Page 107 of Fierce Monarch

There was no announcement, but as I made my way toward the slab that held my uncle’s husk, everyone stopped to watch. The unspoken command to follow my attention was too strong for even the drunkest of them to ignore. The sun had set, and torches had been placed everywhere to give us some form of light. We didn’t use electricity in the wakes if we could avoid it.

As we got closer to the pyre, Dominic moved to be nearer to Greyson, giving me the floor. Just like before, I wasn’t sure what I should say, but with Two-Bit in the crowd, I knew I couldn’t say everything I wanted to.

Keep it short, it is.

“Death is the only sure part of life. Beautiful and humbling, it brings us together as much as it divides. Tonight, we gather like this to mourn a man who was instrumental in guiding this family for decades. I hope the afterlife is everything you dreamed of, Uncle.”

Lifting the bottle I’d been carrying around all night, I poured a healthy dose onto my uncle’s shrouded body. It wasn’t unheard of, but it was definitely a sign of disrespect. My final one.

“Burn in hell,” I whispered as I put the torch to the alcohol first and then the kindling below, making sure the fire was burning everywhere before I dropped the torch into it too.

There was no telling how long I stood there, watching the flames envelop my uncle’s body, but I couldn’t move. I needed to see, so I could tell myself he was really gone.

I heard the quietest pop, and then pain bloomed along my shoulder. I raised my hand automatically to check on what I expected was a burn from a falling ember.

It wasn’t.

Red seeped through my fingers, running sticky down my skin as I realized what had happened.

Someone shot me.

I pulled my gun immediately, looking for who the fuck was ballsy enough to shoot at me in the middle of a Marcosa party. Dread twisted my gut as I caught a pair of eyes so familiar, they made my heart ache, but they weren’t Nate’s.

They were Cash’s.

Greyson and Dominic didn’t stop to ask questions, pulling their guns as one, even while their keen eyes went nearly feral at the sight of the hole in my jacket.

Grey’s face was dark with retribution. “What the fuck.”

Dominic spun around. “Who shot my girl?”

“That would be me.” Cash’s grin was as unstable as ever. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’re the entertainment.”

We were all too fucking shocked at the audacity of his interrupting what was culturally known as a cease-fire moment in time. You didn’t shoot people at a funeral. Cash lifted his gun and fired, once again proving he didn’t care about decorum one fucking bit.

“Take cover!” I yelled over the sound, knowing I was going to lose people tonight. We were all armed, but we’d been prepared for remembrance, not battle. Half my men were in the bag, and the other half weren’t armed enough for this.

“Who the fuck fires into a funeral?” I grunted, leaning out from behind the viewing platform to shoot two of Cash’s men before they could creep closer. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I ignored it before realizing it was probably Nate. I was right.

I’m here.

I craned my neck, trying to look around the stone, but I pulled back as a chip was cut away with a bullet.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Dominic asked, hauling me farther into the safety of the middle.

“Nate’s here.” I yanked my earbuds from my pocket, connecting them as I dialed Nate’s number, muttering as it rang, “Pick up, pick up, pick up.”

“The kid’s not our problem right now,” Dominic growled. “Let’s focus on getting out of here alive.”

Fires backlit the windows, and I just knew Cash was going to burn the place down. Fuck it, I don’t like the damn house anyway.

“Meet us by the lower garage,” I said, tapping on Dominic’s and Greyson’s shoulders so they could hear too.

The doors weren’t open, but the garage had an outside entrance we could use without electricity, one big enough for us to drive through. There was also a road nearby that would bypass the bullshit of the Aces’ cars blocking us in.

No way was I letting my people die here.

The boys nodded, and Dominic lifted his head to yell. “Everyone out!”

---