Page 45 of Vengeful King

“So then, why?” Aiden interrupts. “Why even do it?”

“Well, when I didn’t drink, she went for a fountain pen. Tried to stab me with it.”

“She tried toattackyou?” Aiden blurts, incredulous. “Are you fucking—”

“She wasn’t trained. Didn’t know what she was doing. But she tried.”

Silence settles for a long moment. I know they’re processing what I’ve told them. A woman tried to poison me, then attacked me when it didn’t work. It was out of the blue. She was a dancer.

But clearly, she wasn’tjusta dancer.

“Who the fuck did this?” Connor asks, serious. There’s a storm in his eyes; he’s probably thinking about how things went down. “Who the fuck would be this fucking bold?”

“And stupid,” Finn adds, an edge to his words. “Sending a woman? An untrained woman? They didn’t even know there was an opening. We haven’t exactly advertised it.”

“So how did they hear about it? Is it someone who’s visited?” Aiden speculates. “We get low-level grunts from the Devils. Maybe it was them.”

“They know better,” I say, shaking my head. “And they aren’t exactly in the same business as us. We don’t really threaten their territory. Besides, their leader has a hard enough time giving a shit about regular business. Why would he try this?”

“Could it be anyone from the Assembly?” Aiden crosses his arms. There’s uncertainty in his voice. “We were just talking about this—how there’s a target on our backs. But this doesn’t seem right.”

Finn shrugs. “I agree. If they want our territory, they’d have to widow Willow or Rose, no? If they want our ties.”

They don’t say it, but I know what they mean. If I’m gone, the family doesn’t fall apart—not exactly. Aiden and Connor both know how to handle the family business. They’re not inept. If I was gone, they’d carry on. Our family would be unstable for a little while, but not broken. Not destroyed.

So why? Why me?

“None of you have been threatened?” I ask lowly. “Maybe it was supposed to be coordinated.”

“I doubt it,” Aiden says. “Not with some untrained woman coming after you. And no, I haven’t noticed anything.”

Maybe. Maybe he’s right and this wasn’t well-planned. But most of our enemies are thoughtful, and any one of them would have thought this out if they decided to come after me. This just doesn’t make sense.

“Maybe it’s not the Assembly,” Connor suggests. “Maybe it’s someone else entirely.”

I laugh once, short and devoid of humor. “Like who? We would have heard if it was some amateur gunning for us. Everyone I spoke to had no clue.”

I still don’t know how the hell someone is managing to get away with it. With Dmitri, we learned a lesson. But even looking at those close to us doesn’t give me any insights. I don’t know who could have taken this chance or why.

“I’m trying to get answers from this woman,” I finally say. “She’s the best lead we have.”

Trying.As if I didn’t just nearly lose control again. As if I’m not strong enough to just get what I need from her, when I need it.

“We can take her off your hands,” Aiden offers. He watches me when he says it, calculating. “Interrogate her for you. Help you deal with her.”

“Yeah,” Finn adds, smirking. “Maybe she needs some incentive.”

“No.”

It comes out calm, steady. That’s not how I feel.

What I feel is a rush of possessiveness. A rush of refusal, anger. As if the thought of someone else trying to handle her is that repulsive. I’ve failed to do what I need to, but I won’t let someone else do it.

I keep myself under control and continue. “I’ll handle her.”

Connor nods once. “It’s better that way. She’s already here; she knows you. If she’s inexperienced, she might crack. Might decide she can’t stomach it.”

“She might have buyer’s remorse,” Finn adds, shrugging. “Or maybe after some time away from whoever hired her, she’ll realize they don’t have as much leverage as us.”

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