Cain pinches his lips. “I’m not sure I like the idea of sending other men off to do our dirty work for us.”
“Why not?” Ophelia throws at him. “Isn’t it what the heads of families always do? They’re not the ones who get their hands dirty—they send other men to get the job done. You’re all the heads ofourfamily now, and you need to start thinking that way.”
She has a point.
“Besides,” she continues, “if you’re all going, I’m coming, too.”
“No way,” Mal says, shaking his head.
I agree with him. “Definitely not.”
She sets her shoulders. “Then if I’m not going, neither are any of you. We’re bound now, the four of us. We did the ritual, and that’s what we agreed. I won’t have any of you going back on this. I mean it. We put a proposition to the MC, tell them everything we know, and pay them for a job, hopefully, well done.”
“Do you think it’s something they’d do?” Cain asks.
I narrow my eyes at him. He’s actually considering this.
She shrugs. “Vani seems to think it’s something they do on the regular, as long as the money is right. They’re outlaws—part of the one-percenters. I guess it’s their job.”
“Can we trust them?” Malachi tilts his head, looking at Ophelia from behind a lock of dark hair.
“I think so. Vani certainly thinks we can, and I don’t think she’d set her own father up for failure.” She gives a wry smile. “She actually has a decent relationship with her dad, unlike the rest of us. I’ve met him, though only briefly, but he seems like theright man for the job, plus he’s got half his club with him. The question is, can we find the money to pay them?”
Cain sucks on his teeth and nods slowly. “Yeah, I have money saved from my time at the fight club, and I can get my brother to release some funds.”
“You don’t need to,” I jump in. “I have money. This is my problem. I should at least be the one to pay.” I have amassed a healthy amount from the markets and other investments.
I realize that thinking about where we’re going to get the money means I’m onboard with Ophelia’s plan. I wouldn’t admit it out loud, but a knot of tension releases inside me. I’m barely healed from the last beating I took, and I’m not sure how much more my body can handle. And the main thing is that I won’t put Ophelia in harm’s way again. If the bikers go, she’s not going to be either left here without us, or coming with us on another dangerous mission.
“My money is your money,” Cain says.
I smile at him. “Thanks, bro.”
Malachi nods. “Yeah, same. We’re a family now, right, like Ophelia says. What belongs to one of us belongs to us all. We’re in this together.”
I look between my family. “Guess we’d better go and talk to some bikers.”
CHAPTER 38
Malachi
I’m tryingto stay chill, but it’s fucking hard with nerves eating away at my stomach lining. It’s been twenty-four hours since the MC left with our money in their pockets and grins on their faces. The facility is a long drive away, especially with stops, so we’re not expecting to hear from them just yet. They’re going to need to do recon and figure out what steps to take first, too, before doing anything. We’ve provided them with every piece of information we had about the place, though I imagine they’ll have upgraded their security since our last visit.
The one piece of info we don’t have is who the fuck is in charge of the place. Who controls the money? Who has the ultimate say? It concerns me that we might not find out, and so, even with the bikers’ involvement, this debacle won’t be over.
I feel like a bit of a coward for not being the one who goes to deal with whoever is behind the facility, but Ophelia is right when she says we’ve been through enough. I also don’t think Roman could survive another beating, and Ophelia needs protecting, so this is the best way forward.
The Jackal Riders MC seem happy enough to do our dirty work for us—in fact, they seem positively excited about the excursion. Because of Vani’s connection to the motorcycle club,and the Vipers’ connection to Vani, we’ve seemingly opened up the water tower to the other gang. They’ve come and gone a few times now, asking if there are any updates, Vani hanging with Ophelia and trying to distract her. Of course, Camile had to come with Vani, and when Mackenzie heard that there was an impromptu girly get-together, she arrived, too, with the Devils in tow. So now we have multiple people coming and going from the water tower, all wanting updates.
I’d say that I’m pissed at the intrusion, but there’s a strange kind of festivity about it all, and it feels good to have everyone on the same side for once. I’ve even perched in the corner and played my guitar, and when Kirill and Tino recognized the song, they sang along. They couldn’t hold a tune, but it was pretty amusing. Not so long ago, Zane turned up with a crate of beer, and now most people have a cold bottle in their hands.
The only person who doesn’t seem in a good mood is Roman. I get why. He’s the one these fuckers at the institute are trying to bring down, and he’s a noble bastard and seems to think he should sacrifice himself. This way, he gets to live to fight another day, but it means giving up control, and Roman is very much someone who likes to be in control, even if he doesn’t recognize that in himself.
I put my guitar to one side and drop next to him on the couch.
I nudge him with my elbow. “You okay, Rome?”
He curls his upper lip. “Yeah, but I’ll be better when this is all over.”
