Eyes widening, she waves her hand. “Finn, I’ve got it. I don’tneeeeed—” Her words end up in a squeal as I scoop her into my arms and carry her down the stairs.
After I set her down in front of my brothers, J ducks her head and takes a giant step away from me.
The living room descends into silence.
Sol’s jaw is on the floor.
What exactly does everyone find so shocking?
J gasps loudly, snapping everyone’s attention back to her. “Where did you get all this money?”
“None of your business.”
“We signed a contract with Bex Dane,” Zane offers at the same time.
Their words overlap and the twins glare at one another.
I pick up one of the bags. “This is Plan B.”
“You’re going to pay Ace and his crew off? What if they take the money and still come after you?”
“That’s what I said!” Sol points at me. “But this guy wouldn’t budge.”
“We don’t have any more options and we’re out of time.”
“Wedohave another option.” J strides confidently to me, her eyes tired but determined. “Finn, the infrastructure’s in place. It’ll work. I swear.”
Dutch steps forward. “If she’s wrong, and we go out there with nothing to offer them before we let them go, then this is going to blow up in our faces.”
“But if we throw money at them, they might give it to their gang and use it against you anyway,” J argues.
“That’s why we shouldn’t let them walk out of there tonight,” Sol advises. “If we keep them around, they’ll always be a liability. None of us will be able to rest easy.”
My throat moves in a slow swallow.
Time is ticking.
A bomb waiting to explode.
I can’t think of what Sensei would advise.
J’s watch beeps, and I know she’s going to speak up before she opens her mouth.
“How can you say that? You’re advocating formurder,” J hisses.
“Everybody who’s ever signed up to join a gang knows what the consequences are. It’s not like they’re innocent.”
“Who gave you the right to decide who’s innocent and who’s guilty?”
“Look,” Dutch breaks in. “We already decided to give them money. So, let’s just do that.”
I look between Sol, J, and Dutch. Rather than Sensei’s voice, it’s Kurosaki’s that I hear.
Leaders have to make hard choices. When that moment comes, and it will, you will understand me.
I lift my hand to gain some quiet.
Everyone looks to me, waiting for instruction.
