Page 50 of Cartel Viper (The Cartel Brotherhood #2)
“Told you, it’s a story for another day.
We start with the Tremblays in Montreal.
I have a favor or two to call in with them.
What I can tell them about the O’Sheehans is information they’ll gladly pass along to the O’Rourkes.
Then Dillan can owe them a favor. It’ll also keep me in the Tremblays’ good books in case Enrique needs to have any dealings with them in the future. ”
My brow furrows. It’s all so complicated when it exists in only half-truths and semi-secrets. The best I can do is remain quiet and nod.
“Do you know Drew’s cousin, Jacob?”
“He’s dead. He’s the one who came for me up on the island. Javi killed him right before the second wave of the attack.”
“Do you know about Jacob’s son?”
“Yeah.”
“They’re supposed to initiate him soon, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Drew doesn’t push him to take out a big target.”
That makes me consider the few initiations I heard about in the past. “You’re right.”
“Before all of this started, his mark could’ve been just about anyone.
Madeline, I would guess dollars to donuts you’re the mark.
He’s a good kid, eager to please, and eager to show up his father.
However, once he learns his dad is dead, he’ll feel honor-bound to avenge him.
It’ll only make him more determined to get to you.
But he’s a boy, not a man. He doesn’t have nearly enough experience to go up against anyone in the Diaz family. ”
“Or you.”
She offers me a half-smile, as though I’ve stated the obvious needlessly. I pretty much did.
“Drew’s looking for a protégé, and he thinks this kid could be it.”
“Madeline, you may be his mark, but he’s mine.
He’s younger than any of my sons, but he’s fair game.
The moment he took up the O’Sheehans’ banner, and especially once he agreed to the initiation, he made himself fair game.
I know he’s still young, so if you’re not on board with that, then look away. ”
She doesn’t say she won’t put a hit on him. She’s telling me to suck it up, buttercup.
“If Timmy is willing to come after me, then he’s fair game for any of us to go after him.” I’m resolute in my statement.
As we watch each other, I feel like I’ve found a kindred spirit. It truly is a shame she and Laura can never become friends because they were cast from the same mold.
“There’s more we can do. Fucking the O’Sheehans over through the Tremblays and going after Drew’s protégé are pretty big. Depending upon how long Javier will hold out will determine what else we do. I can make his life a living hell by getting every federal agency up his ass and out his mouth.”
“I thought the rule was?—”
I bite my bottom lip. I’m unsure how to phrase my question without sounding like I’m accusing her or lumping her in with an official membership into a syndicate.
“You thought the rule was to never help law enforcement. I’m not.
It’s not helping them so much as it is fucking over the O’Sheehans.
It’s not like I’m turning state’s evidence.
But I can drop some anonymous tips that’ll push them in the right direction.
I can have the FBI, ATF, DEA, and the IRS all pushing at each other to get to Drew’s door first. Hell, I can even stagger it so there isn’t a day until his death that he doesn’t have a fed come knocking on his door.
Even once Drew’s gone, that’ll still fuck over the O’Sheehans. ”
“None of them ever did anything to help protect me from Drew. None of them deflected his attention. None of them tried to shield me from his temper or the things he expected me to do. They were all willing to fuck me over, so they can all get fucked.”
Enrique’s known me since I was born. The idea of swearing in front of him makes me feel like a guilty child. I have no such hesitations in front of Elle.
“Then, regardless of what Javier does, we can set those things in motion today.” She studies me for a moment, considering what she wants to say. “Just how far and deep does your hatred reach, Madeline? Because if you want the O’Sheehans gone, I can make them gone.”
“You mean, like, really gone? Or just lose a lot of assets, so they’re not a major player anymore?”
She chuckles, and it makes my blood run cold.
“Madeline, they’ve never been a major player in anything except the kiddie pool.
I don’t know what Drew told you or what he tried to make you think, but the O’Sheehans have been pretentious little fucks their entire existence in Albany.
It wouldn’t take much to have them replaced.
And I’m certain Enrique has a preference for who would take over.
It would certainly be useful for him if he chooses the O’Sheehans’ successors rather than the O’Rourkes.
I could tell him it’s a belated wedding present. ”
I stare at her. Even with my sister’s questionable ties to the underworld before she met Maks, I’ve never heard anyone speak like that. She’s basically saying she’ll kill off an entire family as a gift to her husband, who’s the most powerful syndicate leader in the Western Hemisphere.
I don’t even know what to do with that. The best I can do is shrug and nod at the same time. I don’t have words for it.
“Madeline, this is one of those things where you have to answer me out loud. If you’re not ready to do that, that’s fine. Think on it. But a shrug and a nod aren’t enough for me to commit to this.”
My chin moves a few times as I prepare to answer, yet no sound comes out. I swallow and inhale enough to make my ribs expand.
“Let me think about it. Elle, you know what you’re telling me now will go to my grave, right? I won’t tell my brother-in-law. I sure as hell won’t tell the cops or anything like that.”
“I know you won’t. You wouldn’t do that to Javier because it would implicate him.
And like it or not, anything that happens to this family would trickle down and hurt Laura because it would draw attention to her family too.
Syndicate life is a four-party cold war.
It’s a war of attrition based entirely on mutually assured destruction.
It’s why the balance of power exists. These families may take turns being on top, but it’s really a seesaw.
What goes up must come down over and over.
It’s in everyone’s best interest to keep that seesaw balanced lest both sides—or in this case, all four sides—fall off.
The men talk big games about which family is the most powerful.
It’s no secret Enrique is the most powerful leader of them all.
But even this family takes turns coming in first. Machismo and bravado might keep them from ever admitting that amongst the men.
Trust me. It won’t take you long to understand I’m right.
Their posturing is as much about their ego as it is convincing the rest of the world they’re too strong and too dangerous to come after.
Drew thinks he can be a major player in this war, but he’s not. He’s just part of a proxy war.”
“Sort of like how the Korean War and the Vietnam War were really just battles in the bigger war between democracy and communism?”
“Yes, exactly. Fights involving the O’Sheehans are stand-ins for conflicts between the four major families.”
I consider what Elle’s explaining to me and realize I’m getting more insights than anyone else will probably ever give me.
It’s not that Laura will believe I couldn’t understand this.
It’s not that she doesn’t already know this.
I’m sure she does. But if I stay with Javi, which I know I will, then Laura and I won’t always be playing on the same team anymore.
Even though we’ll have even more in common than we did the last few years, this isn’t the sort of stuff we’ll discuss.
It’ll lie between us. I don’t think it’ll get in the way or push us apart.
It’s something we’ll silently acknowledge but can never really talk about.
I don’t want to think it comes down to picking sides, but Elle is already a Diaz, and she believes I’ll become one too.
As I look at her, I realize she’s not actually old enough to be my mom.
She’s younger than Enrique by at least a decade, so she really is like an older sister.
That’s probably why she reminds me so much of Laura and not really of my mom.
“Thank you for explaining this to me. It’s a lot to take in, but that makes sense.”
I’m about to say more when a light flashes in the room’s corner. We both turn toward it.
“Stay here. Somebody arrived.”