Page 90 of Fate and Family

A male voice with a slight Irish accent answers, “The darker the purple, the higher the concentration that’s burning. The building must have at least six hundred million dollars’ worth of Majesty. The back field is where they’re harvesting fifty percentof the entire stock. And with the field burning… it would take ten years for it to grow back.”

I run the numbers in my head. “That’s nearly nine billion dollars’ worth of Majesty burning.”

Marshall turns to Donny, who’s cradling his head in his hands. “Who’s more terrifying than the women in your family?”

But Donny’s answer goes unheard because Bernie shouts, “We’ve got movement, coming in hot!”

I see it on the far left side of the screen. Bernie zooms in, tracking its movement. “It’s an SUV, not a model I recognize.”

Hadeon Olympian supplies, “That’s because it’s been custom-made for Mastodon Securities.”

Something strange happens in the room. The parents exhale, and the relief is palpable. Penny leans back in her chair and closes her eyes. Hadeon reaches over and squeezes her hand. Duncan makes the sign of the cross, and Dimitri looks up. We make eye contact for a second. He’s… happy?

Only Donny still sounds petrified. “Alana King is the only person more terrifying than the women in my family.”

I laugh, and I’m pissed I didn’t piece it together faster.

Marshall whips his head over at me. “Who the fuck is Alana King?”

Before I can answer, Bernie shouts, “Whoever she is, she’s going to crash into the building because the security door isn’t opening—” He leans in. “Shit, how is she doing that?”

The SUV spins around and is now reversing at full speed into the rising bay door of the burning facility.

Marshall slams his hand on the glass table. “Someone answer my fucking question. Who is Alana King? Is she one of ours?”

Penny snorts. “You can’t afford her.”

Bernie jolts back in his chair. “The U.S. government can’t afford her?”

“No. Alana King speaks six different languages, has five thousand hours at the shooting range, and stopped three gang wars. Did you hear about the conflict between Micahuand and Grezil?”

Declan gives a tight lipped frown and shakes his head. “That never happened.”

Penny nods. “You have her to thank for that. She’s a world-class hacker, one I taught myself. She’s relentless, thorough, and holds a wicked grudge.” Her eyes drift toward Declan and back over the rest of us.

The room chills.

“And why is Alana King driving into a building full of drug lords and henchmen?” Marshall swallows.

“I can answer that,” I say and point to the people around the table. “Alana is both Olivia Olympian and Maria Ramos’s godmother. The boy, Drew? His mother is an employee at Mastodon, and she’s dating Alana’s roommate. The oldest girl, Shae, is Alana’s friend’s sister. And Ian… well, she rescued him in Russia.” I point back to the building. “Those are her kids.”

Declan snaps, “How the hell do you know her?” I’m startled by the crack in his typically cool-as-a-cucumber demeanor. There’s a vein pulsing on his forehead, and his pupils are tiny pinpoints of darkness.

I give him the only honest answer I can. “She used to break into my apartment and steal my sriracha.”

I feel like this is all fate—all of us in this room together.

The armored truck races out of the building just as fast as it went in. On the far left side of the screen, six more vehicles race toward the SUV. The fleet drifts to the side, passes the armored SUV without incident, and pulls up to the building.

“Who the fuck is that?”

Donny groans. “Hunters, probably.”

There’s a phone ringing somewhere in the room. Penny opens her purse and answers it. “Hello?”

Alana’s voice blasts through the speakers. “Packages have been retrieved. All accounted for.”

“Are the kids okay?” This is the first time Penny allows her fearless mask to slip and sounds like a mom.

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