“I know this was hell, but Ivy and I were on top of things. There were a lot of aspects unfolding at once.” His eyes flick down to my shoulder even though the wound is concealed in my suit. “Last night was unexpected. You scared the shit out of me.”
I drag my hand over my scruffy jaw as the faces of those imprisoned young girls slam into me. “That was a complete mess. Once I saw those girls though … Was that Balzano’s place?”
“Yes,” he confirms. “How much did you figure out?”
“Some, but not everything,” I confess. “I had a hunch why Jax was involved, which was further confirmed when you all came in the room and I realized that Balzano was the one being executed. But Axel … every time I think I understand it, more questions arise.”
“That’s because it was all unconventional,” he starts. “I had already been working on ways to take Balzano down when you went after Rena. You certainly escalated matters by killing his men and claiming her, but it also provided an opportunity for me to get Axel on board.”
Before he can expound on whatAxel being on boardmeans, Jared summons us all back to our seats so we can wrap up.
Leather chairs are brought in for Axel, Jax, Rena, and me, which I far prefer to occupying that pew again. It’s chilling to see the empty spot at the knights’ table, even with as much as I loathed the man who held it. I’m eager to discover what it all means. Even more eager to be done and know for certain that my wife isn’t haunted by her decision. So, I thread our fingers together as Jared unravels it all.
“First, let me say, that was an odd sentence, but clearly a shrewd choice. Not a moment of hesitation in any of you or an inkling of cognizance in our traitor. Impressive.” He strokes his chin, surveying the four of us. “I’m sure there are a lot of questions, especially from you, Tytan. Due to complicated circumstances, we went about things in a tangled manner. As you uncovered, Johnny Balzano was involved in a plethora of below-board dealings, none of which hadbeen approved by KORT. Of course, your findings coincided with our need to loyalty-test Rena and Wells submitting the torn-out page from the black ledger, which contained damning evidence regarding Balzano’s affair and his misconduct against the Noires.”
“It created the perfect storm,” Payne adds. “Especially once you demanded that you be present for your wife’s loyalty test—an exception we had never made.”
He sets his gaze on me, but it isn’t a rebuking leer. It’s one of respect. Payne always appreciates our steadfast dedication to protecting the people in our sphere. It’s what impressed him during Ivy’s trial as well.
“It did, however, open some doors for us,” Jared interjects. “Once we were privy to the nefarious operations within the Balzano empire, we immediately moved to absolve them. But that wasn’t a simple process, as you can imagine. Finding a suitable, trustworthy replacement within his line after such a breach of the bylaws would be next to impossible.”
“Except, as luck would have it, the offspring that Balzano cast aside are also hospitality moguls.” Payne laughs. “Of course, it still wasn’t simple because they are uninterested descendants.”
“Let’s pause there actually.” Jared lifts his hand, palm up in a gesture toward my wife. “We haven’t officially heard your answer, Rena. When we called Jax in and discussed the position, he was adamant that this was not a proposition he wanted to pursue. After much deliberation, we concurred that it wasn’t the best fit at the current time. We were informed by him and Axel that you would also not want to assume this role. Wells and Ivy echoed that as well. But I’d like to hear it from you.”
Rena squeezes my hand and glances at me. I’m not sure what she’s looking for—encouragement, approval, a way out. If I’m honest, while I believe she could handle it, I don’t want her to. It’s an extraordinary amount of stress and danger. We’ve all found a way to manage it, but carrying a third seat in the family would most certainly be draining. Not conducive to the carefree, live-in-the-moment lifemy girl prefers. But if she wants it, we’ll figure it out. If nothing else, she needs to see that they haven’t disregarded her.
“Do what feels right. I’m behind you, no matter what you decide,” I tell her, and she beams ear to ear, gaping at me over her quirked shoulder.
“Look at you, Reynolds, driving without your hands on the wheel.” She whispers the bratty reference in regard to me relinquishing control before she addresses Jared. “Thank you so much. I certainly appreciate the consideration, but I’m not sure that’s where my gifts are best suited. And I don’t think I’d enjoy running everything. I’ve watched the toll it takes on Axel to keep La Lune Noire as a premier destination, and”—she peers at the man who raised her with so much admiration that a lump swells in my throat—“not just anyone can do that. It takes a certain finesse that very few possess.”
