Chapter 23

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And it all begins to come undone…

Rowan

"Concerning the Maxim Project and our lead…" Corbin begins, fifteen minutes into today's first meeting. Ever since dismissing Granger, his men, and his influence, meetings have gone smoother. More productive. Almost pleasant. The usual issues of territory scuffles, government pressure, and maintaining our bottom lines are easy compared to the unrest I grew used to.

It's truly remarkable just how much stress a human can grow to tolerate.

Corbin continues, "We only have a few weeks before this event takes place. We need to station security, backup. Not to mention that we need access. It's crazy formal. Invitation only. We won't even know exactly where it's taking place until we're on the list. All we have is the city."

Drawing circles into Briar's waist, I glance down at where she's seated on my lap, playing Lily's Garden. In the last fifteen minutes, she's managed to finish something like twenty levels without losing a single heart. The feat is almost as impressive as her deeply bored expression, which suggests she's busy taking notes.

I'm not even sure she's paying attention.

Antonio, a capo in charge of keeping Veleno's borders secure, confirms that he can offer enough men without compromising the integrity of our territory, but it won't do us much good without invitations. A few more captains weigh in on what they can offer, but—again—nothing helps much without invitations.

Briar finishes another level, stretches her neck, and sighs. "I have a contact who can get us invitations."

Corbin's brows rise. "You do?"

"I know a Pratt."

My men stiffen as wide eyes dart from one to another. Among them, Louis speaks up, "The Pratts are notoriously difficult to work with. They only care about one thing."

"Money," Corbin states. "And they get it in the ways we've decided are no longer acceptable."

Antonio releases a tight breath and draws his fingers over his short beard. "I hesitate to broach any favors with them."

A cool smile crosses Briar's lips as she drops her attention to the next level of Lily's Garden. "Don't worry about it."

Louis blusters. "Don't worry about… Miss Rosanera, this is a matter of utmost importance."

Antonio's expression darkens. "Putting ourselves on Pratt radars while we are recovering from recent changes is unwise."

Briar lifts her hips, retrieves her personal phone from her capris pocket, and unlocks it. After a few moments, she shows me the screen.

Briar: Hey, Spartan. Don't ask questions. I need two VIP tickets to that thing happening in Pittsburgh in a few weeks. Can you hook me up?

3Spartan3: Yup. 3

Briar: 3 3 3

Raising a brow at the emoji choice, I mumble, "She's already done it."

While I'm deducing that Spartan must be the youngest Pratt son, Briar plucks her phone from my fingers. "I've already done it."

Corbin winces. "What do we owe them?"

Briar shrugs. "A drink, maybe?" Cocking her head back against my chest, she scans the room. "Boys, please. This is called having friends. I highly recommend trying it sometime."

"Well then…" Corbin clears his throat and turns toward Salvatore. "If that hurdle is tackled, do we have a progress report from you?"

Business drones on from there, and Briar excuses herself forty minutes before the end so she can make it to another meeting with Aster at The Giungla. Shortly after dismissal, while I'm contemplating what paperwork to start on next, she texts me.

From my own iPad.

To assure me of three things:

First, she's hit level one hundred in Lily's Garden. Second, the invitations just came through, so we're all set. And third, her meeting with Aster is going to take a while, so she won't be back in time for dinner.

Staring at Rowan's iPad in the address line, I message back that the second I get my tablet back from her, I'm deleting her game. Also, she really shouldn't be messaging my personal phone with any business-relevant information.

She assures me I'll never see my iPad again, meetings and party invites aren't illegal, and our FBI agent is probably more proud of her accomplishments in Lily's Garden than I am—which means I'm doing a crap job of love-bombing her.

I'm sighing and cutting my fingers through my hair before I realize that while most of my men filed out of the room after the meeting ended, Corbin is still here.

Pocketing my phone, I meet his eyes. "Was there something else?"

"Were you just messaging Briar?"

"She confirmed the receipt of our invitations."

His brown eyes narrow as he leans back in his leather chair. "That was fast."

"She's efficient."

"Is that how she got you wrapped around her little finger so fast? Efficiency?"

