They’re both stubborn enough to start a fight for the pure principle of it. I refuse to be the one to light that match.
Still, this peace won’t hold if outside forces get their way. I stare hard at Monroe until she sighs and lowers her coffee mug. “My mother somehow learned that Abel intends to kill me if I don’t stop embarrassing you publicly.”
“That’s not what he said.” Broderick’s voice is mild, but tension bleeds into his body. “How did she find out?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it? Because I didn’t tell her.” She catches his disbelieving look and snorts. “We both know I was handling the situation. Informing my mother of a threat against me is like keying in the codes for a nuclear launch in response to a knife fight. It’s poor planning, and I wouldn’t have done it unless I had no other option.”
I wait to see if Broderick will argue that, but he nods. “Makes sense. So someone else did it.”
There it is again, that sensation of pieces clicking into place, of Broderick and Monroe aligning themselves in the same direction. I clear my throat. “Broderick—”
“Hold on. I’m thinking.” I can practically see his mind whirling. Finally, he nods. “So we have a mole.”
“I expect we have several between the two factions.” They both look at me, and I have to fight not to roll my eyes. “Come on. Give me a little credit. We have informants in both the Mystics and the Amazons. Of course they’ve already set up the same.”
Monroe perks up at that. “Who are you informants in the Amazons?”
“Nice try,” Broderick says drily. “That still doesn’t explain how they found out about Abel threatening Monroe. It’s not exactly something he did publicly. We were in the hallway, and the only other person present was Eli.” He catches my look and shrugs. “He has no reason to run telling tales to the Amazon queen. He’s wearing Abel’s leash and happily.”
“In the hallway,” I repeat.
“There are dozens of people in this house, Broderick.” Monroe scoots back to lean against the headboard, her expression contemplative. “Fallon is running off to her father every day. She might have heard and passed it on. That’s probably the simplest answer.”
That’s not impossible, but it’s missing quite a large step from where I’m sitting. “But why would he convey that information to your mother? They’re enemies.”
“Precisely because they’re enemies. If she follows through on her threat—which was to kill you, Broderick—that would create a nasty conflict between Raiders and Amazons. In a situation like that, that Mystics emerge on top. War is bad for business and bad for power cumulation, though everyone believes otherwise.” She sips her coffee. “There’s a reason the faction territory lines haven’t changed since the inception of Sabine Valley. The river creates too good a natural barrier. In the past, even when factions have taken pieces, they never hold them. You’d have to take the entire faction, and that’s impossible.”
The people living there wouldn’t go for it, for one. The only reason Abel managed a mostly bloodless coup was because he operated within the rules of Lammas and the Paine family was here long before Eli’s father took over. Not to mention Abel smoothed things over and promised not to rock the boat beyond the compound. That wouldn’t work in any other territory.
There’s just one thing that doesn’t make sense. “How would Fallon even find out? Were one of the Mystics around when you spoke with Abel?”
“No.” Broderick narrows his eyes. “But I talked to Ezekiel not long after. Maybe Beatrix heard something.”
This is all getting very convoluted. “Ultimately it doesn’t matter how Monroe’s mother found out. We still have to deal with it.”
“There’s nothing to deal with.” Broderick sips his coffee. “We figured things out.”
“Cute, but that won’t stop my mother.” Monroe closes her eyes. For the first time since I’ve met her, she looks exhausted and stressed. “If she thinks there’s the slightest danger to me, she’ll act.”
I stare. “Even at the expense of the faction?”
“It won’t be at the expense of the faction.” Her smile is mirthless. “We’re better prepared than you are. That’s not me being an asshole; that’s facts. The Raider faction is three weeks and a few days into a regime change. No matter how easily Abel managed it, that still destabilizes things. You brought your own force into Sabine Valley, and they haven’t had a chance to integrate with the locals properly. You’re outgunned and outmanned.”
Broderick doesn’t move. “There will still be a high cost on the Amazon side of things.”
“Yes, there will. Which is why I can’t allow it to happen.”
“But…”
Monroe’s voice goes soft. “Who do you think will be the first person harmed if things go sideways? It won’t be me, Broderick. It will be Winry or Jasper. My mother might be willing to gamble with their safety, but I’m not. We can’t conclusively figure out how my mother got her information, but in the end it changes nothing about our plan.”
It certainly seems like the only person Aisling will move heaven and earth to protect is Monroe. She wouldn’t threaten me otherwise. The truth coming out about my parents won’t change anything on the grand scale in Sabine Valley. They only had the faintest bit of power in the Amazons, let alone in the entire city.
No, the only person who will care is Monroe. It will potentially damage her relationship with her mother, and that’s something Aisling is willing to kill to prevent.
It’s sweet in a really fucked up sort of way.
This is better, though. If I keep Monroe and Broderick focused on putting on a show that will protect both of them, they will stop worrying so much about my past. “What do we do? I’m assuming you have something resembling a
