Page 115 of King of Envy

“It’s time for you to put your money where your mouth is,” Roman said. “Move against Shepherd while my intel is still good. I can’t guarantee he won’t change tactics and hideouts if and when he finds out I’ve been double-crossing him.”

Between his “business” commitments and the wedding, I’d been playing defense since Roman and I struck our deal. He promised me info I could use for an ambush that would wipe out Shepherd and his inner circle, but I still didn’t fully trust him.

The wedding intel could’ve been a Trojan horse that he used to gain my trust before springing a trap. I needed more assurances.

“You’re going to find the last Brother from the church first,” I said. “Once you do, you’ll deliver him to me, alive and whole. After that, we can talk.”

Roman’s jaw hardened. “That’s bullshit and you know it. I don’t have time to play pet hunter for you when I’m also at risk of being hunted.”

“No?” I lifted a brow. “Perhaps I can strike a deal with Shepherd instead. My immunity and one member on the run in exchange for a traitor. I wonder who they’ll choose.”

If the Brotherhood worshiped money, theydespisedtraitors. Internal warfare was one thing; conspiring with outsiders was another. Before Roman, only one person in the organization’s hundred-year history had been foolish enough to try the latter. His death had been so horrific, no one stepped out of line for decades.

Roman leaned forward. His eyes glittered in the dark. “Don’t threaten me, Markovic,” he said softly. “We may be on the same side when it comes to the Brothers, but that doesn’t mean I won’t gut you like a fucking fish if you try to double-cross me.”

The irony of him warning me against a double-cross.

My mouth curved. “You can try.”

The air stretched taut. Water from a leaky pipe dripped in the corner. Every thud of a droplet hitting concrete echoed in the vast warehouse, and the silence thrummed with the kind of stillness that only existed before a predator pounced.

Neither Roman nor I moved.

Finally, after several tense heartbeats, he blinked. He leaned back again. “You think you’re so damn clever, but you made a rookie mistake.” A vicious sort of satisfaction tinged his words. “Ayana.”

I wasn’t an impulsive person. I operated rationally, strategized every move, and considered all my options before I acted.

Ayana was the only exception. Hearing her name come out ofhismouth, confirming he was aware of her existence and possibly how important she was to me, sent every fucking fiber of my being into fight mode.

It made sense that Roman knew who she was. She’d been the fucking bride at the wedding. But there was a difference between knowing something theoretically and hearing it out loud.

The only reason he brought her up was because he’d added her as a pawn in his game, and if he so much as touched ahairon her head…

Crimson splashed across my vision. My adrenaline spiked, and the taste of copper filled my mouth. I shot up from my seat, ready to lunge for Roman until his gloating smile stopped me in my tracks.

“That’s what I thought,” he said when I stilled. I fisted my hands on the table, my pulse pounding. “You gave yourself away when you saved her. Vuk Markovic almost taking a bullet for someone else? Please.” Dark humor laced his soft laugh. “You showed you cared, which means you’re vulnerable. You have a weakness. If you don’t think the Brotherhood will exploit that weakness any way they can, then you’ve grown naive.”

Ice snaked down my spine. “They don’t involve civilians in their business.”

It was a hollow reply. The hit at the wedding proved that wasn’t true. Hell, they’d already bent their rules when they killed my brother, though that’d been an ambiguous case since they’d already planned to kill him before I struck my deal with them.

An argument could be made that Jordan was an obvious target because we had an established friendship. My public attachment to Ayana was much looser.

But Roman was right. I’d shown my hand when I saved her, and with the escaped Brother on the loose, I had a witness. Even if I didn’t, my reaction just now proved Roman’s suspicions were correct.

My heart crashed against my ribcage.Fuck.

“In the olden days, they didn’t,” Roman said. “As you might’ve guessed, we’re in a new era. It’s chaos. The old rules no longer apply, so you can threaten me if you want. But if you lose me, you lose your only in. Even out in the cold, I can do more for you than you can do on your own.” He smiled. “Think about that the next time you threaten me.”

I unclenched my fists and retook my seat. The urge to shoot that smile off his face consumed me, but I couldn’t afford to lose my cool again.

“Like I said, I’ll take care of your problem after you take care of mine,” I said. “I’m not going to spread my team thin by ambushing Shepherd when we have a wild card on the streets. That’s a sure way to fail.”

Roman’s mouth tightened. A moment later, he inclined his head in silent acceptance.

“One more thing.” Something about this situation had been nagging at me for weeks. “How are the factions financing their ops? Rumors of the civil war have made their way through the underworld. Business is down, but weapons and logistics on the scale they’re operating at cost money. They must’ve gone through most, if not all, of the organization’s coffers by now. So where is the cash flowing in from?”

“I don’t know the details. I’m not their fucking CFO,” Roman said. “Don’t underestimate the ability of professional killers to find money and clients when they need them. Someone somewhere always wants someone else dead.”

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