Page 48 of Brutal Knight

Of everyone, Antonio is still cool toward us. He’s civil, sure, but he and Aiden aren’t on great terms. Aiden used to hate him, and Antonio is still angry about Aiden taking Rose. Even if Rose loves Aiden now, it’s a sore spot.

Our alliance with Antonio is strained. It’s to be expected, especially since we believed he killed our father for years. That was never true, but that doesn’t change how we behaved.

Antonio is doing the bare minimum, but I can’t ask for anything more.

The discussion shifts and for the first time, I have to turn back to the moment. They’re talking about the wedding.

“It was quite a display,” Nikolai says. His Russian accent comes through as he drawls, thoroughly unimpressed with what he probably thinks was useless drama.

He’s like that. Of all the Assembly, Nikolai Kozlov puts on the most disinterested persona at meetings.

Kade snorts. “Right. That’s an understatement. What was all that about?”

He’s not really asking. Kade heads the Devil’s Disciples, a motorcycle gang that has a good run of the town. They may have their own territory, but they’re notorious for picking up bits and pieces of information from everywhere.

I know he’s probably heard whispers about what happened. I’d be interested to know what he thinks he knows, but he’d never tell. He holds his cards close to his chest, despite being the most informal Assembly member.

Lachlan dips his head, conceding the points put forth. “Edward Channing is…upset, with myself and my brothers. We rejected a deal that was well within our rights to refuse.”

“I’m not sure he saw it that way,” Enzo says evenly.

Enzo doesn’t say as much, but I know he’s thinking about our bad blood. It wasn’t long ago that he felt our alliance was pushed aside for the one we made with Antonio. Enzo Messina is a man you can’t cross and recover from.

“Who knows what he saw it as,” Lachlan replies shortly. “No matter. He will likely come to the rest of you, trying to strike a deal or turn you against us. But that would be a very bad idea, of course.”

There’s a beat of silence. I know Lachlan’s words are up to interpretation. You could think he’s saying taking a deal is a bad idea, or that Edward offering deals is a bad idea. One is significantly less risky to say than the other.

Given our position of power, it wouldn’t look good to insinuate that we’re going to strike against anyone moving against us. But we can’t let the Assembly think we’re going to just roll over.

Edward has put us in a difficult position.I’veput us in this position. I know that in my gut, know how hard it will be to maneuver our way out of this.

We may have power, but the Raven Syndicate is splintered. It’s a mess. Our family is in order, but the Ravens aren’t, and Antonio Donovan is only barely honoring our alliance. If he had to, there’s no telling if he’d just cut his losses and run.

“Well, this certainly wasn’t a careful move,” one of Messina’s men says lowly. “I have to imagine you expected a negative response.”

“This has implications,” Nikolai’s second adds. “They’re an outside family. If shit gets stirred up in Boston, it will affect all of us.”

They’re not wrong. Edward has the potential to royally fuck things up not just for us, but for the Assembly as a whole. But it’s not the Assembly that will take the brunt of the impact, if Edward decides that retribution is worth it.

“We’ll handle him,” Lachlan replies. “I don’t expect anyone else knows about his plan. He did come without much support—and without much of a claim.”

The reminder is carefully hidden among Lachlan’s words, a reminder that despite everything, Willow was not Edward’s to claim. If the Assembly has an issue with Edward, fine. But we had every right to do what we did.

Kade shrugs, seemingly unfazed. “Well, it’s not as if we’ll take his side. There’s no reason to.”

So he says, but I don’t know if they’ll all keep their word. The other Assembly members chime in with similar promises, but I can’t take them as promises at all. Not when they’re all vague and open enough to allow them to walk back their words.

The meeting continues, and by the time we finish, I’m no closer to trusting any one of the Assembly members. Not after breaking the news about Edward.

“That went as well as it could,” Finn mutters as we walk out.

Aiden sighs. “We couldn’t expect more. Not after the spectacle Edward made.”

“We should be able to expect more. For God’s sake, Edward isn’t even from here.”

“You and I both know that doesn’t matter.”

Lachlan shakes his head. He glances over his shoulder at Finn and Aiden, his lips a thin line. “It really was the best we could hope for, but it shouldn’t be that way.”

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