My phone buzzes in my pocket, but I resist the urge to check it. "Probably."

His fingers rap against his thigh.

I mimic his posture, relaxing back in my chair. "What's going on, Cor?"

Shaking his head, he reaches for his condensating glass of ginger ale, which he neglected throughout the meeting. Tipping the ice against the rim, he peers in at the pale liquid. "I've been meaning to find a moment to talk to you."

"About…Briar?"

"She appears out of nowhere, violates our security, sweeps you away for a private meeting, convinces you to claim her as your fiancee, and becomes a propelling agent in rewriting entire aspects of our business model. In a matter of months."

"Has she not been exactly what we've needed? Profits are growing. We're regaining internal stability. We have an extended web of leads and connections through her."

Without taking a sip, Corbin puts the glass back down and meets my eyes. "So, since she's been helpful, she's allowed to take part in our meetings now?"

"A main topic of today's meeting involved her."

"And somehow being on your lap also involved her?"

I arch a brow. "What does that matter? Worse displays happen in broad daylight around here. She's my fiancee. We're living together." I lacked some restraint and pulled her along with me before she could find her own chair. Lacking restraint where it concerns her seems to have become a recurring issue.

"If you expect me to believe you're the kind of person who would make a political move like marrying someone, you're ignoring all the years we've spent together. You don't have that kind of exploitation in you." Sighing, he says, "She's too…convenient."

"Your point, Cor?" I murmur.

"We've been through a lot. I think I deserve the truth. Why are you actually trusting her and faking an engagement?"

"Who says our engagement is fake?"

He regards me, dryly. "Are you really going to sit there and insult me like this, Rowan? You'll have to forgive me for believing you take commitment a little more seriously."

I roll my eyes off the closest thing I've ever had to a friend. "Her methods work. You can't deny the good she's brought to Veleno."

"True. But I can question how her influence has paved the way to weaken our numbers."

"Losing Granger and his men didn't weaken us. We both know he'd have stabbed us in the back the first chance he got. She's strengthened our finances and unified us. If she wanted us weak, she could have leveraged Granger against us."

"Rowan, we don't know her motivations. That makes her dangerous."

"She wants to find her parents."

"That's why she's helping us track down the Maxim Project. What reason does she have to help us beyond that? And if she has access to names like Pratt, what do we even bring to her table? If she entered into this ploy under a guise that she needed muscle to back her connections, why us and not them?"

"Last I checked, the Maxim Project hadn't spirited away any of the Pratts."

"Last I checked, both Pratt sons were married, meaning Briar wouldn't have been able to manipulate either of them at quite the same emotional depth."

I stand. "Did you ever think that maybe there are other kind people left in this world? Maybe we aren't the only ones who want to make things better, without any personal gain? Her methods work, and her manipulation has left us stronger."

He grimaces. "I think you get too emotionally-invested in people. You've been raised to reason away red flags in order to cope with them. You care way too much for the position you're in."

"If more people cared a little too much, we wouldn't have to clean up so many messes."

"You're running a crime syndicate, Rowan. Care is a luxury. Blind trust results in bullet wounds." He rubs his face and scratches his jaw. "You can strip down the rackets that cause the most direct harm, but in the end we're not the good guys. We're always going to need to break a few bones in this business, and you can't rely on pretty promises from pretty strangers just because you fancy them."

"What are you suggesting I do? Disappear like my parents? Leave Veleno to someone with more malice and less faith in humanity?"

His fist clenches as he drops it back into his lap and rises. "No. We need your good heart here if for nothing else than to keep the truly wretched things in check. Everything we once dreamed about is coming together. I just don't want to lose you along the way, and I don't think there's a good enough reason to put our faith in Rosanera, or its chaotic little princess." His expression darkens. "I don't trust for a moment that she's on anyone's side but her own."

"I can handle her."

"Are you sure about that? Do I really need to remind you that you trusted your parents before we met?"

My chest tightens. "You don't."

"I'm worried."

"You don't have to be. Briar doesn't concern you. Got it?"

Corbin lifts his hands and averts his eyes, murmuring, "Fine. If you say so…you're the boss."