“Well, I-”
“You think you have it all figured out, don’t you?” She was just warming up. “What makes you think you know me so well?”
“Clearly I didn’t know you at all,” I said softly.
She turned to face me. “And what in the hell do you mean by that?”
“You lied to me. You played me for a fool. And I fell in love with you,” I said simply, because there was no other way to say it.
Her face softened. “You…you fell in love with me?”
“Well,” I said, “don’t let it go to your head. Now that I know what you really are.”
And then her face hardened. The angles were so sharp and fierce you could open a bottle on them. “And what am I really?”
“A con artist.”
“What?” I was pretty sure her shriek could be heard on the ground.
“Like I said earlier: You played me. And you did such a good job I fell for it. Way to go.”
“How did I play you? What are you talking about?”
I was getting tired of this wordplay. My head hurt, and I was concerned that my upcoming actions would have irrevocable consequences. Arguing with Ronnie would only dull my wits, and I needed them.
“You led me to believe you were single…unattached. You led me to believe you were innocent and naive. Hell, you even told me you lived in an apartment when you really had a huge house!”
Veronica opened her mouth. Then she closed it. She opened it again, but something stopped the words from coming out. Clearly she needed time to construct an argument now that she was busted. I got up and moved to sit with my cousins. We had some work to do.
“I can’t believe we are doing this!” Liv whispered. “It’s so exciting!”
Gin smiled and patted her best friend’s hand. “Just remember to stick to the plan. If we all agree then there’s nothing they can do.”
Dak spoke up: “I love you.”
His sister turned to him. “What?”
Dak continued. “It’s true. You don’t even need to be here. And yet you are. Way to go, sis.”
Paris leaned in. “Are you sure we should land on the island? Maybe we should land in Ecuador and get a speedboat or something.”
I shook my head. “No good. We have to make a statement. You all called your parents, right?”
Liv nodded. “I read Dad the riot act first. I want him to know what he’s up against.”
“We are taking a huge risk here,” Paris replied.
I looked at my watch. “Let’s hope we’re right. Let’s hope this works.”
As if in answer to my words, the plane dropped in altitude. Within minutes we’d be arriving on the tarmac at Santa Muerta. And while I was hoping we’d survive the day, there was no way of knowing for sure.
“Cy.” Veronica laid her hand on my arm as I prepared to exit the plane. “I need to talk to you.”
“Not now, Ronnie.” And I meant it. I needed to keep my focus sharp.
“Okay. But at least let me thank you.”
This brought me up short, and I stopped in my tracks. “For what?”
“You are thinking of our best interests.” She looked back at Drew. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Believe me, Ronnie, what I am about to do will help me as much as it helps you.” Provided we didn’t die horrible deaths at the hands of our parents, that was.
“When you get back, I really need to talk to you.”
I really didn’t want to hear it. Sorry, Cy. But I love him. Even if it wasn’t that, it would be something equally as hurtful. Maybe dying at the hands of my mother would be less painful.
“Fine,” I answered, even though I didn’t mean it. “We’ll talk when I get back.”
I had given Ronnie and Drew strict instructions not to leave the plane. It was for their own good. Granted, the council had no idea they were here, and why would they? It was the safest place for them to hide-right out in the middle of the battlefield.
The five of us Bombays made our way to the headquarters, where a weird family showdown was about to take place. A sort of bloodless intervention, so to speak. Only this would lead to our not killing anymore instead of not drinking or doing drugs. It was kind of poetic, once you thought about it.
We found the council in the conference room, waiting for us. Mum was there with her brother, York. On her left were her cousins, Carolina and Pete. To their right were her other cousins, Cali, Missi’s mom, and her brother, Montgomery. For some reason the European branch was not represented, as their cousins Burma and Asia were missing. I didn’t mind having fewer dangerous council members to deal with. The Europeans were pretty laid-back. If we could make this happen, they would go along with it.
“Sit down, kids.” Mum motioned to the opposite side of the table. We took our seats. This was going to be a little awkward.
“It has come to our attention,” Uncle York began, “that you don’t approve of our policies.” He said it as though we were naughty employees in the boardroom. Hell, he was even wearing a suit.
This was unexpected politeness. With many families there was at least shouting and expletives…maybe a hurled beer bottle. In our family at this point the pistols usually came out. Mexican standoffs were de rigueur. We were trained at the age of eight in how to deal with that situation.
“That’s right,” Gin said loudly.
Carolina shook her head. “Gin, you shouldn’t even be here. You’re retired.”
Gin slammed her hand down on the table. “Why does everyone keep saying that? I’m really getting pissed off about that!”
“She really is,” Dak said in a stage whisper to his mother. “You should’ve heard her on the plane.”
Carolina turned to me. “Coney, are you refusing to accept your assignment?”
I nodded. “That’s right.”
Mum clapped her hands together. “You have to kill Dekker. You have to bring Veronica Gale here.”
I shook my head. “No.”
My mother looked from her left to her right. “We have a contract to honor. And we need to know more about Gale and her friend.” She looked at the folder in front of her. “This Drew Connery could be a terrorist.”
“No. Being a Rhodes scholar does not qualify him as a terrorist. The Republicans tried that with Clinton and it didn’t stick. Both Veronica and Drew are innocent of what happens here.”
Uncle York spoke up. “Look, I don’t care about the other two, but we have a contract for Dekker’s head. We can’t ignore that.”
Cali agreed. “The Bombays have given out assignments to be accepted without question for four millennia. Why should you get to question things?”
“Why not?” came a voice over the PA. Cali cringed as the voice of her daughter bellowed from the speakers overhead. “For chrissake, Mom! You sent me on a damned reality show, where I almost killed the wrong guy, just so you could set me up with a man!” Missi appeared in the doorway and walked toward us. There she was, my ace in the hole. And I knew her recent experience gave the council reason to rethink this.
“And you did find a man!” Cali seemed surprised her daughter wouldn’t get the logic. “You found Lex! Because of us!”
Missi stopped and placed her hands on her hips. “This is idiotic. You are all manipulating us into doing whatever you want! You’re using these assignments to run our lives!”
Our parents looked at one another. Did they get it?
“The truth is,” I said, “we aren’t going to work for the family business anymore.” I gave them a moment to let it sink in. By the looks on their faces, I was pretty sure they hadn’t seen that coming.
“And we are conducting an audit to review our finances,” Paris added.
“And we never, ever want to know if we have killed anyone who didn’t deserve it.” Liv’s voice trembled with rage.
The council was stunned. They had no idea we would demand the disbanding of the family industry. In the past, the old guard would have shot us. Would they do that?