Page 28 of Vengeful King

“Sure, but screw them,” Finn says, grinning broadly. “I mean, look at us. We control about forty percent of this city. And we did it in under two years!”

“Oh, yes. Andwe’revery proud, aren’t we?” Connor replies, sarcasm thick in his words. “Especially you, the hero of the day.”

Finn opens his mouth, but all that comes out is a flustered noise. Connor is already laughing. It’s good-natured, but he’s right; Finn wasn’t involved in much of it. He took the deaths of our parents the hardest, which is why we all cut him slack.

“Have we commissioned a statue of him yet?” Aiden asks, his voice dry. His lips are curled up in a smile. “I mean, he deserves one for his part in this.”

“Yeah, I get it, you’re all so fucking funny,” Finn grumbles.

It’s good to hear him banter with them. It’s good that he’s upright, sober, lucid. There was a time when I didn’t know if this day would come.

And the marriages went better than I ever could have expected. Connor and Aiden love their wives; they’re happy. What started as business propositions turned to something real.

I don’t know if that will happen a third time. Maybe not for me.

Despite all of it, the messy trials and fights, the demons we all carry, I’m proud. I’m proud of what we’ve done as a family.

I think our father would be proud.

I hope I’m right. I’ve worked hard to live up to his image, his legacy. He was respected in the Assembly, even if he wasn’t always liked or loved. People listened when he spoke. I hope I can achieve some measure of what he did—some kind of legacy, even if I never have what I want for myself.

“We should keep an eye out,” Aiden says quietly. He breaks me from my thoughts, and I look up to find him by my side, glancing at the other Assembly members as they follow us out of the building.

I exhale slowly and refocus on the discussion at hand. “Yes. I don’t think they’ll make a move, but as more time passes, they’ll get bold.”

“It may not be long,” Connor adds. He steps up to us, leaning against my car. “It’s been a few months since the wedding.”

Finn crosses his arms over his chest. “I’ve heard it around the clubs, you know? They’re unhappy, but they’re not pissed anymore. They’ll be thinking now. Maybe trying to find a way to destabilize us.”

I shift away from my car. I can feel the moment they tune to me—my brothers and Willow. They’ve noticed I’m preparing to speak, and they know it’s important. They lapse into silence, eyes on me, ready for whatever I have to say.

“Our success painted a target on our backs,” I begin. “The better we’re doing, the more enemies will want to bring us down.”

I hate to sound pessimistic, but I know that reality isn’t kind. With everything we’ve been through, we know better than most that peace doesn’t last in the Assembly. Maybe someday it will, like it did before our parents died—but right now, it’s a simmering pot.

It’s just waiting to boil over.

“There’s peace now, but we know that can change. And Dmitri taught us not to trust that peace. Not entirely.”

Willow’s eyes sharpen. I know she’s thinking about her ex-husband and what he did, the strings he pulled. She probably knows best of all of us what Assembly members are capable of. Especially when they want to bring another family tumbling down.

The last time someone came after us, there was a kidnapping. There was death. This time, I don’t want a single thing to go wrong if I can help it. I want to get ahead of any bullshit that’s going to be thrown at us.

This is my family. I’m not going to let anything happen to it.

“Keep an eye out,” I finally say, stepping toward my car and ending the discussion for now. “On everyone. Including the Assembly.”

With that, I get into my car and lead the way back to the club.

The entire way, I think about what might be coming. I know which members of the Assembly I trust more, which I trust less. But Dmitri was unassuming when he orchestrated the sabotage that nearly killed Rose and Aiden. I can’t trust my assumptions.

When I park at the club, my mind is still on business. I’m thinking about everything I have to deal with; the tension is building at the base of my neck. I’m dreading paperwork.

But then I walk through the doors of the club, and the familiar neon lights blink hypnotically, drowning everything else out.

Katrina is on stage. She’s drawing people’s eyes like usual; it’s something in her movement. In the way she looks so untouchable. Lots of dancers look untouchable; that’s part of their charm. You can only look. The rules are enforced and there aren’t any exceptions.

But Katrina is different. She’s almost like a statue come to life, a mysterious goddess with her long auburn hair and stormy gray eyes.

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