Luc nodded at Finn O’Grady’s question. “Clarice?—”
“The prostitute Brackton hired that night?” Zhao looked like he’d swallowed a lemon. “Is that what we’ve come to? Believing hookers?”
“She had no reason to lie. She was frightened, dammit. She didn’t even have to tell me but we should be grateful she did, otherwise we wouldn’t know any of thisorhave leverage. They killed her to keep her quiet.” Rory banged her fist on the table. “She told me because she trusted me and it ended up with her dying regardless. I won’t let her sacrifice be in vain.”
“Who is this Brackton anyway?” Brennan O’Donnelly broke into the charged silence.
“I know the son because he buys from us and then causes havoc in our clubs afterward,” Lyanov confided.
“Unfortunately, he’s a patron of ours too,” I answered.
“Brackton had a Super PAC?—”
Zhao flicked his nail against the crystal tumbler in front of him. “Who doesn’t these days?”
“I knew he had connections from his college years,” Rory continued, eyes narrowing at the other man. “But I had no idea it extended this far. Rho Epsilon Beta is a famous fraternity and has a lot of renowned alumni brothers—Brackton, Devere, and Korhonen?—”
“Cosimo Favaro too if I’m not mistaken,” Zhao jibed.
“Indeed, but how didyouknow that?”
Lyanov rocked back in his seat. “With the number of Favaros washing up on the banks of the Hudson, I doubt Zhao’s the only one looking into what the family did to piss you off.”
“They existed,” Luc mocked.
“We’re sending a message,” Rory countered, tone pious, earning a laugh from Brennan and Lyanov. “This isn’t about the Favaros. They’re no longer an issue. What I would be interested in knowing ishowthe US’s political elite came to use the Albanians as foot soldiers and why?—”
“This is all speculation,” Zhao discounted.
“If you interrupt me one more goddamn time, Zhao, you’ll regret it.” Her words seethed enough to give anyone whiplash.
“War brings turmoil,” he argued. “We’ve had peace for so long. Our coffers have grown fat. Is it wise to upset?—”
Aidan lifted a hand to stall Zhao. “The Albanians and their backers have insulted us, your chosen allies. That means you are with us. Or you are not. Which makes you against us…”
Zhao’s jaw practically groaned under the weight of him grinding his teeth. But he stayed silent. Aidan was the only one who ever got the fucker to shut up.
Rory pursed her lips. “Have you been approached by the Albanians?”
“No.”
His mulish expression had her eyes further narrowing. “Has the Krestniy Otets been in touch?”
“We do not see eye to eye.”
“So you’ve met him?”
“Once, when he traveled to Macau and I was there on business—a decade or more ago. He’s an arrogant man, far too secure in his own power. The kings of antiquity believed they were chosen by the divine. The Krestniy Otets is of this variety.”Zhao sniffed his disdain. “But I wouldn’t like to go against Voronov.” His gaze drifted over to The Forgotten Boys. “You might be gaining ground in the US, but the rest of the world is another matter entirely.”
“Fortunately for us, we’re only interested in the US.” Lyanov patted the file of documents in front of him. “The Krestniy Otets has been… mercurial since his daughter’s murder in that explosion?—”
“You’d know,” Zhao purred. “You’ve already attempted to blow up Petrovsky Palace, haven’t you?”
“I think you’ll find I was in the hospital.”
“And there was no one else in The Forgotten Boys who could have targeted the Krestniy Otets?” Zhao dug in, a malicious smile twisting his lips. “Honestly, this makes more sense to me now. A distraction. But from what?”
Lyanov scowled but he ignored the head of the Triads to demand of Rory, “Why didn’t you bring this up sooner?”
