Page 50 of The Devil's Playground

Kieran Alfieri has been a part of the Libellula Family since he was twenty-two, just like Nic told me. He worked as a runner at first, then a soldier, and when I was hoping he was a bit player that Damien would sacrifice in favor of continuing our truce, Tanner runs his fingers through his shoulder-length straw-colored hair and drops the bomb:

“He’s an enforcer now.”

Shit.

“He has fourteen leaves.”

Even better.

We have the name, but it’s the Dragonflies who really act like sinners. I understand that, in this line of work, death is sometimes necessary; considering I’m here, trying to see if I can take Alfieri out without jeopardizing the truce, I get that. We have enforcers, too. Hell. I’m in charge of clean-up because I think of it as my own type of penance, so I see what our enforcers can do.

I’ve also seen what a Dragonfly enforcer can do.

Sick fucking bastards.

To make it even worse, they don’t accept death as a part of the job. Oh, no. They celebrate it, each of the enforcers tattooing a simple green leaf down the back of one of their biceps whenever they have a kill that benefits their Family.

And Alfieri has fourteen.

That’s not just Alfieri being a Dragonfly. That’s Alfieri being someone essential to Damien Libellula—and just about untouchable to me.

He hurt Nic. And, because of my position as the underboss of the Sinners, I can’t retaliate unless I want to start up another war.

What happened with Heather… I never could have seen that coming. If I purposely go ahead with any plots of revenge against Alfieri, I’ll be inviting a war that might end with even more blood being on my hands.

Fuck!

Link is standing with his back against the only bit of wall in this room that doesn’t have a screen on it. His arms are crossed over his broad chest, a scowl tugging on his features as he watches me pace.

Then, as though he knows what I’m thinking—and I’m pretty sure he does—Link says, “Remember the truce, Royce.”

“Fuck the truce.”

I’m frustrated. I’m usually so much better at controlling myself, especially when Link and I are around other Sinners.

He knows it, too. Jerking his chin at Tanner, he says, “Take a walk.”

Like me and the rest of the inner circle, Tanner’s been here since the beginning. He knows when to test Link—and when to lower his head, grab one of his tablets, and get the fuck out.

Link waits until Tanner shuts the door behind him before he pushes off of the wall. “Listen to me, Royce. I get you’re upset. I’m fucking pissed we missed this, too. Truce or no truce, we’ve got someone with Dragonfly ties slipping in right under our noses. But you and I both know that this… this isn’t just about your waitress.”

“The hell it isn’t?—”

“This is about you sleepwalking through life the last six years, blaming yourself for what happened to the Valiant girl. Now you’re awake again. You have Nicolette and you want to be the hero.”

I know better than to curse out Lincoln Crewes, but I’m close. Closer than I ever been—which is why I clamp my mouth shut.

He steps into me. He’s got a couple of inches of me, and he uses them to his advantage as he looms. “You didn’t pull the trigger, Royce. Her idiot brother was pissed and a wannabe enforcer had shitty aim. She died. So did the enforcer. But it wasn’t your fault. Shit… even standing up for your fucked-up cousin was a good thing.”

I sputter out a laugh. “Jake is fucked-up.”

Link claps his hand on my shoulder. “Yeah. At least we just kept an eye on our girls. What he does… I’ve heard the stories. He’s your blood, but the sooner he’s out of Springfield, the better.”

I know what Link’s doing. In his way, he’s distracting me from going after Alfieri by igniting my protective instincts for my cousin.

Joke’s on the boss. I can protective over Jake and Nicolette.

“Don’t worry. I got eyes on him.”

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