Page 63 of Red Queen (Red Thorns Crew 3)

I smiled. “What if we convinced him that he’s got a chance to kill me? You think he won’t take it? I mean, really?”

“He’s in a hospital bed recovering from a gunshot wound to his gut, Max.”

I shrugged. “So he’ll send someone in his place. Someone who wants the job done as badly as he does.”

He blinked. “You’re not saying…?”

I nodded. “Benji.”

The guys fell silent around me as John fell against the back of his chair.

“You know damn good and well Dad will leave it to Benji. Especially since he succeeded in getting me tied up in that fucking warehouse. That’ll be proof enough for Dad that he can get the job done. Especially with emotions running high.”

John sighed. “Dad never was good at separating his actions from his emotions.”

“Exactly. He sees that as a strength, but we can easily turn it into a weakness.”

“How does that get Rupert off the hook?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. But if Benji’s caught trying to take me out, you think he won’t sing like a bird for the cops?”

“If Dad doesn’t kill him first.”

“This is Rupert we’re talking about. We’ve got to do something.”

“You don’t think I know that, Max? I just don’t want to go around trying to get people killed on some long-shot idea that might not work.”

I smiled. “Got any better ones? Because I’m all ears if you do.”

The room fell silent as my guys looked around at one another. No one had a better idea because there was none. This was our last shot. Our last chance at bringing down my father for good. And the only chance we had at freeing Rupert from these fucking charges. My brother pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. John sighed.

“He’s not going to trust a little fuck-up like Benji with something like this, Max. There’s too much risk for fallout.”

I licked my lips. “Which is why we play directly into Dad’s--”

“If he gets caught--”

I interrupted him. “Dad will have taken precautions. You know how calculating he is.”

“And yet we’re planning on using his emotions against him? You’re talking in opposites.”

“No, you’re just not listening.”

“If Benji gets caught, Dad’s going to scrub everything, cut that cord, and let our cousin flail. That’s what he does, Max. Dad will let that asshole rot in jail and he won’t shed one tear for it. Benji is the no-risk option.”

“Which is why we have to use this moment. Think about it, John, just for a second. Listen to me. Benji is no-risk. You just said it. Dad’s other men aren’t like that, though. They’re not as desperate. They’re not as emotional when it comes to all of this. Benji will want me dead badly enough to do whatever Dad tells him to do. And it will mess with both of their judgment.”

John shook his head. “This is complicated and diluted. We’re hinging this on some other-worldly force we can’t control.”

I snickered. “And when has Dad ever been a force we could control?”

Silence fell between us as I reached for another piece of toast.

“I’m right about this, John. I know I am. Dad’s got a raw nerve exposed right now, and it’s directly linked to Benji. Does it have other ways it could spin that aren’t good for us? Yes. But so does every other fucking situation with that man. This is the best option we’ve got, even if it isn’t good. With the hand we’ve got and what’s at stake, this is our play. Even you can’t deny that.”

John blinked. “There really isn’t another way?”

“Let me finish my coffee and you think about it. Then we can talk.”

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