He still doesn’t look convinced as to why they should even bother.
“AJ wouldn’t risk us, yet she sends this shit right into our club,” Jude says with an eye roll. “It’s too risky. We can’t be fighting battles outside of our own.”
This time, I lean back in my chair, a cold smile on my lips. Drex is still staring at me.
“There’s a reason she wanted us to know, isn’t there?” Drex, the only perceptive one, asks. “Why do you want him dead?”
“Because two and a half years ago, when we were still the Five Families, Phillip ordered a hit against the heads of the other four Families who were meeting in secret. He was the fifth, but he couldn’t be there because of prison, and his proxy never showed up. The same night, there was a bomb. All the other heads of the Families were killed.”
An audible breath leaves almost everyone at the table, as though they’re piecing together what I’m saying.
“Phillip expected to be able to take over the ports and run his sex trafficking business without interference, but the Four Families had kids—like me—who have been groomed since birth to take over the businesses. Growing up where anything you do could end up in a death sentence as a consequence makes you a little different from your average person. I’m the sanest one of them all, if that tells you anything.”
They all exchange a look, and I smirk.
“Phillip is only alive now because he linked up with the Mexican Cartel. They protected him in prison. They now protect him here in Halo, hiding him as he uses this for a base of operations,” I go on.
They all exchange another look, and I know what they’re figuring out. Jude is about to storm out of this room if I’m reading him right.
“So she didn’t come here to hide from her father. That was yet another lie. She came to find him and kill him,” Jude says quietly.
He stands so fast that the chair flips over, and he stalks out of the room just as I predicted. I cut my gaze to Drex, since he’s running this club.
“The Four Families are all funding my plan to get rid of Phillip,” I tell him, going on like Jude didn’t just slam the door on his way to get far away from this conversation. “His guys came here even before Phillip managed to get out of prison. We have an inside person feeding us information about the container drops. If I hit enough locations and steal enough girls, the money he’s getting from the Cartels will eventually become more cost and less profit. They’ll cut him out and take away his protection if his problems cost them too much money. It’s a slow game, but if it’s effective, the heads of the Families will be patient.”
Drex looks to Axle, and they have a silent conversation. Axle leans up, his arm brushing mine. I don’t pull it away, and he doesn’t move.
“That’s why Sarah wanted us to know. That’s why she wanted you here,” Axle says gruffly.
I nod slowly, assuming he’s put it all together.
“Like I said, the new heads of the Families are all a little crazy. I’m Sarah’s one link to them; her one link to know what’s coming before it comes. Because if my slow plan fails, the psycho kids will blow Halo all to pieces to kill Phillip, and the war with the Mexican Cartel will be inevitable.”
“And it won’t matter if we get dragged into the mess,” Drex goes on, his jaw tensing. “Because we’ll just be collateral damage along the way.”
“Which is why she wants me here. You’ll be granted special concessions for aiding our endeavor—living and all that. The Families will go through me before they make any decisions, because they hope my plan succeeds. They’re crazy, but even they want to avoid a war with the Mexican Cartel.”
I can feel Axle’s gaze on me, but I don’t turn around and risk getting caught in his freaky eye lock that seems to render me stupid. Drex curses before running a hand through his hair.
“Sarah is actually helping us by sending you here,” Axle finally says.
I face him more fully, and I nod. “Yeah. Because if I say run, you’ll survive the hell that will rain down on this place. The Families haven’t been this poised on the trigger since the eighties. The last time the young ones of that generation took over.”
“What about your brother?” Axle asks. “What part does he play in all this?”
I had wondered what business they had with my brother that night. Now I know. He planned to use their special abilities the same way I’m about to. They just didn’t know it was for girls instead of drugs.
“My brother will be the one Phillip thinks is feeding the Four Families information,” I explain, my eyes locked on his pale ones.