“Jackson’s my brother,” Wyatt says. “Surely that gives him a right to be here?”
I nod slowly. “I’m not arguing with that. But Neo is the closest thing Ansel has to a brother. And given what he already knows about us, it seems pointless to exclude him.”
“Neo’s a distraction,” Wylder says dismissively. “What’s more, we don’t know if we can trust him.”
Oh, I’msoglad he said that. “Like how you thought we couldn’t trust Ansel? Remind me, how’d that work out?”
Wylder doesn’t meet my eyes. “Obviously, I was wrong. I made a mistake.”
“Your mistake almost cost Ansel his life,” I say bluntly. “If Neo hadn’t arrived when he did, we would’ve been delayed further.”
“It’s my job to distrust everyone. It’s how we keep this family together, Cade.”
“Bullshit,” I spit. “We keep it together with trust and blind faith that we have each other’s backs.”
“Much as I hate to say it, Cade’s right,” Dalton says. “You jumped to the wrong conclusion, Wylder. Admit it.”
“I have already admitted it, Dalton. I was wrong, and I apologize. When Ansel’s awake, I fully intend on apologizing to him, too.” Wylder gets to his feet, leaning with his knuckles on the table. “But I would like to point out thatmy jobis to keep all you fuckers safe and alive. Sometimes that means making the calls no one else wants to. Sometimes it means taking an educated fucking guess and hoping like shit that it’s the right one. Now, if any of you want to step up and take my place, be my fucking guest.”
My jaw isn’t the only one swinging open. I don’t think Wylder’s said that much in a row in…well…ever. Or cursed as much.
Guilt prickles over my skin. I’m still pissed that Wylder even dared to accuse Ansel of betraying us…but I don’t think I’ve ever thought about the pressure on him. As the oldest, he’s not just the head of our household, but the entire Firm.
That’s a lot of weight to carry.
“Sorry, Wylder.” I give him a sheepish smile. “I’m just protective of Ansel, ya know? I’m not criticizing how you run things, honestly.”
“I know.” He drops into his seat heavily. “And I’m sorry for not believing you when you said he wasn’t responsible. I’ll try to do better in the future.”
“And none of us thinks we can do a better job,” Matthias adds. “But if you need more help, Wylder, you only need to ask.”
“Thank you,” Wylder says stiffly. Of all of us, he’s the one who struggles to show his emotions. Which makes sense, given he’s the one Dad tortured the most. “I appreciate it.”
The conversation moves on to the little we learned from Vex, which is basically nothing more than knowing that the Umbra Syndicate isn’t going to back down without a fight.
I won’t lie, that suits every one of us perfectly.
After that, Wylder and Dalton explain what they’ve been able to surmise from the documents Ansel secured. The Umbra Syndicate is what Wylder calls an “up and coming” gang in Eastgate. “Evidently, they’re looking to extend their reach and wealth. From what Ansel has provided, I believe their plan was to discover information that they could blackmail us with.”
Matthias’s brows draw together. “Blackmail us to do what?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Wylder muses. “But I imagine parting with a large sum of money and using our connections to aid their growth would be on the list. Along with turning a blind eye as their corruption spreads through St. Dismas.”
I suck in a breath. Yeah, that’s not happening. Even if they hadn’t hurt my butterfly, we wouldn’t have allowed that.
St. Dismas is ours to protect, just as we’ve done for generations.
Just as I’ll do for Ansel for the rest of my days.
I tap my fingers on the table. “So we need to track down all the key players and eliminate them.”
“Yes,” Wylder replies. “And in doing so, we’ll be sending a message not only to Umbra, but to everyone that The Firm is not to be fucked with.”
“Should we be concerned that Umbra knows the Buckinghams are The Firm?”
Wyatt’s question has us all exchanging looks. However, I’m the one who answers. “Honestly? I think they already knew. I took a gamble back in the cabin and sent them a selfie. Once they realized who was with Ansel, they messaged saying he was on his own.”
Matthias sits back in his chair. “Why would they back off only to then turn around and blackmail Ansel to get information on us?”
