Rossi finally blinked, and my heartbeat stuttered. I didn’t realize I’d been standing there with my fists clenched, stiff, as if I were trying to stand up against a slow-motion bomb blast coming at me from point blank range.
I was sweating and all my muscles were fatigued, like I’d just run a short marathon.
Rossi was old. Ancient. He had a lot of power, a lot of sway. I’d just been treated to a taste of that power and he hadn’t lifted a finger against me.
Lavius was just as ancient and powerful as Rossi. We didn’t just need to hit him hard, we needed to kill him with one blow.
“We need a plan. Bulletproof,” I said. “I know you already have a plan in place and bringing me here to bully me to the sidelines was part of it. Tell me the rest.”
“You are risking more than your life, Delaney.” Rossi’s tone was flat, without the warmth I usually detected beneath the surface. “You are risking Ryder’s. Your sisters’.”
“Yeah, because Lavius likes to make people pay by pounding their loved ones into submission. I understand that. My loved ones are tough as hell. We can take it. What’s the plan?”
There was no arguing with that truth, so he didn’t.
“I’ll use the book to break the spell on Ben. Then I’ll kill Lavius.”
“Want to fill in the blanks, or should I just handcuff you to my side and give you a commentary of surprise and awe as things unfold?”
“Delaney.” This, finally, said with the kind of exasperated tone I was used to. I knew right then, that he wasn’t going to do this without me.
Ryder reached over, his fingers brushing against the back of my wrists. Reminding me it wasn’t just me Rossi was siding with.
Us. Rossi wasn’t going to wage this war without us.
“I’ll buy you a cup of fancy hospital coffee,” I wheedled. “We’ll take over a conference room down the hall, call in the people we need and do this proper.”
“We’re not planning a battle in the hospital,” Rossi said.
“Why?”
Rossi gave me a look like I was stupid. “Their coffee is terrible.”
Right. That was a problem I could get on board with. “I hear the Perky Perch has a loft we can reserve.”
He looked back over at Ben. This was why I had suggested the hospital meeting room. I didn’t think Rossi was going to let Ben out of his sight.
“Go on now,” Granny spoke gently for the first time since I’d gotten there. “I’ll watch our boys.”
Jame made a little humming sound that was both kind of a protest and also absolute contentment. Like an adult being told he was a good child. Like someone who had thought the man he loved had been beaten and killed, and now he had his family, no,boththeir families keeping him safe.
Our boys.That was good. Better than good. It might even be good enough that I could hang up my referee stripes because the fight between the Rossis and Wolfes had been called off due to lovey-dovey weather.
Of course, Rossi could tell Granny to shove it and this could all turn into a fist fight in a blink.
But Rossi nodded. “Call who you want,” he said. “But the fewer we involve in this, the better.”
Small meant less of a target and less chance for collateral damage. It did not mean less fire power. Not in this town. “Are you bringing anyone?”
“No.”
I glanced at Ryder.
“If you tell me to stay behind, I’ll have the nurse fit you with a chloroform drip.”
Okay then. I pulled out my phone and dialed Myra. Because I knew what kind of hell I’d catch if I didn’t let her in on the plan.
“Myra Reed,” she answered.
