The room has grown completely still. Even the veteran soldiers who’ve seen decades of family wars are staring at me with something approaching awe.
“The psychological part needs to be more personal.” I smile grimly. “We’re not just going to kill them—we’re going to make sure they know exactly why it’s happening. Each person gets amessage before they die, explaining that this is because Dominic thought he could set me up and get away with it. No confusion, no wondering what went wrong. They die understanding that their boss’s stupidity is what got them all killed.”
Perfect. Fear and understanding together,Sophia’s voice whispers with satisfaction.
“What about the Irish?” asks one of the captains, glancing at Mario. “Aren’t they going to help?”
“I’m so glad you mentioned them.” I move to another section of the map, pointing to territories along the waterfront. “The Irish have their own grievances with Calabrese operations. Siobhan O’Connor in particular has been looking for an excuse to expand into their smuggling routes.”
Like we conjured her up just by saying her name, the door opens and in walks Siobhan herself. She’s tall with this gorgeous sheet of red hair and bright green eyes that look like they see everything. Three of her guys follow behind her, and they all move like predators.
They’re the kind of people you definitely don’t want to fuck with.
“Miss DeLuca,” she says with a light Irish accent, taking in the war room setup with interest. “I hear from Mario you’re planning something ambitious.”
“I’m planning something that has to be done,” I correct, sticking out my hand to shake hers. “The question is if you want in on it.”
Her grip is firm, callused from years of handling weapons. When she smiles, it’s the expression of someone who enjoys dangerous games.
“I would love to be in,” she nearly purrs. “But it depends on what you’re offering.” She makes a show of settling into a seat and crosses her legs. “The Calabreses have been undercutting our shipping rates for years. If you’re planning to remove them from the equation, we might find common ground.”
She understands power,Giuseppe’s voice notes approvingly.
She’s testing you,Sophia warns.Don’t show weakness.
She’s a potential asset,Matteo observes.But handle her carefully.
“I’m offering you three of their best smuggling routes, two warehouses in prime locations, and the elimination of your primary competition on the waterfront,” I state directly. “In exchange for support during the initial strikes and a guarantee that you’ll fill the void they leave behind instead of letting some other family muscle in.”
Siobhan’s eyebrows rise. “These are generous terms. It certainly sounds like you’re planning on eliminating them,” she says, her eyes never leaving my face.
“I’m planning to make sure that when someone tries to fucking murder me during an official trial, the consequences are so severe that no one else will ever be tempted to repeat the mistake,” I clarify.
A slow smile spreads across her face before she glances at Mario. “You didn’t tell me she was such a spitfire,” she tells him.
Mario shrugs. “Didn’t think you needed to know.”
Siobhan rolls her eyes before she returns her attentions to me. It takes everything in me not to squirm under her laser-like focus.“I like you, girl,” she says, her accent thickening slightly with amusement.
Cool. Liking me doesn’t mean shit if she’s not going to ally with me. “Does that mean you’re in?” I ask impatiently.
“It means I want details,” she replies. “Specifics about timing, targets, and extraction protocols. If we’re going to war, I want to know we’re going to win. I already went through a war, girl, and lost a lot of good men. I’m not looking to do that again.”
Fine. I’ll show her why my strategy is foolproof.
For the next two hours, we dissect every aspect of the plan. The voices in my head have become consultants rather than competing authorities, each offering their expertise when relevant instead of fighting for dominance. When Siobhan asks about contingencies for federal interference, Giuseppe’s voice immediately provides insights about avoiding law enforcement attention. When one of our soldiers questions the misinformation campaign, Sophia’s voice supplies detailed psychological profiles of our targets. When Matteo raises concerns about long-term political ramifications, his mental voice guides me through the complex web of family relationships that could be affected.
“The best part about doing it this way,” I explain to everyone, “is that each part makes the other parts work better. When we hit them hard, it creates so much chaos that people believe the fake information we’re spreading. And when the feds start investigating based on our tips, it keeps them too busy to fight back against us. While everyone’s running around confused, we move in and take their stuff.”
“And if something goes wrong?” Mario calls out, his expression serious. The frown on his face makes his scars more pronounced. “If one of the components fails or gets compromised?”
Every plan has risks,Giuseppe’s voice acknowledges.But the alternative is showing weakness.
Backup plans for backup plans,Sophia suggests.
Accept that perfection is impossible,Matteo’s voice adds.Adapt.
“Then we figure it out as we go,” I answer, feeling more confident than I probably should. “But hitting them this hard from so many directions makes it really unlikely that we’ll completely fail. Even if some of them survive the first round, we’ve got two more waves coming. Even if someone figures out we’re behind the FBI tips, we’ll have already broken them with the direct attacks. We’re not putting all our eggs in one basket—we’ve got backup plans for our backup plans.”
