Page 40 of High Stakes

“I finally have a name,” I tell them and brace my open palms on the table. “Cabrera.”

Hector visibly tenses and Tobias chokes on a cough. “Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack,” I respond without a smile. “My sources say that the Cabrera Cartel is the one who planned the explosions and the fire.”

“I fucking knew it,” Hector hisses under his breath.

“These wouldn’t be the same sources you’ve hired me to kill, now would it?” A thick accent draws my attention to the other side of the table.

I stand tall and tilt my chin defiantly as I stare down at the Irishman. “That brings us to the topic of today’s meeting,” I say without batting an eye at him. “That order no longer stands.”

“Is that so?” he asks with raised brows. “Pray tell what could have caused such a change of heart? Do they fuck that good?”

Hector slams his palm down on the table next to Mr. O’Leary. “Enough,” he growls low in his throat. Tobias leans forward with his hand hidden under his suit jacket, grasping his firearm no doubt.

I clear my throat and wait for the three men to stop having a pissing contest and focus back on me. “Actually, they do fuck quite well,” I say without batting an eye. I level him with a deadpan look. “My favorite position is when they have all my holes filled at one time. I literally choke on cock.”

Tobias looks away in horror and Hector smirks behind the Irishman. Samuel glares at me for a few seconds before a wide grin splits his face, revealing a gold upper canine. That piece of mouthwear is new, but I don’t make a comment. “Well played,” he commends me.

“Any other questions?” I ask before dropping down into a seat.

“I need a lobotomy,” Tobias murmurs and rubs his face with his hands. “Someone put a bullet through my frontal lobe. I can’t live with that image.”

I roll my eyes at his dramatics. “Lay off the boys. I’ll find a way to tell them the truth without getting us all killed. Besides, I still need Silas to track the Cartel.”

Tobias turns to face me. “Silas?” Then he looks at Samuel. “I thought you took care of that one.”

“Apparently, he’s made of more fire retardants than we thought,” he says with a shrug. “I didn’t expect him to walk away from that crash.”

My stomach does a sickening drop at the thought of the original plan. I have to physically will myself not to feel guilty. We didn’t know that they weren’t a part of the bigger scheme.

I thought they were the reason my parents were dead.

That they were the cause of the fire.

That they were the root of all my problems.

Turns out I was very wrong, and now I’m struggling to come to terms with the fact that I’m attached to them and also tried to kill them.

“He came home recently and has been recovering in silence. We didn’t want to make it public because, at this point, we don’t know who to trust,” Hector says. He’s taken up leaning against the wall again, looking bored. He always hates meetings.

“You’ve been keeping secrets, my little Banshee.” Samuel steeples his fingers in front of his face and smiles again. “What did you have in mind?”

“I want to hunt down the head of the Cartel and gut him like a fish,” I state simply, like it’s the most obvious answer in the room. “I plan on having Silas get a location, and then we’ll go in and take him out. Don’t worry,” I meet the Irishman’s eyes, “I haven’t forgotten your stipulations of the deal. Suffering, pain, and begging for lives.”

He chuckles and looks over at Tobias. “You have your hands full with this one.”

Tobias, still rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands, chuckles wryly. “You have no idea.”

“How do you plan on telling them the real truth?” Hector asks from his place on the wall. His eyes bore into mine and I swear I feel him reaching into my soul. “Over dinner? I could see that going really well. ‘Oh yes, please pass the potatoes.Oh, and by the way, I tried to murder you several times and almost got away with one of them, but apparently the Kennedys are indestructible.’ Seems like appropriate dinner conversation,” Hector chuckles under his breath and runs a hand across his bald head.

“Actually,” I say as an idea blooms to life in my mind. I smile at the three of them, and the look on my face must be terrifying because they all lean back in concern. “I think I have the perfect idea. It’ll be fun!”

“Like I said, your hands are full,” Mr. O’Leary chuckles again and stands. “Am I to be a part of these shenanigans?”

“I think I’ll just need a few of your men. Mainly ones you aren’t attached to. I can’t promise no one will be shot.” My mind bounces from idea to idea, trying to piece together the chaotic images in my mind as I think this through.

Tobias stands and shakes hands with Mr. O’Leary. “Thanks for coming. I’ll let you know the details once they’ve been fleshed out. She usually takes a while when she gets like this.”

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