Page 56 of The Contract

Piercing amber eyes drill into me, silently assessing. A storm brews there—pride, regret, and a shadow of concern. A look that whispers he knows exactly how high the price of revenge can climb, and how swiftly it demands payment.

“You sure you know what you’re doing?”

The last thing I need from Enzo is a fucking lecture, especially after everything that’s happened with Kennedy.

“The plan is meticulous,” I assure him. “Every step choreographed, every move painstakingly precise.” I straighten my sleeve with a terse tug, irritated.

It’s not the blood on my hands, thank fuck. At least, not this time. Not since Pom...

I glance down again, distracted. The serpent tattoo already beginning to fade. Best tattoo artist in the world, my ass.

“If you need my help?—”

“I don’t.” The end state is crystal clear. But in case my big bro needs a reminder, I spell it out for him. “It’s not that hard. Either Zver dies, or I do.”

CHAPTER 16

Riley

I glance down at the text.

Knox

Well?

My boss is getting anxious.

His boss can go to hell.

It’s been weeks since Knox dropped me off—nearly a month—and I’m exactly nowhere.

No closer to unraveling the twisted secrets behind Dante’s operation, and even further from prying my sister away from psycho-hubs.

At this point, both feats feel about as possible as dragging the earth a few feet closer to the sun. But, I don’t tell the FBI that.

Me

I’m in.

Well, I’m almost in. I release a defeated breath and tug at my riding hem.

With nowhere left to turn but blind desperation, I land here.

Right on the doorstep of Dante’s Inferno.

Or relatively close to it.

If my brilliant plan was to casually stroll inside, grab a job application, and snoop around unnoticed, that fantasy bursts into flames the second I arrived.

I check my cell. One in the afternoon.

I gape, slack-jawed, at the legion of eager fans crowding outside Chicago’s hottest nightclub.

How is there already a line?

Under the midday sun, the Inferno is nothing but sharp edges and icy glamour. Stripped bare of neon lights and velvet ropes, it feels stark. Exposed.

And somehow, infinitely more seductive—like an abandoned carnival ride whispering danger even in broad daylight.

---