Page 62 of King of Cruelty

“Oh yeah?” I walked through next, my brows bouncing up to my hairline. “Is that right?”

“That’s right. I challenge you to a wrestling match. Tonight. Between the sheets.” He nipped my nose, making me squeak. “No one leaves until we declare a... winner.”

I think I said something in response, but by the time my brain came back online, I missed it. I was no virgin. I had the fruits of sexual reproduction to prove it, but that didn’t mean I was used to being with guys that said exactly what they wanted, exactly how they wanted it, exactly when they wanted it.

The guys I was used to dealing with would just text me a series of crude emojis when they wanted me to take my pants off. One guy even did it when I was lying in the bed next to him.

Being with decent, and sexy, guys really had a way of putting your past loser parade into perspective.

River’s fingers curled through mine, pulling me close.

I wasn’t shy about laying my head on his shoulder—drinking him in. Yes, we were walking into a dangerous situation, but if I was going to do that with anyone, I’m glad it was with River.

We didn’t say much as he led me on a familiar path through the halls of the junior designer offices. I half expected to hear Lyla barking orders at everyone, conveniently forgetting that they weren’t her assistants, because she didn’t have assistants.

But a surprise meeting with my nemesis was rescheduled for another day. I didn’t see Lyla or her usual crew—sans Madison of course.

Unless that’s why they’re not here. Because a close friend of theirs was murdered in a gas station basement.

I winced, my grip tightening on River at the horrible thought. I hated Madison James with the hellfire of all levels of Hades. I wanted her to suffer pain and misery like no one ever suffered before. That woman threatened my life, my safety, my body, and my baby with a sociopathic malice that was truly frightening. I had no sympathy left in me to care about her fate—

Or so I thought.

No, I didn’t feel bad for the Madison James who was killed by the crazy violent cult leader she refused to give up.

I felt bad for the little girl she used to be. For the child who was happy and loved in a beautiful home with her family by her side, and her friends all around her. Then one day, through no fault of her own, it was all gone.

Her father tossed her away, and then her mother committed suicide—leaving her all alone with her pain, bitterness, and resentment until it festered into hate. And instead of healing and finding joy in her amazing talent, wonderful job, beautiful home, and the band of harpies she called friends... she found the Brotherhood.

No, they found her. They tracked her down and weaponized her hatred against the people I love. How many people have they done that to?

“I wish we had more information on the Brotherhood and how many people they’ve got on their side,” I mused allowed. “Every time we think we’ve struck a blow, a hundred more swarm out of the sewer.” My eyes darted around. “And they seem to be everywhere and everyone. Hell, I worked for Vance and I had no idea he was another reptile in a human suit.”

I tipped my chin up, gaze tracing the strong line of his jaw. “That old ledger...? Whatever happened to it?”

“The ledger?” He turned furrowed brows on me. “That old thing? Adeline dumped it on the world decades ago. It’s worthless now.”

“Maybe not. Everyone who needs to know knows,” I said. “Well, how does the Brotherhood know who needs to know? If they tracked down Della by digging up the list of the deceased from the Night of Tears, then don’t you think they would’ve started with victims of the ledger dump first?”

“Yes,” River replied. We rounded a corner, and the noise of the busy hall fell away—leaving us in the silence that surroundedthe entrance to the basement. “Yes, they would. But we’re talking hundreds, possibly thousands of people. That must be why it took the Brotherhood so long to make a move. It took this long to get to all of those people.”

I tossed my head. “I know that. Sunny and Liam said the same thing, but that’s not what I was thinking of.Todaythe Brotherhood has an army of people willing to trade in their weaponized hatred for actual weapons, but what about twenty-five years ago?

“I mean, a gang doesn’t start out with a thousand devoted members. It starts with one person. Maybe two or three. Who say ‘hey, let’s start a gang today,’” I said, even as River chuckled at me. “A gang that has a very specific purpose, and is therefore going after specific people. So, if their only place to start is by ambushing random supposed Merchant victims in grocery store parking lots, they couldn’t have been as organized or well-funded as they are now. They didn’t have an army of minions to do it for them.”

“Kenzie, what are you getting at?”

I stopped him with his hand on the doorknob. “I’m saying there’s a reason why Brother Abraham was the only upper-level name we knew about until Damien told us about Mom and Dad. He knew about Mom and Dad because he had info from two decades ago when the Brotherhood was smaller and weaker.

“When they knew so little about the Merchants’ history and their interests that they didn’t know about Sacred Heart Charities until Della told them.” I grasped his shoulders. “River, what I’m getting at is in the beginning, the founders of the Brotherhood had nothing, no one, and no resources other than a list of names. So what do you want to bet they approached the people on that list... in person?”

Understanding blew up on River’s face, tensing his shoulders. “Fucking hell, Kenzie. You’re saying the ledger isn’t alist of Brotherhood members. It’s a list of people who’ve met and spoken to the real masterminds behind this war. The Mom and fucking Dad who started it all.”

Expression grim, I nodded. “What if Mom is the woman who spoke to Della again, and again, and again? Harassing a tech genius because she didn’t have one in her growing crew, and she couldn’t afford to hire one.”

He goggled at me. “Baby, that’s brilliant. Why the fuck didn’t Sunny, Liam, Bane, Genny, or even I think of that!” River swooped down and kissed the crap out of me. “You can stop calling yourself an apprentice, because you have officially graduated to sexy genius—outthinking everyone from criminal masterminds to your dumbass boyfriends.”

I swatted his thumb. “You’re not dumb. I just realized that getting inside the mind of a ruthless sociopath doesn’t work so well for me, but getting inside the mind of a victim does.” My hands slid down the dips and valleys of his muscled arms, drawing him close to me. “I thought about what I’d do if I’d gotten away from Luca too late—after he ripped my whole world away.

---