Page 253 of Romeo

“No. You just kept your fucking mouth shut.”

Cash leaned back in his chair and glanced between us. “This feels like a good time for everyone else to suddenly become invisible.”

“Stay,” I ordered without looking at him.

Cash sighed. “Of course.”

Nav’s jaw tightened. “Eros took care of Arizona. It was done.”

“Fuck you, Nav. Three of those men were hit in my fucking house. The fourth one, who I’ll remind you is my fucking brother, was only safe because I sent his ass home. And if your bastard father hadn’t shoved you in a closet, you’d probably be fucking dead.”

“It was my call for F.I.R.E.”

“And there’s the fucking problem.”

For the first time, irritation flashed across Nav’s face. “I’m both, King.”

“I know exactly what you are. What I’m apparently less clear on is which patch gets information first.”

Nav stared at me across the table.

Finally, he said, “F.I.R.E. protects its own.”

“So do the Silver Shadows.”

“I know.”

“Then next time, fucking act like it.”

His jaw flexed before he nodded once. “Fine.”

I held his gaze another second, making sure we understood each other before I sat back.

“Now,” I said, looking around the table, “somebody tell me why the fuck every time we kill one of these assholes, three more secrets crawl out of the fucking grave.”

Jack raised his hand.

I pointed at him. “If your answer involves fucking clowns, I’m shooting you.”

Jack slowly lowered his hand.

Mimic snorted.

And despite everything we’d just learned, I laughed.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Romeo

By the time King let the rest of us into church, whatever Zeus had told the officers had already settled over the room. Jack wasn’t running his mouth, which told me plenty. Cash looked pissed, Mimic looked worse, and Nav had that particular expression he wore when there was a problem somewhere in the world refusing to surrender to his keyboard.

We all listened without interrupting as King explained about Arizona and Dakota. Two fewer enemies should’ve felt better than it did. But Sylvia St. James was still out there somewhere, Zephyr was still breathing, and whatever those men had helped build hadn’t died with them.

King let that sink in before his attention moved around the room. “There’s something else. Stone Ward is dead.”

That name hit differently.

Stone had been VP of the Mother Chapter.