Page 134 of Beautiful Ruins
Marcello’s mouth twisted.“Don’t make me repeat it.I’m already uncomfortable.”
He looked at Atlas.“I think we should protect him.”
Atlas’s gaze flicked to me.I didn’t hesitate.
“He saved my family.”
That was the only reason I needed.
“And?”Atlas tested my loyalty to Archie—not challenging, but confirming.
“And we don’t abandon men who save our family,” I reminded them.“If we do that, we’re no better than the bastards we just buried.”
Silence held for a beat.
Atlas nodded.“Unanimous.”
Marcello sighed.“There goes my quiet month.”
Gianni cracked his knuckles.“Who’s delivering the message?”
Atlas looked at me like it was obvious.
I stood, pushing away from the desk.“I will.”
Gianni’s eyes gleamed.“Careful, Raze.The last time you delivered a message, you levelled half a district.”
Marcello shook his head at the memory, but there was a fondness in it.“Any idea who sanctioned the hit?”
“It was only mentioned in passing by someone who knew my history with Archie and thought I still had beef with him.I can find out.”
“We need this contract to disappear,” Atlas said.
“And if it doesn’t disappear?”
Atlas’s expression hardened slightly as he looked at me.“Then it’s war.”
I nodded once.
When the three of them finally stepped back out into the hallway, Marcello paused, glancing toward the stairs.
“You’ve got peace in this house now,” he commented.
“For the moment.”
Marcello’s eyes met mine.“Try not to burn it down.”
I held his gaze.“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Gravel crunched as the cars backed out and disappeared down the driveway.
I stayed in my office a moment longer, staring at nothing.
Archie.
A man half the world hated, and half the world owed.
I stood and headed for the stairs.Izzy and Tone were waiting upstairs, thinking the war was over.It was.But wars had a way of leaving behind smaller battles.And sometimes, the battles you chose after the war were the ones that defined you.
