who else is involved. He believes the only way he can do that is to continue to play along, but I’m afraid he’s letting your cousin go too far. There’s going to be a point of no return where there are too many on Franco’s side for us to fight.”
“No. It doesn’t matter how many there are. I’ll take them all out.”
“So you’re willing to fight for your family, even though you’ve been treated like shit?”
“Wasn’t that what you were asking me to do?”
“I was presenting a situation to you. I wanted you to know what was really going on. It’s not safe for you to be in the dark anymore. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if Franco sent someone after you.”
“Does he know where I am?”
“Your father hasn’t told him, but I don’t know what Franco has discovered. I don’t have any contacts in his inner circle.”
“I take it I’m supposed to keep this to myself.”
“Your father would kill anyone outside the family who found out.”
“Including X?”
She hummed. “Damn, you go right to the top.”
“I’ve never seen a reason to play games. When I want something done, I go to the most skilled person I know, or I take care of it myself. If I’m stuck here at the ranch, then I need someone I trust to work on this. You said yourself that we don’t know who we can trust right now. Anyone could be in Franco’s pocket.
“I believe your brothers are safe.”
“I’m willing to take your word that they’re on our side, but I’m not going to trust them with something like this. They’re way too fucking young.”
She sighed. “Dario is eighteen, and he’s starting to take on more responsibility, but X would be perfect.”
“And there’s no way in hell Dad is stupid enough to try to kill him or reject his assistance.”
Van sighed. “True, but he’d never ask him directly.”
“That’s why it’s up to me.” I hated the idea of bringing someone else in on this almost as much as my father would, but Aunt Van was right. We couldn’t take Franco out until we knew who was working with him. If I couldn’t be there in person to investigate, then I needed someone with the kind of tech resources X had. He’d shown me just how easily he could find out everyone’s secrets with the right hacker. His guy was the best I’d ever heard of.
“I know how you feel about your father.”
“And you know it’s justified.”
“It is, but I also know he loves you and—”
“I don’t want everything he and grandpa worked for going to fucking Franco and the assholes who’ve dared to take his orders over my father’s. I will make this right, but Dad could have just told me the truth from the beginning.”
