"Of course I am," she said with a sniff. "And to be frank, it took me goddamn long enough to figure it out. I was looking in the wrong place. Star sends me a bunch of shit all the time. Why she can't just annotate a document with 'this is the key to dismantling the organization,' I'll never know."
"She likes to keep you on your toes," was all I said as my mind raced.
"She likes to keep me dangling," she griped. "But I should have seen it sooner. I'm sorry for being slow."
"The last month hasn't been easy, Savvie," I told her calmly. "And this isn't easy either. This route is the dictionary definition of slow."
"It is," she agreed. "But... it's also a way for you to get what you want. If you still want it, that is."
"I don't want to be the leader of the NWS, Savvie," I said gruffly. "Hell, I don't want to lead the Five fucking Points. But... this seems like the best option."
"You get people positioned in the organization first, then you make your moves," she agreed.
"A takeover would be hostile," I warned her.
She shrugged. "You're a new leader. Your ties aren't as set in stone as your da's were. And... if I stopped releasing articles about them, if it looked as if you had me under your thumb, you could say that you married me to shut me up.
"I haven't released an article since Lodestar went missing. Not about the Sparrows. It could look like it was timed with you becoming the leader."
"You'd be prepared to do that?"
"I'll play the long game, willingly, if it takes the motherfuckers down."
"You think that would work?"
"I think you're clever enough to make them think whatever you want.
"They had theFamigliaas a front for decades, Aidan. Their business will have suffered without them as the face of their dirty deeds."
I pondered her words. "Jonesy was arrested tonight."
"Why?"
My lips twitched. "Framed him for the First Lady’s assassination."
She whacked me in the arm. "You jackass. You didn't think to tell me that before?"
Because I knew she was pissed about missing out on the scoop, I smirked at her. "It's been a busy couple days, and I wasn't sure if I had the right leverage."
I'd admit that to no one but her.
She squinted at me, her displeasure clear. "What leverage?"
"He had a girlfriend who gave him a son."
"And?"
I snorted. "You forget the antiquated world you've entered, Savvie. A son is worth three daughters."
Her scowl told me what she thought aboutthat.
"I'm not saying I agree."
"Good. You better fucking not. I hope if we do have a kid and she's a girl, then she'll take these fuckers and bring them into the twenty-first century."
"Jesus, don't say that," I rasped, feeling myself blanch. "I don’t want her involved in any of this at all."
She patted my arm. "It'll happen. I practically willed it into being. These jackasses need to know what a woman can do. I swear, you think we stay at home and make doilies and shit."