No one said anything. Even the babies didn’t dare giggle.
“He showed up?” Buster’s eyes were so wide her eyebrows nearly blended into her hairline. “How did he even fall for that? I thought it was stupid.” She sat back on the couch, curling up into Grizz’s side.
“Walked right into the ballroom like he fucking owned the place.” Sabre sat on the floor in front of Flo, but his head tilted towards Liz. “You’ve tried to tell me this was coming, but I wasn’t listening hard enough then. I hear you now.”
Liz and I sat on the other couch, but when I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, I could feel her shake. Adrenaline was coursing through her veins. She was a pivotal part of this conversation, but if she crashed, I’d take her back to the clubhouse.
“He doesn’t…want me.” Her eyes darted from Flo to Buster before landing on Sabre again. “Not them. Con…con…control,” Liz said.
Sabre leaned his head back against Flo’s knee. His thoughts were clearly running behind his eyes, and I watched as they clicked into place. “When he offered Gerry lead counsel, it was about keeping him in line.” His expression closed, and our president appeared. “I don’t doubt he thinks the arranged marriages are real. They’re more about keeping us squashed under his thumb.”
Pretty was never serious, but I watched as his face went blank. Red flowed up his neck, tinting his cheeks. “Wreck knew when he said to make a deal.” He slammed his hand on the floor. “Not squashed. All they have to do is give us a side quest, and bam—they’re steering the entire game.”
“Aww, fuck.” Sabre dropped his head. “We’ve been dancing to their tune and not even realizing it.”
“The more independent we become, the harder they strike.” This was the first time I’d heard Flo say something since we’d occupied her living room. Her tone was soft, and she looked worn out. Dark spots were forming under her eyes, and when she smiled at Liz, only sadness appeared. “Like Dad making more deals with Alex when we didn’t visit.”
“That’s why he was throwing tantrums?” Buster asked. “We’re not kids. We have our own lives, and he could have been a part of that. He’s the one who was an asshole when he didn’t get his way.”
“‘Don’t worry about my son,’” Pretty said, deepening his voice as he tore into a bag of chips. “You made him break character with that one.” His chewing was the only sound in the room.
“Pe…Pe…Peter?” Liz sat up, turning towards me. “He doesn’t…know?”
“Alex thinks Peter’s still dismantling the Lopezes from the inside.”
She shuddered and leaned back against my chest. “How does…he not… feel it?” I didn’t have an answer for her.
“So how do we break his hold on us without going to war?” Grizz said, his voice even.
“Fight our way out,” Pretty said, shoving a few chips into his mouth.
“Were you paying attention?” I said. “Without a war.”
Grizz reached over, snatching the bag out of his hands.
“I don’t understand. Every time I’ve spoken to Alex, he’s always been a reasonable man. Can’t we make him an ally?” Flo placed her elbow on the end of the armrest, her hand sliding along the back of Sabre’s neck. “At least until we know why he wants dominion over the Shield.”
“Yeah, Grace. If that actually works, we’ll be married off to some Lopezes.” Meredith rolled her eyes. Grizz wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close in case he had to defuse the situation quickly.
“That’s not what I’m saying. You said,” she directed at Sabre, “that Alex said he didn’t send the truck, so someone else did. Isn’t the enemy of my enemy my friend?”
“Your mama’s breaking out the ancient proverbs.” Pretty leaned over, kissing the top of JR’s head as he sat in his bouncer.
Sabre rolled his eyes, not bothering to hit Pretty for that one. “I know you want that to work, but you can’t set the terms with a man like that. He’s the person who expects us to support him.” Sabre tilted his head back. “Now that we know, we can’t let him continue playing with the club.”
Grace scanned the room, but when no one disagreed, she let it drop.
“No one wants to work with him. We can’t fight the cartel without going to war, so now what do we do?” Pretty picked JR up from the bouncer, cradling him against his body.
“Poke holes,” Buster spoke. “What if we constantly nitpick at them, like Dad used to do us?”
***
Elizabeth
I rolled my head against Thunder’s shoulder, staring at him until he looked down at me. “I want…peace.”
“Be careful what comes out of your mouth next. If you even think about sacrificing yourself to protect the family, I’ll haul you back to the clubhouse and we’ll live in one of the jail cells in the basement. I’m not playing.”
