Page 25 of Mafia Rules

“What’s this?” I take it from her hand and open it.

“This is a cleanup list. My uncle wasn’t very good with the books. There are more names.” She points to the bottom of the list, where unfamiliar names are listed in red. “Thirty more.”

“I can’t pay thirty more, Sasha.” I step back from her as if the paper had lit my hand on fire.

“I know it’s a lot. And Carl didn’t do his due diligence. But I promise you, this is the full list.” She steps back, sensing I need my personal space after this news.

“This changes the deal. I don’t have the money to pay thirty more people off. This deal is no longer viable.” I pace back and forth, my heart racing from the number of new payoffs and having to see my father in the morning.

“We will try to work with what we have and renegotiate. I’ll do my best. But you can’t get out of the deal, Ash. They won’t let you.”

“What do you mean, won’t fucking let me? We’re the fucking McKenzies, Sasha.”

“Well, that once meant something, but not anymore.” She doesn’t care that her comment will set me off. “Admittedly, there’s been no one to challenge you. But there’s disarray between you and your brothers.”

She’s right, but how the fuck did she know about our business? One of us would take over when our father steps down, and it should be Hardy as the oldest. But he didn’t want it or care. He was too busy with his clubs and girlfriends and was nowhere near settling down. No one would take him seriously if he didn’t.

“So, what do we do?” My stomach churned at asking her that question, at needing her help after she had cheated on me whileengaged. She treated me as if I meant nothing to her while being with the man I despised the most behind my back for over a year.

“We have a plan. Part of that plan is your father. He needs to come back full-time and take some control, if only in name.”

I shake my head. Conceding to my father was the last thing I wanted to do. “He won’t do it in name only. You remember him, right?”

A smile creeps on her face, and a hint of wistfulness lingers in her expression, hinting at the memories of our past. “He will. We will handle him with care. I have a plan.”

“Are they aware of this?” I gesture toward the house where my brothers hid.

“No one will know as much as you.” She places her hand on my arm. “I promise, Ash. I want to make up for everything I did.” She walks past me and down the stairs. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

I don’t reply but watch as she walks to her car in her dainty high heels, the ones I loved seeing her naked in. I shake my head at the memory. She didn’t deserve my thoughts.

“Hey.” Hardy steps out and waves to Sasha as she drives out of the driveway.

“So you know about as much as I do.” My hands grip the railing, turning my fingers white.

“That’s a shitty deal, Ash. You gonna listen to her?”

“Sounds like I have no choice.”

“Just stay away from her as much as you can. Remember—”

“I don’t need you to remind me what she did.” I cut him off and head back down the stairs.

“Come inside and chat with Ford and me. We should prep before seeing the old man in the morning.”

“No need.” I bounce down the steps to my car, needing to get as far away from everyone as possible. Tomorrow morning,there would be more surprises, no doubt. Plus, I’ll see my father for the first time in three years. I might need a morning drink.

15

ASH

By 9:00 a.m., I'd been in the office for three hours. I'd reviewed the information Sasha had provided and was as ready as I could be to see my father. I'd called my car service to pick up Eve, but I still had to think about what to say to her.

I grabbed my phone from my pocket, and there were nine unread text messages from Eve from last night and this morning. I didn't have the energy to look at them. I knew Sasha would make some scene when she saw how close Eve and I were. So, I had to rein it in today, and hopefully, Eve would arrive before the others so we could talk.

"Stella, can you let me know when Eve arrives?" I say, pressing my phone's intercom.

"Yes, sir."

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