“And?”
I almost laughed. Did they have any idea how much I was about to throw their way? Of course not. They probably respected me more than they wanted to kill me right now.
“Crush and Prince are not as loyal to King as you may think,” I said, recalling all of their side glances, their yearning for freedom, and most of all, their hatred of King. “They’ve known nothing but the King’s Men, and I know they want to break free. Your only bet is to get them to turn on themselves.”
“And how the fuck can you help?”
I cleared my throat. I should have had a better answer than “with the information I just provided.” I hadn’t quite dug myself six feet deep, but the ground I was standing upon was far weaker than I would’ve liked.
Fuck it. What was I good for if not saying the right things even if I didn’t have the means to back it up?
“I am still, in a sense, a King’s Man. I just haven’t shown my face in months. I can spy for you. I can act as a double agent.”
I was full of shit. I was a King’s Man only in the sense that I hadn’t told King I was quitting—and if I had, I really would’ve been six feet under. If I showed my face again, they’d immediately brand me for what I was—a deserter.
But if nothing else, I could give myself time to figure shit out. And maybe I’d even actually run into Crush and Prince myself. And if I was right?
Maybe I’d fall ass-backward into the truth.
Satan lowered his gun. Behind him, Sonny moved forward. The guns were no longer a threat, but in numbers, they could still whip my ass. And while I was in shape and healthy, it wasn’t like I’d been doing deadlifts while laying low.
“And if you betray us?” Satan said.
“I won’t,” I said immediately. “I know how this ends. The only way I live is if you win. The only way any of you live, period, is if you win.”
Now that was as true a statement as I’d said all night. And I didn’t need to explain the “why.” We all knew damn well that by this point in the war, King wasn’t interested in acquisition, only annihilation.
And just to drive home the point, I nodded upstairs—to the people that these boys almost most certainly cared about the most.
“And that goes for your women too.”
“You better watch your fucking mouth,” Satan snarled.
“You can say what you want,” I said as I felt my cell phone vibrate in my pocket, “but everyone in this room knows King will go after your loved ones. Trust me. I’ve seen what you fought through.”
Only in the vaguest sense.I knew King had spoken to their women. But beyond that? I was pushing my knowledge of the truth a bit.
“You’re walking a very fucking thin line here, Asher,” Satan said.So he does remember who I am.“I don’t need you to outright betray us for me to stick a bullet in your fucking skull. These are hard times, and hard times require hard punishments.”
“I’m fully aware.”
Satan finally pocketed his gun.
“We’re without a clubhouse at the moment, so this is, I suppose, our fucking church,” he said, gesturing to the house. “Come back here tomorrow at eight p.m. when the rest of the Black Reapers are here.”
“Black Reapers?”
Satan snorted.
“Kid over there made an alliance with them. It’s how we’re going to give ourselves the best odds.”
Odds you’ll still lose without my help.
“So you’re not the Devil’s Patriots anymore,” I said.
“Consider it a temporary rebranding,” Satan said with a roll of his eyes, “that’ll get your teeth knocked down your throat if you keep asking stupid questions.”
“We’re wasting time, Satan,” Spawn said. “If we won’t meet tonight, he shouldn’t be around.”
