Chapter 6
“Are there casualties?”
“None of ours.”
The O’Bannon money was gone.
Their operations were paralyzed.
The police would find 3 burned storefronts and likely classify the incidents as local gang arson.
By the time the O’Bannons recovered from the fallout, their territory would have been absorbed by the North Side crews.
“It’s done, Audrey.”
Adrian leaned against the mahogany conference table.
For 5 years, an invisible firewall had separated them.
Audrey had been the pristine corporate face.
Adrian had been the violent reality beneath it.
That firewall no longer existed.
It had burned with the money in Hammond.
Audrey stepped closer.
“You’re bleeding.”
A piece of glass had cut the side of Adrian’s left palm.
He had not noticed.
“It’s nothing.”
Audrey retrieved saline, gauze, and medical tape.
“Give me your hand.”
Adrian obeyed.
She cleaned the cut.
Adrian did not watch his hand.
He watched her.
“You shouldn’t have seen this,” he said. “You shouldn’t be down here. You belong in the glass office. You belong in the light.”
Audrey stopped wrapping his hand.
“The light is an illusion, Adrian.”
She looked directly at him.
“The glass office is funded by the blood you spill in the dark. I always knew that. I just pretended I didn’t.”
She swallowed.
“Tonight I stopped pretending.”
“They forced you into it. You acted out of survival. I won’t let it happen again. Tomorrow you can go back to the ledgers. You never have to touch this side of it again.”
“No.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“I’m not going back behind the wall. I severed a $6 million artery tonight. I tracked their liquidity and mapped their destruction. I am not just a bystander who balances your checkbook anymore.”
Audrey stepped closer.
“I am part of this.”
Adrian stared at her.
For years, he had kept Audrey separated from his criminal world because he believed he was preserving something untouched by it.
Now she stood before him bruised and injured, but unbroken.
She did not need protection from knowing what he was.
She already knew.
Adrian lifted his bandaged hand.
His fingers brushed lightly against her cheek, careful to avoid the dark bruise along her jaw.
“If you stay on this side of the wall, Audrey, there is no going back.”
His thumb traced her cheekbone.
“You belong to the syndicate. You belong to the street.”
Then his voice lowered.
“And you belong to me.”
He waited for her to retreat.
Audrey did not move away.
Instead, she leaned slightly into his palm.
“I balance the ledgers, Adrian.”
Her eyes remained on his.
“I know exactly what my assets are worth, and I know where they belong.”
Adrian released an uneven breath.
His hand moved behind her neck, fingers entering her hair.
He did not kiss her.
Instead, he drew her carefully forward until her forehead rested against his shoulder.
Then he held her tightly against his chest.
Adrian closed his eyes.
Audrey remained against him, breathing steadily despite the pain in her ribs.
The war was over.
The O’Bannon family’s money was gone.
Their infrastructure had been destroyed.
The $6 million remained frozen.
The books were closed.
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For the first time in Adrian Cross’s life, he knew exactly what he was fighting to keep
Disclaimer: This story is fictional and created for entertainment purposes only. Any names, characters, places, or events are fictitious or used fictitiously. No real person or organization is intended to be portrayed.
