Accepting a beer, I took a sip to get rid of the foul aftertaste the vodka had left. “He’s recovering. And the reason why I’m here.”
“You want my help.”
I held his stare, knowing he’d see it as a weakness if I looked away. In a lot of ways, we were all ego-driven psychopathswith a perpetual need to show our dominance. And many of us embraced our disturbing tendencies.
“Not only your help but your alliance. We’ll be family soon, after all.”
People underestimated Aleksándr. But I wouldn’t make the same mistake.
“Let’s talk.”
That was as much of a positive response as we’d ever get.
We spent an hour discussing how to best combine our resources before Aleksándr stood up. “I have business to attend to. But please, stay. You’re my honored guests.”
When the door opened, Gabriel, who’d stood back against the wall, tensed, his hand going inside his jacket. But it was only girls entering, their bodies painted gold, their small bikinis leaving little to the imagination.
Aleksándr walked out with a wink. The girls started dancing, one of them settling down on my lap.
I had to keep up appearances; leaving right away would be considered an insult. There were rules that had to be followed, no matter how outdated or ridiculous they seemed.
Gabriel was all too happy to enjoy the show, dancing with a giggling brunette. I wasn’t worried that she’d take his attention away from doing his job. Gabriel could hit his target blindfolded.
But letting a girl who wasn’t Quinn rub up on me felt like a betrayal. I wasn’t used to questioning my actions, and the thought of doing something that might hurt her left a bitter taste in my mouth.
I always did what was right for our family and the business. Instead of doing what I wanted, I did what was expected of me: sitting in a room that was too dark, in the company of women I wanted nothing to do with. When my phone rang, I couldn’t get it out of my pocket fast enough, grateful for the distraction.
When I saw my brother’s name on the display, I tensed, hoping he had good news.
“We found him.” Jude’s voice was muffled, his usual enthusiasm at getting to torture someone absent. For such a positive message, he sounded decidedly too depressed.
Standing up, I buttoned my jacket, ignoring the outraged squeak of the girl who’d been persistent in giving me a lap dance for the past ten minutes and had slid to the floor without warning. “Is he talking?”
“Hard to talk when your tongue has been cut out. And you don’t have a pulse.”
“Fucking shit,” I roared, frustrated that we’d hit another dead end. “Did you find anything else?”
We were always a step behind. Someone was playing with us, and they knew what they were doing. But everyone made a mistake eventually, and we’d be there for it.
“His apartment didn’t have so much as a fingerprint anywhere. But there was a message.”
“Well, what the hell did it say?”
I stalked to the door, nodding for my men to follow. Gabriel was already by my side.
“The tainted king’s reign is over. We’re coming for you.”
This was personal. And a declaration of war. If only we knew who we were at war against.
I wound my way back out of the club, my hand wrapped so tight around my phone the edges dug into my skin. “Send me the address. We’re on our way.”
Once outside, I rushed to the car, Gabriel hot on my heels. “Jude found something. We’re meeting him now.”
“Finally.”
Gabriel ripped the driver door open with so much force I was surprised it didn’t break before sliding into the car. He’d alwayshad a temper, combined with a fierce protective streak when it came to our family, and it made for an explosive combination.
I gave him the address from Jude’s text. The place was in Hammond, Indiana. The rain slowed us down, but we still made good time, thanks to Gabriel’s reckless driving. Our destination was an old ranch home that was barely visible through the overgrown yard.
