“It was a simple decision, a move of sorts. We almost lost Phoenix three times on account that his heart wasn’t being very cooperative. The plan was to inject him with enough potassium chloride to stop his heart for a few brief moments before performing CPR. But the plan was botched when he ran into the line of fire.”
Phoenix tensed next to me; his fingers gripped the table for a brief moment before his shoulders sagged. Yeah the guy was a loose cannon; tell me something I don’t know.
“Once the body was removed, my men had less than two minutes to revive him and stop his organs from failing.” Luca shook his head. “I didn’t think we would be able to—”
“Wait.” Nixon held up his hand. “Is that why you had a clean-up crew ready the minute everything went down with Anthony?”
“Precisely.” Luca nodded. “Frank and I only use the best. We even had a surgeon in one of the vans.”
“Frank?” Nixon’s eyebrows shot up as we all looked in his direction.
Frank leaned forward. “It was for the family.”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Wasn’t it always for the family? We needed to start coming up with a better excuse.
“And Sergio.” Oh shit, wayta throw me under the bus early Luca. “Made it possible to create a whole new identity for Phoenix, he flew him to Italy to infiltrate Campisi and figure out if the family was indeed crumbling as rumors had said to be true.”
“Sergio?” Chase asked.
Now all eyes were on me.
“I did it for family?” I said it more as a question and a joke. Nobody laughed. Well, hell. “It was my job, as a ghost, to protect the information.”
“So Phoenix has been in Sicily?” Tex asked. “Doing what? Vacationing while I get shot at?”
“No, you ungrateful ass,” Phoenix hissed. “I’ve been keeping your sister alive.” He grabbed a shot of whiskey and threw it back, then slammed the glass onto the counter. “You’re welcome.”
Tex paled. “Is she okay?”
Phoenix rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t know since I had to save your sorry ass this afternoon, but I left her in capable hands if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Are we going to go get her?” Tex tried to stand.
“Sit.” Luca snapped his fingers. “All in due time.”
Nixon wiped his face with his hands. “What about Tex?”
“Right here.” Tex raised his hand and waved it back and forth. “You don’t have to speak about me like I’m not in the room.”
“Sorry.” Nixon glared. “What about my bastard of a brother-in-law, Tex?”
Luca opened his mouth to speak then made eye contact with me. It was my turn to hurt him, but words were failing me. Tex’s eyes searched mine and damn if I hated myself for wanting to thrust the knife deeper.
“It was a set up,” Phoenix finally said. “My idea, I’d been hearing rumors about Alfonso wanting to put a number on your head, I figured the best way to keep you safe was to make you like blood, to make you an Abandonato.”
“But…” Tex looked between Luca and Phoenix. “Mo’s pregnant, I mean, she slept with—”
All eyes turned to me.
Oh, this wasn’t going to end well.
Before I could move Tex had launched himself onto my body, his fist coming up to sucker punch me in the face. “You son of a bitch! You got her pregnant! I know you did! I knew it!” Another punch, where a tooth decided to lose itself on behalf of Tex’s fist. “Admit it!”
“Stop!” Luca slammed his hand on the table. “It was a lie!”
Tex stopped punching me, blood caked to his fingers and his face as he reared back and looked at everyone in the room, disbelief marring his features. “What do you mean it was a lie?”
“She’s not pregnant,” I mumbled through a mouthful of blood. “And I didn’t sleep with her.”
“She’s not pregnant.” Tex repeated. “She… lied to me?”
“To protect you,” Phoenix said smoothly. “She figured the only way Nixon would allow you to marry, especially after the whole Campisi episode was to say there was a baby, though it would be impossible to say it was yours considering…”
Right, considering the last time Mo and Tex had slept together had been months ago.
So she had to lie.
And I was the scapegoat. Not that I didn’t make out with her, not that I didn’t try to seduce her later and get horribly rejected.
“But—”
“It’s no longer important.” Frank waved us all off.
Nixon sighed. “Then what is? Where do we go from here?”
“Well.” Frank folded his hands on the table and addressed each and every one of us. “Where one plan fails, another one always succeeds. We still aim to bring down the head and Tex, son, you’re going to be the one to do it.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Lies, lies, and more lies. And just when you think you’re done, you’re asked to repeat the process.
Mo
“ARE YOU SURE you’re okay?” Trace asked as she helped clean me up from our little escapade into Hell. My face was bleeding a little bit and I had a cut above my left eye, but other than that I looked awesome compared to Tex.
“Yeah.” I licked my dry lips. “I’m fantastic.”
“He’s alive,” Mil muttered for the fiftieth time. “I can’t believe it. Did you guys know?”