Page 139 of Vicious Princess
“Yes, exactly. In fact, it may even worsen the situation because the three siblings don’t always see eye to eye. Believe it or not, Gloria’s not the worst out of the three,” he says. “So today we have three targets instead of one.”
“Wonderful,” I mutter. “How do we kill all three of them without setting off the alarms and getting killed ourselves?”
“That’s where the change of plans comes into play. There’s the fourth entrance, the one we used the other night to escape. We’ll use it to get inside and make our way close to Gloria’s office. Later today, she and her brothers are meeting another Caligos family to discuss merging their businesses.”
“Are all of them going to be Decarios?”
Daegel shakes his head. “The other family, Akitake, are not Decarios. Yet they’re very wealthy and powerful. But Gloria’s brothers are Decarios.”
I nod, trying to process the information. Three siblings, possibly two of Gloria’s bouncers, maybe more—all Decarios. Plus, this Akitake family and whoever they bring.
“How are the two of us taking out that many people?” I frown. “Do you know if the Akitake family has Decarios amongst their security?”
“I don’t know. But it’s safe to assume they do, considering their wealth. They’ll surely bring them here today. Sho Akitake is not a stupid fae. He won’t go into negotiations with Gloria without being armed to his damned teeth.”
“We need backup,” I say.
“If we say anything to any Ezkai, they’ll know,” Daegel says carefully. “So far, they have no solid evidence on my or my family’s relationship to Caligos. This can be enough to condemn me and them.”
Gods fucking damn it.I grind my teeth, and breathe while I count to ten.
“Fine. We don’t tell the Ezkai,” I say. “But we can’t go in there just the two of us. We’ll be incredibly outnumbered. We need at least one other person to better our odds. Someone damn good.”
“I don’t trust anyone,” Daegel says.
I rise to my feet. “You’re in luck, because I trust someone just enough.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Thankfully Roman’s stationed as one of the fae patrolling the perimeter of the warehouse. I find him in a narrow alley not far from where I was hiding on the roof.
“What’s up?” Roman jerks his chin at me, stepping out of the shadows.
I shake my head. “Not here. Follow me.”
Without asking any questions, my only fae friend does. We quickly make our way back to the rooftop where Daegel waits. He’s less than impressed when he sees Roman with me.
I don’t care.
We need backup, and Roman is the only one skilled enough to be a valuable ally in a fight. While he’s smart enough to figure things out, and it puts us—putsDaegel—at risk, I trust him in my gut not to betray me.
Roman kneels, making himself as small as possible so that the enemy doesn’t notice his tall frame hanging out on one of the neighboring roofs.
“This is not part of Ezkai Gavriel’s plan,” Roman says, looking between me and Daegel.
“There has been a change of plans,” I say. “If we follow Ezkai Gavriel’s plan, not only will be fail, but we’ll be fucking dead.”
Roman purses his lips. “I told you we can’t trust that old prune. Nobody as uptight as he is should be assigned to lead.”
I snort a laugh. “Noted for the future, Roman.”
“I assume you called me here because you have a new plan,” Roman says.
I nod. “Yes.”
Before the next words come out of my mouth, I pause. My heart flutters in my chest, as if it’s a hummingbird trapped in a cage of flesh and bone.
If I’m wrong about this, if Roman isn’t my friend, then I will condemn Daegel.
