As the others assemble so we can share what happened, Brick claps my shoulder. "Remember, this is just the beginning," he says, eyes glinting. "Stay sharp."
I meet his gaze and nod. We're ready.
Chapter forty-seven
The Following Day
We're sitting at the large table in the kitchen, scanning websites for additional intel, when Dom's phone lights up. He glances at the caller ID and his shoulders tense.
"Yeah," he answers gruffly. There's a pause as he listens, his jaw clenching. "How bad?"
Another pause. Dom's eyes meet mine, his expression grim.
"Shit. Alright. Keep me updated." He ends the call and slams his phone down, his eyes wide.
"Tane's lost it. Fired his whole inner circle today, replaced them already with some secret team he's been training."
"Shit," I echo. My mind races, thoughts of Tane's ruthlessness swirling. This is bad news. Real bad. Or is it? It might be helpful to have him off-kilter from his usual poised self.
Dom runs a hand over his face. "He's getting paranoid. Desperate. That kind of move never ends well."
I nod, dread pooling in my gut. If Tane unravels, the whole island could erupt into chaos. We've seen what he's capable of when he feels threatened. How far will he go to maintain control?
"We need to keep our ears to the ground," I say. "A storm is coming, but we need to make sure we follow our plan, even if Tane is losing it."
Dom's eyes meet mine again, steely with determination. "We'll ride it out. We always do."
His words steady me. Together, we've weathered worse.
I take a long sip of my water, letting the icy cool liquid ground me. There's a tension in the air now, a shift. Word of Tane's power play will spread quickly through the island's underbelly.
"He's not just replacing people, though," Dom says after a moment. "I'm hearing he's using their families as leverage. Threatening them to keep the new guys in line."
My blood turns to ice in my veins. Going after innocent family members isn't a new thing for Tane, but as far as I know he hasn't targeted the families of his own men before.
"Fuck," I spit out. "That's not going to go over well."
Dom shakes his head, his expression thunderous. "No. Morale is tanking. People are questioning their loyalty. It's a mess."
I rake a hand through my hair, adrenaline spiking through me. "If his crew abandons him, Tane won't hesitate to burn everything down on his way out."
The thought makes my pulse pound in my ears. What will that mean for the rest of us, caught in the crossfire of Tane's breakdown? How do we protect ourselves and the people we care about from the wrath of a madman?
Dom's hand clasps my shoulder, steadying me. "We've got this, brother. One day at a time. We look out for our own."
I meet his resolute gaze and nod. Together, we've got this.
I grimace. "Let me make a few calls. Maybe we can use this to our advantage. I'm guessing the old crew didn't take kindly to being replaced."
"That's putting it mildly. Word is, anyone who walks gets a bullet in the back of the head." Dom's jaw clenches. "Lawrence tried to resign this morning… you know, the one who was raving about Slade and Aria's sticky man ribs. Tane had him executed on the spot. Shot him right in the head as he went to leave through the front door."
"Fuck," I curse, shock rippling through me. Lawrence was one of Tane's most trusted men. Ruthless, but we'd broken bread together over the years before heworked his way up. And he really did like those sticky ribs at Aria's soft opening. I guess he'll never get to know what was in them. Sometimes it's better not to read the nutritional label.
Dom nods, his eyes hard. "The ranks are turning on Tane. Nobody wants to work for a psycho who kills you for handing in your notice."
My mind races, thoughts of Aria and her safety overtaking everything else. "This could destabilize the entire island's underworld. We need to get in there first, before anyone else takes advantage of his doom spiral."
"We need to be ready for anything," Dom says grimly.