Brien let out a low whistle. “They’ll crucify her. And if they don’t, she’ll wish they did.”
“Yeah.” My voice came out like gravel. The crawling tension ratcheted up. “Screw it. We’re not taking her. I won’t risk her, damn it.”
“She seems dead set on coming,” Brien pointed out in neutral tones.
“Too bad. I’ll toss her ass back in that cell if I have to. I don’t care if she hates me for it. At least she’ll be alive.”
Brien leaned forward, hands braced on his knees. “Whatever you decide, the syndicate will back you. One hundred percent.”
Talon nodded, silent and solid.
“But—?” I said because I knew there was more.
“But this woman—Perla—is Nyx’s friend. And without Nyx, getting her out of there is dicey. If we don’t take Nyx and something goes wrong, she’ll never forgive you. Realistically, we might not even reach Perla without Nyx’s help. It’s Nazaire’s lair, his turf. We’re not talking a clean extraction, we’re talking a dirty fight, blood and teeth, no holds barred. And from what Nyx says, we’ll be outnumbered three-to-one.”
“Nazaire might even kill Perla out of spite,” Talon added.
My fangs pricked at my gums. “Then we bring more people,” I shot back. “Fight harder.”
“How do we get them in without Nyx’s help?”
“I don’t fucking care. We’ll blow up the damn lair if we have to.”
“We can do that,” Brien agreed. “But if Nazaire survives, Nyx will never be safe. He’ll know if he gets to her, he’ll have you—her mate.”
My mouth pulled sideways. “But we’re not mates, remember? Because?—”
“She said no.” Brien sat back, one brow raised.
“Hell.” Mind reeling, I gazed at the dancers without seeing them as I finally connected the dots. “That’s why she rejected the bond. She knew that if she accepted, Nazaire would try to use it against us.” I dropped my head into my hands. “I have to let her come, don’t I? I don’t have a fucking choice.”
“Yeah,” said Brien. “It might be the only shot we’ve got at prying Nyx out of his grip for good.”
“Fuck.” A red haze filled my vision. I dug my fingers into my temples, fighting the panic clawing at my lungs.
Brien’s laugh held zero humor. “Mating’s a bitch, isn’t it?”
I stared at him, fear a yawning cavity inside me. “I can’t lose her. I…won’t come back from it.”
Talon’s expression hardened. “Not happening,” he said. “We know what we have to do—get to Perla first. We don’t give Nazaire a chance to use Nyx as leverage. Then we end that sonuvabitch, once and for all. Brothers forever, yeah?”
He extended his left hand, palm raised, and I felt the phantom sting of the old wound, the vow sealed in blood.
We came to our feet at the same time. I slapped my palm against his and held it there, our fingers interlocked. “Brothers forever.”
Brien stood, too, and for the first time ever, wrapped his hand around ours. And damn if a gold spotlight didn’t swing over our heads like some kind of blessing.
“Brothers forever,” he said.
My throat burned. I couldn’t speak or move. I just stood there, letting it sink in—these two really were my brothers. Men who’d follow me straight into the grave if I asked.
Brien’s grip loosened first. “But just in case, we need a Plan B.”
“Yeah. But first—” I hauled them both in, an arm around each of their necks. “Thanks, you mofos.”
I got a couple of grunts in return. But they understood.
By the time I let them go, I had our backup plan. It came to me whole, like my subconscious had been working on it for a long time.