One Last Shot
Romain
The last place in the world I want to be is back in this damned office of his, and I can tell the way Em tenses up that she feels the same way.
But he claims that what he has to share with us is urgent.
We enter the office, sans blood and gore, and I try to suppress the memories but fail and end up becoming impatient. Fang takes his time sitting behind his desk. Sybille is standing next to the desk and the haunted look she gives us both lets me know that she's aware of the bloodshed. I'm not sure why this thought occurs to me—it just does.
"What's this about?" Em asks impatiently.
"Your son," Fang claims. He eyes us both—takes in our worried faces—before adding, "Soren Cimmerian announced he'll be heir of both Iron Claw and White Mane, and he's allegedly betrothed."
"Engaged!?" Emmalee echoes, her voice shrill. "He's just a boy!"
"The girl is his age," Fang assures her. "Her family rules the western territories. I'm sure he's trying to make more allies. In that way, he'll be unstoppable. Untouchable, too."
"But this war won't last that long," Em begins before turning her head to fix me a look. "Will it? It's supposed to be ending!"
"We had the upper hand days ago when we successfully freed the rest of our people," Fang explains. "Since then, many Alphas have been sending their Gammas into these territories. Hell, we're not safe here in the mountains anymore."
"What does this mean?" Em asks. "I'm not going to let that man dictate my son's life!"
"I'm afraid we've run out of options," Fang claims before putting his hands together. "Fighting now will be trickier than ever. Our chance to claim the city is gone."
"Don't be so dramatic, Fang," I snap. "There's always a chance."
He rises and points a finger at me. "That's where you're fucking mistaken. You went ahead and got yourself stabbed and now we're done for. I trusted you and you let me down—let us all down!"
"That's horseshit," Emmalee cuts in, getting in his face. "You're full of shit! You could've orchestrated an attack while he was unconscious! You're the one who said you won't get involved in his affairs!"
"I don't expect you to understand my motives," he counters before his gaze meets mine. "I didn't want to disrespect you or belittle you before the group. You know what plans I have for you."
"I never told you I'd agree to lead this pack, Fang. I told you, my dreams are simpler than that. I can't fight forever."
"Now you must," he shoots. "How else will you save your son? Believe me, Emmalee, that man is poisoning your son's mind against you as we speak. He'll use him to punish you—he already started."
Emmalee throws her arms in the air. "So, what do we do?"
"There has to be a plan, Dad," Sybille cuts in. It's the first thing she's said since this conversation started. "Just get to the point. Please. We're all fucking tired of running around in circles."
"The father of the boy will decide," Fang mentions before gesturing at me. "You decide how far you're willing to take this. My hands are tied. You're free to do whatever you choose. You know that."
"We're getting him out," I declare before looking down at Em. "There's no way around it."
"We'll go together."
"Not a chance."
"Romain," she begins impatiently, "he knows me. He'll believe me. There's nothing you can do for him when he doesn't know who you are!"
"If Soren gets his hands on you, he'll kill you," I remind her. "I can't have that happen, Em. How would you even approach him without being seen? I'm good at hiding. You're not."
She shakes her head. "It's too risky for both of us."
"I'll take the risk, not you."
We go back and forth like this. Em insists she has to come and although I do see her point, I can't risk losing her again. Sybille once more cuts in to say, "I think Romain is right, Emmalee. It's too dangerous for you and your ex-husband isn't trustworthy. Let him do it. That's my suggestion."
I can see the battle between stubbornness and common sense warring inside of her just by looking at her. Sybille nods at her encouragingly, and Emmalee sighs before her gaze meets mine. "I didn't want to let you do this alone."
I take her chin between my fingers, tilting her face up to mine. "It'll be fine."
Once settled, I begin to plan what I'll do about Brent and how I plan to approach him. Trudy could be helpful—but reaching her now would be complicated considering where she lives.
We'll just have to manage.
Fang seems temperamental. Although he claims this war is over, I can't help but feel that he has a plan of some kind that he isn't sharing with us.
If he won't share, I won't ask.
"Now that everything is resolved," Fang begins, "I need to speak to you. Alone."
I nod at Emmalee, promising her that I'll be right out, and watch as she and Sybille exit the office before giving Fang my full attention.
"Things have gotten ugly," he begins, not wasting time. Leaning forward, he points a finger at the door and adds, "The men out there are hungry for vengeance, Romain."
"I thought you said we didn't have a chance," I remark dryly.
"I'm a gentleman," he replies with a faint smile. "I don't talk about that kind of thing in front of women. Besides, I know you'd let yourself be influenced by your little girlfriend. You eat out of the palm of her hand, don't you?"
"Envious?"
"Only a little," he admits. "Watching you with her reminds me of your mother, kid, and with that memory comes the bitterness of regret. I didn't take action when I had the chance and that ruined everything for me. For us. I lost a lot. Now, I'm watching the same thing happen to you. Make no mistake, Romain—if those packs from the west enter this territory, we're all dead. You. Emmalee. All of us."
"You want us to fight one last time."
He nods. "Soren Cimmerian is a thorn in our side. You have a million reasons to kill him."
"Killing him might not solve the problem, Fang."
"It'll destabilize things enough to allow us to make something of the mess," he claims. "What do you say? Right now, we have the numbers. We could be more—that's true—but beggars can't be choosers. We're rogues. All we've ever known was loss. What do you say?"
"We do the best we can," I say. "But be wanted, Fang. This is my last fight. Once I save my son, I'm out of here. I told you—this wasn't my plan."
"After this, you'll go down as one of the greatest rogue leaders," he claims. "Your name will be remembered, Romain."
"When do we leave?"
"Whenever you wish. I'm only giving you the information. The choice is ultimately yours."
I make the decision.
Em's going to kill me.