Page 91 of Fierce Monarch

Grey cursed under his breath, and I felt like doing the same. Addicts were unpredictable, and one who was already as off-kilter as Cash was bound to be deep in his sickness. It would’ve been good to know ages ago, but I wasn’t going to harp on it now. “What’s his poison?”

“Coke.”

Well, shit. That made a lot of sense. I’d bet half of his decisions were made when he was out of his mind, which was why he was so erratic. He was following the high and the power it gave him. “How long?”

“Decades. It’s bad.”

At this point, he probably couldn’t function for ten minutes without a bump, which meant he was constantly straddling the line between survival and overdose. His body couldn’t take it much longer, and if I had to guess, that was why he kept coming at us. He was running out of time.

“I’ll be careful,” I promised.

Nate leaned back down, and I kissed him, mask and all. “I’ll call you when I can. I love you.”

“Be safe,” I whispered. “And thank you.”

He glanced over at Cameron, who was still unconscious, and turned back with a smile for me. “Anything for you, angel.”

Watching him walk away without knowing if he’d be okay was one of the hardest things I’d ever done, and I knew it would only get worse from here.

The Cardinal looked different after dark, or maybe it was just knowing that it was going to burn.

Cameron and Aislynn had been transferred to Dr. Grant’s care at Seattle General, but Dominic had shoved his way out of the ambulance just as they were about to leave, hacking and coughing and refusing to go home. I’d balked, trying to get him to go in to get checked out, until he pointed out that I’d been inside much longer. If I wasn’t going, neither was he. No amount of cajoling or convincing could get him to agree, and Grey hadn’t even attempted. Probably because he thought Dominic was right.

Giving up, the three of us drove back to the Celestine long enough to grab what we needed and to have Tennessee lock down the building.

No in or out until we know what’s going on.

I already knew what was going on, but I had to bide my time. Once I knew if my cousin was okay, I could make plans. But the punishment had to fit the crime, or I’d invite more than criticism into the ranks.

We got out of the SUV, not bothering with stealth. If the Aces didn’t know we were coming, they were fucking stupid. Besides, this wasn’t about killing them, like Sevenroe had been. This was about destroying something Cash was attached to because he’d gone after my cousin. Because he’d gone after Ash again.

Fuck with my family, I’ll torch the memory of yours.

Greyson stood watch at the car, listening to the police scanners and checking in with our own security team. Knowing Cash had almost gotten Shara into jail made me leery, and even though the officers in charge of that shitshow were now deceased, thanks to a visit from Cameron, I didn’t want to risk it. The police weren’t ours anymore, and that made them enemies. Plain and simple.

“Are we going to burn it down or level it?” Dominic asked, coughing into his arm as he crouched beside me. We both sounded like pack-a-day smokers, but the EMT I’d finally convinced him to see—as long as I did too—said it would go away with time. We already had an appointment with Dr. Grant when she was done sorting out Cameron and Aislynn.

“Level it. I want it wiped off the map.” I could feel his eyebrow rise as he watched me place the first of many explosives. “This isn’t just about him irritating me. It’s a message for his little spy too. No one messes with my family.”

“And when he retaliates?”

That was the question. Cash would come after us—that was a given—but how would he do it? What would he take that he felt was equally as important to me as the Cardinal was to him?

“We deal with it when it comes.”

Now that I knew Nate was on our side, I had a feeling the playing field was going to be much more level. If we could get Nate out without losing him, he could turn the tide.

Dominic followed as I circled the building, checking in with Greyson occasionally. Just after two a.m., the area was silent, not a single soul around. Crazy to think a few hours ago we were sitting down to watch a movie, and now we were demolishing a building that had been in my family for almost longer than I had. With the explosives laid, we had nothing left to do but get out of range and trigger it to blow. Dominic coughed again, and I grabbed his hand, eager to get out of here so I could force him into bed. He looked exhausted.

“All clear?” I asked as we caught sight of Grey again.

“Clear,” Grey confirmed, opening the back door of the SUV. “Get inside, and we’ll?—”

“No.” I needed to feel the heat, to let it sink into my bones in a way I’d been too frazzled to allow the fire at Cameron’s house.

“You’ll be a sitting duck for shrapnel,” Dominic snapped.

We were well out of shrapnel distance, but I could see how worried and tired they were. No way was I going to fight them on it. “We’ll go on the other side of the car.”

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