Page 149 of Vito

Now, we need to face the music and see where we'll land—either returning to San Francisco, safe and sound, or going on the run.

Ohith steps to my side. Knowing what's at stake, he glances at Ash and Dom and then turns to me.

"You did well, son. Axin, our team, and I will take it from here. You need to go to her."

Go to her. Go to Eden. I want nothing more in the world.

But I can't go to Eden yet because Ash and Dom are now in front of me. Massimo joins us, standing beside me to face them.

Tense moments pass as they stare at me, making Ohith and Massimo shift closer.

Dom hooks his thumbs in his jeans, looking nonchalant, but I know that's when he's most lethal. He has a knack for making you think he's your best friend—you'll never know he's plotting your death until he strikes. "So, how long have you been crossing the line into forbidden territory, Vito?"

Now that they know the truth, I decide for full disclosure.

"SinceBabbo's funeral. I hadn't crossed the line yet when we ended Cutt and Jax; it was after," I say to Ash

"That sort of experience can bind two people." His face is impassive. "But you can see how this… complicates things. Gilly's owner-operator can't be fucking one of us. There will be an upheaval with any or all criminal factions."

My hands fist at his classifying what Eden and I have as onlyfucking.

"My daughter," Ohith explicitly refers to Eden that way to remind who she is to him, "will step down from Gilly's."

I swing my head to him. "You don't get to make that call for her, Ohith."

Gilly's is Aiken's legacy, which he left for Eden. Yes, she'd have to give up Gilly's if we ran; but if we don't have to run, she deserves the choice of what do to with what her brother left her.

There's understanding in his eyes. "Son, Eden came back to find Aiken's murderers and to get justice for him. That's the only reason."

"She still gets a say," I insist, and after a moment of studying me, he nods.

Dom rocks back on his heels. "Succession of Gilly's doesn't happen that way. It's upon death."

"Eden is a major reason we were able to save the Chamber." Massimo breaks his silence and openly sides with me. "And that benefits every criminal faction in our city because we keep the environment ripe for profits and success, rather than warring and destruction. There's a way we can work with this so neither Eden nor Vito are harmed."

Ash shakes his head. "I'm not seeing it." He looks at Massimo, then Ohith, and finally me. "But I'm willing to try and figure it out." He turns to Dom.

Dom runs his tongue along his bottom lip, regarding me. "I like you, Vito. I like Ed, too. There's going to be a time, likely soon, that I'll need to call in this favor."

I nod, and Massimo adds, "You'll have whatever you need, Dom."

"That's a bold statement, Mass." He whistles, then shakes his head, his levity fading. "But we have our work cut out to convince the new leadership of the Triads and Fire Clan to agree to this."

If the Chamber wasn’t united before trying to convince all the other leaders of the criminal factions in San Francisco, it was doomed before it started.

But the evidence on the USB of Lixin and Amazu's treachery will help convince Bill and Sile to ‘see our side of reason’—I’m not above manipulation in order to keep Eden safe. The evidence only proves they were working against the Chamber, not the details we uncovered today. But from Massimo's look, I can tells he'll use everything we’ve found out to our advantage.

"That sounds like a tomorrow problem, gentlemen, no?" Ohith cocks his brows. "We have a helluva lot of bodies to deal with."

"Lead the way, old man." Ash grins.

Ohith barks a laugh. "I've heard the Havoc Guardians have taken over some of the contract clean-up work. Hopefully, you're using some of my tried-and-tested methods."

Dom loops his arm around Ohith's shoulders as they're walking away. "So, I may have heard some fanboy nearly fainting in your presence that you're none other than the famous assassin, the Black Ghost."

Massimo and I watch them walk away. "You're not out of the woods yet," he warns.

"Ohith and Axin are prepared for Eden and me to leave from here."

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