Page 121 of Delirium
“Yeah, but can we trust him?” Atlas asked. “I didn’t really like him when he first came. I don’t want us to get entangled with someone who’s lying to us.”
“I don’t think that any of us would want that,” Ophelia added. “But he does have a point. If the cartel and Albanians get together, with some of the smaller gangs around the country, they’ll be unstoppable. We have a lot of people working for us, and I know that Lazar would support all of us, but we are stronger united.”
“Birdy, there’s too much bad blood between all our families. Hell, we’re Nightingales, and even with our father behind bars, there are still people who will come for us to exact revenge for what he did to them. Frankly, I don’t want to bring that to your doorstep.”
“I know you don’t,” Ophelia murmured. “But I also don’t want anything to happen to you guys. If getting into this Alliance with Casimir is a good thing, and if we all agree to certain terms and conditions, I think it could work. The Outfit still holds the majority of East Coast, Kieran, and we hold the West Coast. With the Romano family in the north, we could be unstoppable and they wouldn’t be able to break us if we work together.”
“If we rally together, we could eradicate them completely,” I added, looking at Kieran. “Albanians are holding the South Central part of the country, and they’re already on the border with Mexico, which gives them and the cartel an advantage. They’re at the very entrance to the country, and they control the route that’s leading into South America.”
“So you’re saying that we should create an alliance with Casimir?” Maya asked, sitting next to Cillian. Kieran’s head swiveled her way, but she paid him no attention, her eyes firmly fixed on me.
“Yes.” I nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Look guys,” I started, my eyes traveling over Kieran, Cillian, and Maya, then Felix and Zoe and finally Indigo and Atlas. “There’s no doubt that we’re strong individually. We have resources and manpower. We hold certain territories, but would we be able to hold on if they decide to attack us?”
Silence ensued as I asked the most obvious question. I knew we were all very well aware of the dangers lurking behind the closed doors. Hell, this entire situation with Belladonna had taught us that enemies tend to lie hidden from us until they decide to attack.
“The Cartel is ruthless,” Maya started, looking at the floor. “They take no prisoners. They don’t care if you’re a woman or a child. Their leader, the man they call El Chupacabra, is a dangerous motherfucker. Trust me, I’ve seen him in person. I’ve spoken to him. I know how he works, and he won’t stop until he takes a hold of the entire US.”
Kieran frowned at her words, his hands twitching in his lap, but he didn’t move. There was so much pain, so much anger with which Maya spoke and I couldn’t even imagine the monstrosities she survived throughout the years before Kieran found her.
“I think we should definitely consider creating that Alliance,” she murmured, looking up at Ophelia and me. “But we need to set the rules. Rules that Casimir won’t be able to break.”
“I think he cares about Skylar too much to break those rules,” Atlas added. “She’s his sister, his real sister. He might not be the best person to keep around because of his shady cult, but he won’t stop until she’s safe. Trust me, I almost feel bad for Judah Blackwood, because Casimir will rip that man apart.”
“He will need to get in line,” Cillian grunted. “Look, guys, is this the best solution? Probably not. We’ve all always worked on our own, independently, hell, even fighting between each other. But is it a smart decision to make? Most probably yes.”
“Phee,” I murmured, looking at her. “What do you think?”
She kept her eyes on the group in front of us before slowly looking up at me, placing her hand over mine right on top of her belly.
“I think we need to arrange a meeting between all of us and Casimir. We need to talk it through.”
“I can call Nico,” I offered. “They’ll need to be here as well.”
“Maybe after the New Year?” Ophelia added. “Alessia is supposed to give birth any day now, and I don’t think that Nico would want to be away from Ventus City right now.”
“Then in January,” I murmured, pressing my lips to her hair. “We’ll meet in January to discuss it all.”
“We’re okay with that,” Kieran said.
“I’ll contact Lazar,” Ophelia murmured, pulling herself upright. “But now, I really need to pee.” She chuckled, slowly getting up from the couch and almost wobbling through the room, all the way to the hallway.
I could feel eyes on me as I stared at the hallway, almost counting the minutes until she came back.
“Man, you’re pussy whipped.” Atlas chuckled.
“I am.” I grinned. “And I don’t mind. Not even a little bit.”
I thought I would mind. I thought I would be one of those men who didn’t want to show his feelings to the rest of the world, but having Ophelia, even with all our fucked-up problems, made me appreciate what we shared so much more. After everything we’d been through and everything we did to each other, I knew I wouldn’t waste a day without showing her how much she meant to me, how much I loved her.
Life was too short to spend it hiding our emotions. If I could, I would shout from the top of the mountain how much I loved her, how much she changed my life.
Even during those moments where hatred seemed to be the only emotion between us, I knew she was it. She was my beginning, my ending, my sun, moon, and stars, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The situation with Belladonna made me want to keep her next to me twenty-four hours, seven days a week, but I knew that she would probably stab me if I even attempted something like that. I was learning what the balance was, letting the one you loved have a life separate from you, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t need you.
It just meant that your love was strong enough to withstand anything, and that chains were just the tools to end a good thing and not to start it.
“Did you tell her?” Zoe whispered, looking toward the hallway where Ophelia disappeared.