A smile blasts across Payne’s face. “That was the perfect answer. Jax’s response was quite similar. So, with his consent, we offered the seat to Axel. But Axel had a few stipulations. The first was that you also be considered as a candidate.”
Rena’s chest sinks as she peers at Axel, like that knocked the wind out of her. “You believe I could do that?” she rasps.
“Of course,” he reassures her, rubbing her back. “You could succeed at anything you wanted to. And this empire belongs to you, just like La Lune Noire does.”
Axel has spent so long coddling Rena that I’m sure insisting upon her being offered the seat came with a slew of inner conflict. He may not realize how badly she craved that sentiment from him. But after what she said in the shower last night, it was clearer than ever that she wanted everyone to trust her enough to let her leap, even if that meant she fell. My girl is bold, brave, and wise.
“The second stipulation,” Ivy says with a bright grin directed at my wife, “is that you and Jax be cleared as his seconds-in-command—the workload is negotiable, but the title will remain regardless. And it comes with the option of stepping into the lead role in the future, should your interest change.”
“That was the reason for the trial,” Jared explains. “We tried all three of you. Jax and Axel dismantled some of Balzano’s unregistered operations: a brothel located in an illegal county—the workers were relocated to one within the legal limits; a call center used to garner credit card information; and holdings in some subpar seedy motels. Jax obtained the shipping information and customer lists from the ecstasy warehouse that you destroyed. The hard drives you secured were filled with an abundance of stolen identities and credit card numbers. And Axel transferred management from several of Balzano’sunregisterednightclubs to Noire ownership.”
Last night, when I remembered that Ivy had mentioned the black ledger when we were discussing Rena undergoing a trial instead of a loyalty test, I realized she’d done it on purpose. As a clue. She couldn’t divulge the details, but she could allude to the fact that Balzano’s underhanded affairs had been brought to light.
That’s when Rena spotting Jax started to click. Honestly, it was a hard sell in my mind—the notion of Jax, with his blue hair, colorful tattoos, and gauges in his ears, being welcomed as a seat of KORT—and Liam shared the same reservations when I mentioned it to him this afternoon. Jax certainly doesn’t look the part. Of course, Ivy doesn’t either—due to both her gender and age—and she weaseled her way past their judgment. I’m not acquainted with the business side of Jax. He may be perfectly capable, but I do know from years of friendship with the Noires that he doesn’t take much seriously. So, I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. I figured Axel’s involvement was tied in somehow, but the connection was lost on me because KORT positions are awarded based on a familial component.
Wells was right. Every aspect of this has been unconventional, which leads me to a vexing detail.
“Were you aware of what was happening in Temptress?” I chime, still salty about how close things came last night. “Because we would have approached that far differently if we’d been afforded the intel that innocents were being held captive.”
“There were several bumps we hadn’t counted on,” Wellsresponds, scrubbing a hand over his mouth, failure marring his features. “We unearthed that the club dabbled in trafficking, but we didn’t realize they were kept on premises. Our belief was that the illegal brothel was the holding ground, as we had uncovered a few underage girls there and brought in a team to handle their transfer to a shelter. We never intended to blindside you.”
I’m sure the report last night was devastating on a myriad of levels. Wells is meticulous when sending us into any type of battle, so a miss like that, especially when he wasn’t there to help shoulder it—pun intended—probably wrecked him.
Jared glances at Wells with an empathetic glint and decides to take over. “What made it particularly dicey was that Balzano caught wind that he was being messed with earlier than expected, so we purposely allowed him to uncover Axel’s involvement. That’s who he believed was at the warehouse and why he had the whole city after you. He was on high alert. That’s also the reason his security was so stacked at Temptress. We attempted to draw the bulk of the security down to the main club with Axel showing up, but once they got wind of someone in the back room, that all went to hell.”
“We had wiped out most of his electronic data—even at some of his legitimate businesses, which really threw him off our scent—so he had a difficult time getting ahead of the attack,” Payne says, arching an eyebrow at me as he adds, “Not to mention the lack of resources with so many foot soldiers dead. We essentially hit all his holdings in a three-day span.”
