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Carter pulls back and gives me a knowing smirk. “I’d get plenty of work finished, dove. Don’t underestimate me.”
I shake my head. “Never.”
Carter gives me one last look before he disappears. I listen for the sound of the door opening and closing. As soon as it does, I fall back against the mattress and bring one arm over my head. The other cups my stomach. I count backward from ten and wait for the fluttering in my chest to abate.
What am I supposed to do now?
I can’t possibly leave Carter.
***
Carter
“How did she take the news?” Tristan pushes himself off the wall and takes a step in my direction. “I imagine she wants to hunt Lilian down herself.”
I shrug. “She would if she’d read the article.”
Tristan raises an eyebrow. “How has she not seen it yet? It’s all over the news and social media.”
“I don’t need you to tell me,” I snap with a pointed look in Tristan’s direction. “Are you going to contribute something useful, or are we just going to stand out here and waste time?”
Tristan opens his mouth and slams it shut.
I climb up the steps of the front porch and push past him. As soon as I step into Anita’s, the loud voices of my family hit me first, followed by the distinct smell of tomato sauce and soup. I venture further into the house and find everyone gathered around the kitchen counter. A few of the Blackthornes are on their phones, their eyebrows knotted together.
Others are whispering among themselves.
All of them straighten when they see me, and conversation trails off.
I don’t look at anyone as I make a beeline for the counter and pull out one of the chairs. The screeching sound echoes in the house, but no one moves or even acknowledges it. I sit down, link my fingers together, and glance around the room.
“I know you’ve all seen the article by now. Somebody better have a fucking solution for this.”
A murmur of unease rises through the crowd.
“And why the fuck is Lilian still running around? She was meant to be taken care of weeks ago.”
“I went back to see Frances today,” Tristan replies, with a quick look around the room. “He’s given us the locations of a few more addresses and known associates. Paul is following up on that information.”
But it’s obvious he hasn’t found anything, or Tristan would’ve told me by now.
I clench my hands into fists at my side and stand up. “This is not the news I want. We don’t need any more scrutiny, not with the new mayor breathing down our necks.”
Especially because I have no idea what kind of information Lilian has armed him with.
And now that Donahue has shown his true colors, we can’t afford a war on all fronts—not without allies and more resources.
Fuck.
How many of them already know about Donahue’s backstabbing? How many of them saw it coming?
I swing my gaze over to Tristan, who is leaning against a wall with his arms folded over his chest. “What’s going on with the Philipses and the Natoris?”
“They’re still recovering from our last hit,” Tristian replies, with a lift of his chin. “We won’t have anything to worry about for a while. They need to re-group.”
I give my cousin a tight nod. “Fucking finally. We need more news like this. What about Donahue? I want his fucking his head on a platter.”
And I want to serve it to my entire family… and Isabella.
