“What!” I finally get a real reaction from her. “You had to come and save me.”
“And…”
“And?! Jesus, Naomi. How do you not get this? If anyone should, it’s you.”
“Because I’m female.”
“A girl.” She’s snippy. I ignore it. Mac and I could have been twins with how closely we’d been raised.
“We’re different,” I tell her. “This”—I tap the back of her laptop—“is where you excel. You spend your time mastering it. I spend my time perfecting what I’m good at. We all have our roles. If anyone should get that, it’s you. Unless you think I’m not capable.”
“I didn’t say that.” She stares up at me.
“This will not change,” I say honestly. “I must show up and lead. To show and prove to everyone?—”
“You don’t need to prove anything.” Mac gets defensive for me.
“I do, and now more than ever.” I lean down, partly to be closer to her. “The steps we are making for change are going to be thrusting me into a far bigger and more powerful role. We can see from these other families what power can do to a man. If you want to know a man’s character, give them power.”
“You’re not a man.” A half grin forms. That’s what everyone keeps telling me, except it always comes out as a compliment. It gives the saying a completely different perspective.
“You might be upset with yourself, but I was proud of us. We worked together, and you trusted me. That trust is unique, and I don’t want you questioning it. You have nothing to feel bad about.”
“I’m not questioning it.” Mac’s shoulders drop, and she leans back in her chair. “I should be able to take cover myself. I was hiding in a fucking closet.”
“Okay, then we train. That way we’ll be more prepared next time.” Mac does know how to handle herself, but these men were in full gear with guns. Both of us were outmanned and overpowered. When that happens, all you have is each other and your skill set. “We do whatever makes you feel more confident,and we learn from this. That’s all we can do, and we do it together.”
“All right.” Her smile grows, and I lean over and hug her, resting my chin on her head.
“Together.”
“Together,” she agrees. “You know, that man of yours is right. I do think this is possible with you at the center. It reminds me of what my mom and dad always tell me. Things change, and we can’t fight that. It’s the way of things, and you learn and adapt. That is what is going to be the other families’ fall.”
“It is.” I couldn’t agree more. They’re stuck in a different time. Even within each of their core families, they don’t have full respect or trust for each other. Women and men are still separated, and it’s going to be one of the key factors to taking a lot of them down.
Their own bravado and chest pounding will be their demise. They believe they are smarter and stronger than everyone else. If you think you’re the wisest, most powerful person in the room, you’re already failing as a leader. These men don’t care for the idea of anyone being better than them at anything. It’s ignorant.
“Am I interrupting?” Eros asks to enter the library.
“No, how is Bonte?” I ask.
“Good, in the kitchen.” He walks over, grabbing one of the folders. “This shit is crazy. Are you sure Paxton’s not in the CIA?” he teases.
“I wanted to go over a few things with both of you before the others get here.” I hop up on the table and sit down with my legs crossed, shuffling through a few items Paxton and I had reviewed last night.
“I think we should start with a test run. The easier one.” I toss one of the folders down. “The Biviano family.”
“They’re really scattered across the interlocked states,” Eros says, scanning over what I’d given him.
“Yes, you can see where they have split up. The tension within the family is the reason for the breakage. It won’t take much to push them over since the bond between them is weak. We have come up with four plots. We go to Kansas City, Missouri, Cover Fort Utah, Columbus, Ohio, and North Denver. No one is going to think it’s us. We’d fly totally under the radar because they’d never imagine we would bother with them, but they are slowly losing control of their interest rate,” I inform them.
They’re locked in and require the cost to support them in their trades. They haven’t much cared for how we’re doing things, and they have branched out to the cartel, getting drugs from Mexico. Their immediate reaction would be to point the finger in that direction if they start getting taken out.
“They only hold Kansas City because they have some sheriffs in their pockets. Without them, it would all fall through. That is straightforward enough to deal with. Now Utah.” I glance over to Eros. “We are going to send out small cells of people, but we’ll need a handful, and I think I know who can handle Utah and easily make it look like a gang hit. There will be no clue-up needed there either. The Feds will be happy they’re gone.”
“Who are you thinking of? Me?” I shake my head no. “I’m sending you to Ohio because I will need someone grabbed and interrogated. Mac will be handling North Denver. There is a wife there that wants out, and Paxton’s sister will help with that.” Voicing these plans out loud has everything coming together in my mind.
“The doctor?” Mac asks.
