Page 93 of We Will Rise

Next through the door are Miriam and Donovan Sterling. The former glares at me as she rounds the right side of the table, her distaste at my position at the table clear in the way her face contorts in disgust. Her son has always been indifferent about these meetings, and I think he’s just waiting for the day he’s handed the keys to the kingdom to care about them. His amber eyes take in everyone in the room as he takes his seat beside his mother and rests his folded hands in his lap.

The last to arrive are Christopher and Greyson Knight, and they don’t bother looking surprised at where I’m seated because this isn’t the first time we’ve been in this room in this same formation.

Christopher is a little slow as he lowers himself into his seat, while Greyson unbuttons his suit jacket and drops into his without hesitation. It won’t be long before he takes over for his father.

Once everyone is settled, Crew clears his throat, and everyone turns their attention to him.

I hold my mask in place despite the anxiety rolling through me. I’ve had weeks to prepare me for this, but somehow the moment feels huge now that it’s here.

“Thank you all for coming. We know how busy you all are, especially due to the change in leadership within the Davenport family.” He nods to Knox, who returns it. Ever a man of few words. “But the reason we’ve brought you here today is different from our usual monthly meetings.”

He looks down at me, searching for hesitation that he won’t find. I’m not nervous because I don’t like the plan. I fucking love it. I love them so much for doing this for our family, I just hope they don’t come to regret the decision down the road.

“The Syndicate of the Legion is going to be taking a new role. A back seat, if you will. The contracts we have with each of the families will be amended to only disqualify trade in animals, humans, and organs, and all monthly fees will stop being paid to us.” He takes a breath, and I steal a look around at the shocked faces around the room. “We will still be available in some capacity to ensure the city doesn’t descend into chaos, but we will primarily be stepping back into our businesses and into helping Camilla with De Marco family business.”

Everyone in the room turns their attention to me, and I force myself not to flinch beneath the weight of their judgment. He’s chosen a diplomatic way of saying it, but basically, they’re stepping down from the positions they fought so hard to forge so that I can keep my family legacy, and I don’t know how I’m ever going to repay their sacrifice.

“You’re stepping down?” Miriam asks. “Just like that?”

Bishop nods from my other side. “Yes. We have done everything we had hoped to achieve in our positions over the last eight years, and now it’s time for the city’s underworld to flourish without someone watching over it. We believe that as the younger generation of heirs takes their places that the five families will work in a more collaborative way than they have in the past, and as a result, our position would become redundant in the long run anyway. We’re just moving the time frame forward.”

“Why would you do that?” Christopher asks, shock tugging at the deep lines around his eyes. “Why would you give up everything just like that?”

Crew takes a deep breath and looks down at me, his eyes searching mine for permission he doesn’t need to tell the truth. “Because there’s more to life than money and power,” he tells them honestly. “It has been an honor to hold these positions over the years, and we feel that the underworld is in the best shape it’s ever been. For the most part, all we were managing were minor disagreements, which we feel you can navigate moving forward without our assistance. As I said, we will be around in the event of major issues, but we will no longer obtain a monthly fee for this as we will not be having a daily impact on most of the families.”

“You’re giving it up for a woman?” Christopher asks, his brows so high it’s almost comical.

“In short, yes.” Bishop smiles down at me. “We’ve had our time in the roles we created, we’ve brought peace to the city’s underworld for the most part, and now we’re going to try our hands at settling down. We want to be able to enjoy our lives and any future children we may bring into the world without having to worry about whether you’ve shorted Davenport for twelve keys of cocaine.”

“That’s fantastic.” Leroy leans forward with a smile. “We thank you for everything you’ve done in the last eight years. The decades of tension and constant war that came before you were becoming tiresome, and the peace and collaboration that has come as a result of the changes you’ve made make me more confident than ever to pass the Thorne legacy to my son in the coming months.”

“Thank you for all you’ve done, even with the challenges that have been thrown your way in the last few months,” Knox adds, omitting the fact that his cousin was the reason for a lot of those issues.

Miriam and Christopher look at one another, but neither of them says anything, but I don’t miss the nod of respect that both Donovan and Greyson send Crew’s way.

It feels like the end of an era saying goodbye to the Syndicate, but really, it’s the beginning for our family, and I can’t wait for the rest of our lives.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE

KOVU

“Little Lamb?” I call through the compound.

It’s a sea of boxes and misplaced furniture as we prepare for the move this weekend. We were going to hold off moving into the estate, but why wait?

Camilla is almost completely healed now, and she finally got the all clear from the doctor to do simple things like lift more than a few pounds, which she promptly took to mean she can move the heavy-as-fuck dressers around the bedroom.

The woman is going to be the death of me.

I duck my head into our bedroom, but she’s nowhere to be found.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are.” A slow smile tugs at my lips as I move down the hall. I’ve already checked the kitchen and all of the offices. If it weren’t for the fact I already checked the tracker, which we promptly had put back into her neck a few weeks ago, I might be getting worried, but she’s in here somewhere.

I take the stairs two at a time to the level her old bedroom is on and move down the hallway just in time to see Kaos at the other end of the hall carrying a box toward the garage.

“You seen the little lamb?”

He nods to her bedroom. “I saw her go in there a little while ago.”

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