Page 18 of Iron Crown

“No one lays a hand on a Green without consequences.” Eoghan’s voice was low, almost calm. Then he came to his feet, stepping away from Malinda.

She crumpled to the floor, her knees bent to one side, her eyes so wide, I could see the whites all around the irises.

“No one lays a hand onmywifewithout suffering.” Eoghan’s hand was covered in blood once more. As blood red as the painting over his shoulder.

In Malinda’s stomach was a single blade—my husband’s blade.

Chapter five

Vendetta is an Italian Word

Eoghan

There were traitors among us. Too many to count. Maybe Vasiliev was right. I should burn the place to the ground.

There’s always treachery in war. It was as inevitable as snow during a New York winter. Kira had looked blankly at Malinda’s dying body, before her eyes met mine. She gave me a single, regal nod of approval, and it felt better than the loudest declaration of love.

My wife. My queen. My love.

I shouted orders at O’Malley and Shiny on leading the cleanup. By then, night had set, and I finally kicked the Vasilievs out. Thelast thing I did was shower in one of the guest rooms, so I didn’t contaminate our little suite more than I already had. I didn’t need my boy to see me covered in any more blood.

When all was said and done, Kira was asleep with Cillian in the bed, their arms wrapped tight around one another. I tucked the blankets up to their chins, kissing them both on the brow, before I walked back outside.

Too many things had happened, and I had no clarity on any of it. I had no control over what was happening in my own house. Malinda was a traitor. How many more traitors would I need to exterminate before it was safe to have my family under my roof?

I needed to speak to Morelli.

His cell had begun to resemble a home, in many ways. The quiet squeak of a mouse was the ambient music of our quiet vigils. When his cell door opened and I stepped through, a plate of food, a bottle of wine, and two glasses in my hand, Morelli barely lifted an eyebrow.

He sat at his desk, as always, the veritable night owl, with a small lamp shining as he read a paperback in his hand. He shut the book, placing it gently on the desk, before nodding in invitation to the seat across from him.

He was readingQueen Margotby Alexandre Dumas.

I poured the wine, and he silently sipped, as I told him of the attack, Malinda, and more.

He looked perplexed at first, then had me keep speaking, revealing more and more details as I remembered them, to paint him a picture and decipher what had happened.

“This is not Eugenio’s doing. It is not his style. Six men, infiltrating? No, no, no, no. He would send a whole army, and do a great stand off.” The old man stood up, pacing back and forth behind his desk, his eyes furrowed in an unnatural frown as he lazily stroked his long, white beard. “No, it could not be… but… no… what could they…?”

He shook his head, then turned around to pace again.

“They were snuck in on your maid’s van? She ran late?Cazzo…”

He wasn’t waiting to get answers from me. He was just pacing and mumbling, which wasn’t his usual quiet, contemplative state. Something had snapped in his brain, and he was seeing connections and patterns that I wasn’t privy to.

“What are you thinking, old man?” What terror had been unleashed inside my home just when I was reuniting my family?

“When Cosima was young,” Morelli began, taking his seat, his old, wrinkled fingers tapping on the table. “She used to sneak out in the maid’s van, always when the maid was latepicking up her children from school. Cosima knew that the guards would not check things leaving, and the maid would not check her car when she was late. That was how she snuck out to see boyfriends. She used to cause all manner of mischief.”

Morelli shook his head, almost smiling fondly at the memory.

“She was a sweet little hellion.” He let out a long breath through his nose, a small smirk on his lips. “Thank God, I never had daughters. Daughters are the punishment for fathers with a misspent youth.”

“That must be why I was granted a son,” I said with a light laugh.

“A young man like you?” Morelli said, pointing his bony finger at me, “I am certain you will have daughters. Maybe not now, but soon. And they will be beautiful. Mark my words, you will not end your days of killing anytime soon.”

He tapped the side of his large nose, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

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