Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 67975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
He’s also right when he tells me he can remove the club from existence. I know he can, I know that more than anyone. He will wipe us clean and everyone around us, unless we can find the power to beat him, but right now, with King’s life in his hands, that isn’t going to happen.
I feel like this is the only option right now.
“Fine,” I say. “Fine, I’ll have him back down.”
“And confirm it, to me. Him and his entire club.”
He wants the club to stand before him and state they’re going to back down. That’s demeaning, and Alarick isn’t going to go for it, but I’ll find a way to convince him this is our only option right now. Besides, we can work something out. We can outsmart Dax, it’s just right now, we need King and Cova alive.
“Okay.”
“Very good, I’ll wait to hear.”
He hangs up the phone and I exhale.
Well, here goes nothing.
“WHAT?” ALARICK ASKS, his eyes flashing.
“Before you overreact, hear me out ...”
“You spoke to fuckin’ Dax?” he barks.
“Yes, I spoke to Dax, and I have a plan, Alarick ...”
“What fuckin’ plan is that?” he barks. “Have you completely lost your mind, Briella? Why didn’t you call me immediately?”
“Because you wouldn’t have listened, you would have made a deal that would have ended up with King and Cova dying. I’ve got a better option.”
He growls, deep in his chest, and crosses his arms. “What exactly did that slimy motherfucker have to offer?”
“He will give us Cova and King, if we agree to fully back down.”
“Fuckin’ never.”
“Alarick, hear me out ...”
“I’m never goin’ to back down. I will crush that motherfucker until he’s writhing on the god damned ground.”
I exhale, searching for calm. I don’t want to fight with him right now, but I also really need him to listen.
“And you can do that.”
“How the fuck can I do that?”
“Listen to me, for god’s sake!” I yell, throwing my hands up.
He clamps his lips together, but he doesn’t say another word and so I can finally tell him the plan I’ve been working so hard on.
“If, and when I say if, I mean if, Dax thinks that we’ve backed down, then we’ll have the chance to do this without him being on our case. We’ll go back to having the upper hand by being anonymous, by going in there without his knowledge. This works for everyone, Alarick. If we don’t do this, people are going to keep dying. King will die. Cova will die. He’ll make sure of it.”
“You want me to fuckin’ surrender to that motherfucker?”
“No, I want you to make him think you’ve surrendered, and we can do this right.”
“What about Bennett?”
“We don’t need Bennett anymore if we have Cova, we hand him back, call it a truce, and be done with it. At least, that’s what he’ll think.”
“Bennett is an essential part of that operation, I hand him back, it’ll be the last time I get a chance to take him down.”
“Listen to me, I want to take Bennett down as much as you do, but if we kill him, we’re never going to see King or Cova. I can’t have that. I just can’t. The best option for us right now is to do this, Alarick.”
He ponders it for a moment, a long moment, and then he exhales and says, “I can make this work. I’ll take Bennett down, but I’ll make it look like a fuckin’ accident. You’re right, it gives us a clean slate. Stops more lives bein’ taken. Fine, tell Dax we have a fuckin’ deal.”
Oh.
Thank god.
“I have to wait for his call, it’ll come soon. In the meantime, keep Bennett. When Dax calls, I’ll tell him that we’ll hand Bennett back as part of the exchange. It only makes it look that much better.”
“He don’t know about Waverly?”
“No, Waverly is our secret weapon. If she keeps doing what she’s doing, we’ll get all the information we need to have the entire operation taken down without bloodshed. If we can get enough, with Zariah’s help, we can end this.”
He knows I’m right.
He has to know I’m right.
We just have to be patient. This doesn’t have to be a blood war if we don’t want it to be, we just have to outsmart Dax.
We can do that.
We will do that.
Once everyone is safe.
My chest tightens with anticipation at the thought of meeting my sister, of finally having some family left.
I wonder what she’s like?
Is she traumatized? Has she been living in pure hell all these years?
I literally have no idea what I’m going to get when she returns.
But one thing is for sure ... I’ll be getting family.
Right now, that’s more than I could ever ask for.
21
FLICK
“You’ve got to be fuckin’ kidding me,” Cohen roars. “Like this isn’t fuckin’ bad enough now you want us to stand in front of that shady motherfucker and tell him we’re willin’ to back down?”