Leaving The Way: Book Two (The Way Trilogy), стр. 23
Her eyes drift up to meet mine, and it takes her a while to speak, seemingly collecting her thoughts. “Council meetings happened a lot in the beginning, mostly in the five or six years after the world’s governments collapsed. There’s actually a set of documents that lines out all the rules surrounding the council, and the guidelines for holding a meeting. I read it once…” Her words fade off and her eyes go distant before she finally speaks again. “Each Lord is allowed to have three of their gang members in the room with them. Those men or women will serve in both an advisory capacity, as well as handle security should an issue come up. Daniel is his brother and second in command, so there’s no question he’ll be one of the three. There are no rules about who he has to pick from there though. He could go with seniority, or family, or any number of things, but Anna…”
I suck in a breath because I just know that none of those things matter. The last week in The Castle has shown me a lot of things, and one of those things is how close Luke and Mateo are.
When Brea finishes her thought I’m shaking. “He’ll take Luke. There’s no doubt in my mind. Not only is Luke in charge of one of the largest areas within Diablo’s territory, but Mateo trusts and loves Luke like a brother. He’ll want him there. He trusts Luke to watch his back, and he’ll want his advice too.”
Shitake Mushroom.
chapter 8 - I Just Peed A Little
ANNA
When I woke up this morning I felt like absolute shit, no doubt a combination of the alcohol and everything I learned last night. Not long after Brea had filled me in and dropped the truth bomb on me about Luke most likely having to attend the council meeting, the party had sort of died out, and Luke and I had walked back to The Castle. Both of us had lied awake late into the night, neither of us speaking but unable to rest. And this morning has been no different. I want to know what happened after Brea and I left the group so she could catch me up. What did Mateo decide? Based on Luke’s demeanor, I’d say the council meeting is on.
After at least an hour of lying awake in bed, I decide I’m going to have to get up or risk peeing on Luke. That would be awkward. With an attitude, I roll from my warm spot and make my way to the bathroom, looking over my shoulder to see Luke watching me as I go. I try to give him a smile, and he at least attempts to return it, but its clear neither of our hearts are in it.
After my trip to the bathroom, I make my way back to the bed, plopping down and rolling until I land across Luke’s chest. I might have been trying to be sexy, but I failed miserably. He at least lets out a brief chuckle, so it was totally worth it.
“Luke, Brea told me about the last council meeting last night,” I say, rolling over to lay facing him with my cheek propped on my hand.
He nods, rolling to face me before brushing a lose curl behind my ear. “He will have sent curriers out this morning, Little Minx. It’s already in the works. There are dozens of gangs all over the country, but Mateo is mostly focused on dealing with local compounds. Specifically, yours near Bonham, but the one north of here is a problem too. If I was to guess, instead of calling a full council meeting, he’ll most likely reach out to the lords closest to us. That’ll definitely cut down on the chance of an all-out blood bath.”
A shiver racks my body with his flippant use of the term blood bath as I move to rest my head in the crook of his neck. “Who do you think?”
“Well for sure the Titans. They are just east of here but that could end two ways. Either they don’t show at all because Mateo chose not to back their attack last week, or they could show up only to start a fight over it.” His hand strokes through the hair trailing down my back as he continues. “If Mateo is considering dealing with the compound north of here at the same time, he’ll definitely call on the Osage. They’re a little different though. They aren’t a gang really but an Indian tribe. And…” He pauses to think through who else Mateo could call on as I lean into his soft ministrations on the back of my scalp. “The Republic, I think. Yeah, that makes sense.”
“Who are they?” I ask, leaning back to look in to his eyes as they process all the possibilities.
“The Republic?” he asks, and with my nod he says, “Well, they’re kind of unique too. They didn’t really start out as a gang. See, after the virus, when the U.S. federal government completely collapsed, the state of Texas was functioning better than any of the other states. So they deployed what was left of their military and closed their borders. They declared themselves the Republic of Texas, and for about two years they did a pretty good job of maintaining order; keeping the economy from a total collapse.”
He pauses, and I want to hear more so I encourage him to continue. “What happened then?”
“Well, what happened next is up for debate. Really depends on who you ask, but the story I’m inclined to believe is the one where the Church of The Way destroyed the Republic.”
I suck in a breath through clenched teeth, sitting up on the bed and waiting for him to go on. He sits up too, pulling me close and wrapping his arms