Page 66 of King of Cruelty

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Kenzie fell in my arms, screaming as explosions ripped through the deceptive calm Leighbridge morning.

“Don’t worry, baby. That’s just the sound of the trash getting taken out.” I rubbed her back. “We can’t call the police on them, but we can blow up all those sneaky shits lurking in the cars that ran my sister off the road, and when the cops, fire trucks, ambulances, and news crews rush in to pick up their pieces, we’ll walk everyone out the front door.” I beamed at her. “Not even the Brotherhood will try to pull something in front of all those journalists and first responders.”

She gaped at me. “That—that— I don’t know if that’s brilliant or terrifying. Who came up with this plan?”

I grinned wider. Her jaw dropped further.

“Again, terrifying but... brilliant, baby.”

“I thought so.” I dropped a kiss on her nose. “So, if you want, you can tell Sienna to find a comfortable spot to wait all this out.” Sirens and ambulance blasts hit the air, backing me up. “As soon as we’re sure the Brotherhood has cleared out, and we’ve got everyone safely home, they’re safe to come back.”

“Okay, okay,” she said softly, rubbing her arms. “That’s not so bad, but I really don’t want to be away from Laurel for that long. But I also don’t want her in a building surrounded by exploding bombs and waving gunmen.”

“Whatever you want to do.” My voice was gentle and non-pushy.

River stepped forward. “Kenzie, why don’t you go and be with Laurel and Si? If this all takes too long, you guys can book into the Marchmont Hotel for the night.” He stroked her cheek. “You know the place.”

She nodded. “I do, and that’s a good idea, River. Thank you. I think I’ll take you up on it.”

I flicked between them. “What’s up with the Marchmont?”

“I did right by the owner, so he always keeps a room open for me—just for this reason,” River explained. “Too many times my crew has had young mothers or pregnant teenage girls join because their parents threw them out onto the street.

“A tunnel under a bridge is nowhere for a pregnant girl, or a mother with an infant. I always put them up in the Marchmont until we find a better, safer, arrangement for them.”

“Yes,” Kenzie said softly. “I’ve stayed at the Marchmont before. The owner and his wife are truly wonderful people. They and River took amazing care of me, my sister, and my baby until I found a way to get Laurel off the street.” She gave me a wry look. “But then you already know how that worked out.”

“I’ll walk you out through the tunnel and drive you all to the hotel,” River said. “I’m just sorry you’ve got to do that whole trek again.”

“I’m not. I wanted to come with you when you spoke to the women they rescued from Luca’s hellhouse. I think they’d all feel a lot more comfortable if they heard from another one of Luca’s targets,” Kenzie said. “I can vouch for you. I can also let them know about Madison and the Sunshine Adoption Agency.

“If they had kids that were taken by that demon couple, they need to know the FBI is working on locating their children as we speak.”

“Hearing from you would help them a lot,” I agreed. “There are four women, and one couple that knocked on the wrong door when they got lost on their hiking trip. They’re all in the rooms on the first floor. The doc has already checked them all out, and Sunny’s chef served them all breakfast, so now’s a good time to talk to them.”

“There’s something else,” River said, stopping us when Kenzie and I made for the door. “Kenzie, I know we have to check the list of ledger victims anyway to make sure we get descriptions of them all, but seeing as we already know the name of the woman who has seen one...”

She cringed. “You want me to call Damien and get his aunt’s number.”

He shrugged. “If she works with the government, her number and address will be unlisted. You’ve got to hit that deadbeat piece of shit up for the info.”

Kenzie heaved a sigh. “I know I do, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Ugh,” she groaned, pulling out her phone. “I’ll try Talia first. At least she’s less likely to immediately block my number the minute it comes on the screen.”

“Want to fill me in?” I asked as we set off. “Why are you calling up deadbeat pieces of shit?”

“Kenzie pointed out that the leaders of the Brotherhood were a small-time outfit fifteen-plus years ago. An outfit after very particular members. They would’ve approached victims of the ledger dump who held a grudge against Adeline, and they would’ve likely done it face-to-face.”

I shot up straight. “So those people all know what the true leaders of the Brotherhood look like! Just like my dads Saint and Killian had to recruit my father, Bane, without the masks. It was just the two of them in those days. They couldn’t outsource recruitment until much later. Same for the Brotherhood.

“Kenzie, that’s fucking genius! Why didn’t any of us think of that?”

“The woman’s amazing,” River said matter-of-factly. “She came into our lives to bring us to our knees in shock and awe.”

Kenzie laughed even as she blushed. “Stop it, guys. It was just a stray thought. Hopefully it pans out.”

“I’m hoping the same thing, because I spoke to my parents about Sacred Heart Charities,” I said. “They got as far as Leonard Stevens, and only that far. After he was murdered in his cell, Killian picked his life apart but there was nothing. No clue as to who he was working for, or proof that he was working for anyone other than what he said in the police interview.

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