Page 71 of A Fine Line

Lilith leans into him, bumping him with her shoulder as she gives him a fond look. “It’s so great how well things have been going since I’ve been gone. You and Nettie have managed to clean up the place.”

“Your work over in Europe has been helping as well. It’s almost like we’ve been working in tandem to take out all the vermin. It’s been a very exciting time,” Mickey replies with exhilaration in his eyes.

And then, Nettie adds, “I was pleasantly surprised with how seamless the transition was. Most everyone jumped right on board with the new business plan. We’ve been keeping track of a few people who opted out, and so far, they’ve managed to stay aboveboard.”

Matt sighs, poking at his keyboard a bit violently as he brings up some charts on the screen. “Since we have no direct leads, most of the data I’ve been able to compile and analyze indicates our best option is to head back to Europe.”

Everyone groans, and then Tony says, “We have to make accommodations for Carolina and Flora before we go anywhere. I don’t think that’ll take very long, but maybe we leave in the morning?”

“Let’s give it a day since we have to hop a redeye flight back anyway. That’ll give me more time to double-check some dates and come up with a streamlined itinerary.”

Mickey turns to Tony and says, “I have a couple of families over here we trust implicitly, and they’re behind gates most of the time. It’ll be good for Flora to be with kids around her age so she can adjust to life as a normal child.”

Tony nods and opens his mouth to say something else, but Carolina interrupts him. “Excuse me? Are y’all really making decisions for me right now?”

Tony turns wide eyes on her as she steps closer and says through his gritted teeth, “Yes. I am.”

She doesn’t even blink, just taking another step into him until she’s right in his face. “I don’t think so.”

They stand there for a few moments, chest to chest, silently staring into each other’s eyes. The tension in the room is palpable, and I sidle over to Nettie, motioning for her to hand over Flora, who comes willingly as I whisper, “How about we go for a little stroll? Check out the place.”

No one says anything as I turn and walk away, but Lilith and Mickey fall into step on either side of me, and Lilith says under her breath, “What happened to Carolina while she was gone?”

Mickey adds, “Right? I was under the impression she was a meek little mouse.”

I glance over my shoulder in time to see her poking Tony in the chest, obviously having some choice words for him.

I turn back to Lilith and Mickey with a laugh. “Seems my sister is going to give Tony a run for his money.”

Lilith cackles gleefully. “I can’t wait to watch!”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Carolina

Idon’tknowwhythese people think they can keep making decisions for me without consulting me, but I’m unbelievably sick of it. Tony has gone out of his way to help me feel empowered. He has reminded me time and time again that I choose, and I make decisions for myself. And now, here we are, standing toe to toe, ready to brawl over a choice that should be entirely mine.

Everyone around us is completely silent, likely sitting back and waiting to see what will happen next. But if anyone thinks I’m gonna back down on this, they’re gonna find out they’re wrong. I poke him in the chest with two fingers as I spit out, “Nope.”

I move to prod him in the chest again, and he grabs my hand, holding it firmly when I try to yank it away, so I continue, “This is my fight just as much as it is anyone else’s. You don’t get to decide what role I play at this point.”

His jaw clenches, and I can tell he wants to argue, but Nettie steps up beside us, resting her hand on his shoulder as she says, “She’s right, Tony. I know it sucks, I know it’s difficult for you, and you want to keep her out of harm’s way, but it’s not up to you.”

He glances at her, then he looks beyond her to where Darius and Matt are leaning against the table. “Help me out, guys.”

Matt says nothing, just giving him a sympathetic look, but then Darius answers, “You know I’d put them all in a safe house until the end of days if I had a choice, but you also know I’ve had to learn the hard way that that choice isn’t mine to make. Even now, if I thought I could get away with sneaking Antoinette, Carolina, and Aggie out of danger, I’d do it. But the fact of the matter is, I don’t have that kind of power.”

Tony huffs out a breath, turns back to me, and asks, “What about Flora? Don’t you think you have a responsibility to her as her mother to not go on a suicide mission?”

“I owe it to my little girl to stand up for myself. Now I know she’s safe, that no one can get to her, I owe it to her and to myself to put an end to all of it, so it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

His features twist in a grimace, and he looks away for a moment and then looks back at me, saying, “It’ll never be over, sweetheart. Doesn’t matter how many of them we kill or how many organizations we shut down; they pop up faster than we can take them out.”

“So, what? Does that mean we stop trying?”

He looks back over to where Matt, Dare, and Antoinette are lined up, leaning against the desk. “I can’t,” he says and then chokes, pausing for a few beats before clearing his throat and continuing, “There has to be another way.”

Dare shakes his head, his shoulders lifting as he responds, “I’m getting some déjà vu here, man. We’ve switched positions, but at least now, I can answer that question from experience.” He pauses, his eyes moving to Antoinette as he continues, “Visceral agony at the mere thought that something will go wrong because lord knows something always goes wrong. Having to acknowledge and accept how destroyed you would be without her. I totally get it.” He stops talking, turns his eyes back to Tony, and adds, “You have to remember that the other option would be living with a demoralized, empty shell of the person you’re hoping to save. What right do we have to try to steal their spirit and mold it to suit us? Isn’t it their spirit that drew us to them in the first place?”

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