Page 89 of Sunrise Malice

I snort, shaking my head, but I’m smiling. “You’re a sick man, you know that?”

“I’m looking on the bright side. We’re alive. We’re together. Which means we can still murder Pascal and rebuild.”

“What an optimist.”

“That’s me, looking on the bright side of life.”

“Seriously though, if he’s talking with the Biancos, that’s really bad, right?”

“Depends what the Biancos think.” He kisses me again before standing up and checking his phone. He dashes off a text and paces across the room. “They might see through his bullshit. Or they might decide it’s in their best interests to take his side.”

“Can they really do that much damage?”

He nods grimly. “Yes, my wife, they really can.” He kneels down in front of me and takes my hands between his. “But we’re alive. That’s what matters.”

“We’re alive,” I echo, leaning my forehead into his. “I’m just scared, that’s all.”

“I know you are, but we’re getting through this.” His grip on my hands tightens. “I swear to you, baby, we’re going to survive this, and when we do, you’re going to thrive. I’m going to make you my queen.”

My stomach does twists. That’s all I want—to be his queen, to be his wife in earnest—but right now, it feels like that’s not possible. Not here, not in this city, not with Dusan hunting us and his grandfather trying to finish us off.

“I’ll do anything for you, you know that?”

“I know, baby. All I need is for you to stay here and to stay safe.” He runs his thumb down my cheek and kisses my neck before standing. “I need to make more coffee. We have guests on the way.”

I let him poke around in the kitchen while I think about all the different factions at play here. There’s Julien and Pascal; Dusan and his family; the Biancos and their forces; Ronan and hispeople. Plus, a dozen other little groups, Capos, squads, related businesses, and more. All these moving pieces whirl around the room and I don’t know if I can keep up with them.

The knock at the door makes me jump. Julien settles me first before answering.

Ronan and Niall enter, both men looking grim. Julien gets them settled at the kitchen table and brings them coffee as I take a seat across from the pair. Ronan looks surprisingly good for a guy that got shot just a couple of days earlier—the bandage on his shoulder is hidden underneath a crisp white button-down and a slim jacket.

He was lucky. The bullet entered his right shoulder, missed his lung by inches, and went straight out his back. All that blood was from the clean entry and exit wounds. Since he got relatively quick medical care, all he needs to do is heal.

“You know, Ronan, you need to get shot more often,” Julien says as he sits down beside me at the table.

Niall snorts. “That’s what I told him.”

“You fought like a beast even though you were bleeding all over the place.”

“Not much of a choice.” Ronan frowns at Julien and leans back, crossing his arms. He looks stiff and moves gingerly. “It’s a miracle we got out of there. All credit to your men.”

“Half of whom are dead at this point.” Julien looks to the side as though he’s remembering something. “I’m guessing Dusan is very proud of himself.”

“Dusan won’t be a problem for long.” Ronan sits forward, his face hard. “That fucker shot me. I don’t take that kindly.”

“I guess if there’s one silver lining to my mansion burning to the ground, it’s that you’re finally coming around to this war.”

“We need to discuss next moves,” Niall says, cutting in. “The whole city’s in an uproar right now. That attack was much too big to bury.”

“He’s right, it’s all over the fucking news.” Ronan gestures with his mug and some coffee sloshes over the edge. “Dusan’s usually smarter than that. Now we have everyone’s fucking attention.”

“We’ll have to be careful,” Julien says. “But we also have to move fast.”

“How much strength do you have left?” Ronan asks.

“That I can count on? A couple dozen men, plus a few more wounded. I’d say twenty-five that are reliable.”

Ronan grunts and I can tell he doesn’t like it. Twenty-five men isn’t very many, all things considered, and I can tell the situation is dire by the look Niall and Ronan share with each other.

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