AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"It was a firefight," Liam explains once we're all inside and sitting by the fire. I'm between him and Tristan, each of them seemingly unwilling to let go of me, while Theo stands by the fireplace, his expression grim. "As soon as Lucas saw you guys making a break for it, he tried to give chase. We would have been able to stop him if his men hadn't been in the way. They caught up to us right as we were retreating.”
"The numbers weren't in our favor," Tristan, analytical as always, adds. "Even with backup, we wouldn't have been able to shoot our way out.”
"Then how did you?" Theo asks.
Tristan glances at him. "We took a hostage.”
"Not a smart move," Theo says. I can see his muscles tensing, his fists clenching and unclenching. "Lucas doesn't give a shit.”
"No, he doesn't," Tristan agrees, "but his men did.”
"Except by the time we were out of the building, Lucas had reinforcements showing up at Sterling's," Liam explains.
"Holy shit," I mutter. "The son of a bitch planned this from the very beginning.”
Tristan nods slowly. "He was expecting us to try to make a break for it. We made it halfway down the street and found more of his guys ready and waiting. We had to jump out and walk the rest of the way here. Didn't even have time to grab a phone.”
My hand flies to my mouth. "That's why it took you so long to make it back.”
"We had to duck into more than a few alleyways along the way," Liam says. "Made men are everywhere, and I can't even fucking tell whose they are anymore.”
"Lucas's," Theo replies, without a hint of uncertainty. "He's everywhere you fucking look.”
"You've got that right," Tristan agrees.
The silence is palpable as the image of the battle fills my head. The question I'm desperate to ask is on the tip of my tongue, but I can't bring myself to say it.
The others must know what's going through my mind, though. Liam sets aside the half-empty cup of tea he's holding and raises his eyes to meet mine. The sorrow and guilt that fills them are an exact replica of my own, but there's something else there as well, the same rage that I've seen emerge from time to time, clashing with his typically jovial persona. "If we could have taken them all out, we would've," he says. "I hate that we couldn’t."
"We didn't have the people for it," Tristan reminds him.
"Which brings us to the issue at hand," Theo says. "How the hell did Lucas manage to convert all of my father's guys so fast? Most of them were loyal for decades.”
Tristan shakes his head in disgust. "They were ready for us, Theo, and they were well-armed. They must've been preparing long before we called the meeting. It was a coup, and we didn't see it coming.”
Unable to stand it any longer, I raise my gaze and force myself to ask: "And my father? What happened to him? Is he…?"
"One of his guys hauled him out of there as soon as Craig's bodyguards were there to buy them time," Liam replies. "He was hurt, badly, and I didn't get a good look, but…"
"It looked like he was still breathing," Tristan finishes for him.
The breath rushes out of my lungs, but instead of relief that consumes me, it's an overwhelming sense of guilt. Guilt and fear. I cover my mouth with my hand, trying to fight the wave of emotion that crashes over me, and when the tears come again, I can't stop them. Embarrassed, I try to turn away from them, but I'm trapped between Tristan and Liam, whose strong arms wrap around me.
"Shh," he whispers into my ear. "It's all right. He'll be all right. It's not your fault.”
Tristan and Theo are there, too, coalescing around me in a protective circle, but it does nothing to quell the sadness that overwhelms me. "I can't do it," I say in a voice that shakes, wiping at my eyes. It's as if all the doubts that have been brewing in the back of my mind are finally finding their voice, and I can't suppress them any longer. The image of my father lying motionless on Craig's floor is too much to bear.
I'm too weak to fight. I'll never have the strength to confront Lucas, face-to-face, about all the things he's done, and if I can't stand up to one sadistic husband, how am I supposed to lead a mafia gang?
I could just leave.The thought comes to me like a cooling breeze on a hot day, and I almost believe it. I could leave it all behind, leave London, leave the criminal underground, and live like I always wanted to growing up as the baby daughter of the Dalton family. I could find myself a new life somewhere else, where I'm not the wife of a mob boss, and forget the pain, the violence, and the loss that I've endured here. The idea is tempting. If I ever thought I would be able to be a leader, I was kidding myself.
"I can't hack it in this world," I say, my gaze dropping to the floor.
"You can," Theo insists. "You are already, kid.”
"Am I?" I raise my streaming eyes to him. "You saw what happened to Callie. That happened because of me. Now my father's injured, maybe dying, and that happened because of me, too. I'm scared shitless. I don't have the guts for this." I glance from him to the others. "I know you guys thought I was the one for this job, but I'm not. All I've done since day one is take stupid risks that the people I love end up paying for. I can't..." I take an unsteady breath. "I can't risk that happening to you guys, too. I'm so fucking... scared.”
"We know you are," Tristan says, putting a hand on my shoulder, "and we're scared too. But that doesn't mean we're not going to fight.”
