Chapter 28
KANE
Iwas still actively processing what Connor had just told me when Mila smoothly guided Ella out of the main salon toward the east wing gallery.
Consortium Prime.
The name sat completely wrong in my mouth. Absurd. Comic book ridiculous.
At first, I genuinely thought he was making some kind of elaborate joke. Like Optimus Prime or some equally stupid comic book villain reference meant to lighten an otherwise dark conversation.
But Connor's expression hadn't shifted even slightly from dead serious.
No humor. No irony. Just cold fact.
"You're not actually kidding about this," I said slowly, searching his face for any sign of a setup.
"No. Not even a little bit."
We stood alone in the main salon now, just the two of us. The peaceful courtyard was visible through the tall windows behind him—ivy climbing ancient stone, fountain running softly, everything quiet and safe and protected.
The complete opposite of what Connor was currently describing.
"Consortium Prime," he began, choosing each word with deliberate care like he was briefing a military operation, "is the ultimate level conglomerate of everything underworld across multiple continents.
European mafia families. Asian triads. Russian bratva.
Smuggling operations spanning three continents.
International weapons trafficking. Human trafficking networks.
Drugs. Money laundering on scales you can't imagine.
All of it organized under one umbrella."
I frowned, still not fully understanding the significance. "Why's that fundamentally different than any other major criminal organization? They all do the same shit."
"Because it's not one single organization," Connor said, emphasizing each word carefully.
"It's a network of previously competing and often violent rival organizations that have somehow managed to agree to work together.
Cooperate instead of kill each other. Play relatively nice with their traditional enemies.
Mostly. Think of it like the United Nations, except exclusively for the world's absolute worst people. "
I almost laughed at the sheer absurdity of the concept. "That arrangement won't last long. It never does, historically. Some ambitious asshole always tries to grab too much power too fast and the whole fragile castle comes tumbling down."
"You might be absolutely right about that eventual outcome," Connor admitted without any argument.
"But right now, in this specific moment, every single whisper we're hearing from every reliable source says Consortium Prime is the new dominant force on the block. Everywhere we look internationally."
"Even in the States?" I asked, genuinely surprised by the scope.
"I don't think so. Not yet, anyway. America's always been harder to penetrate with that level of coordination. But it's definitely coming. Expanding methodically. Only a matter of time before they establish real presence."
I studied his face carefully, reading the underlying tension. "Why hadn't you figured this connection out before now? Before I accidentally kicked the hornet's nest?"
Connor's jaw tightened. "The guy you killed in that abandoned building?
He wasn't just randomly connected to organized crime.
He was tied in heavily with the Consortium's actual power structure.
High-ranking family member with serious connections.
Someone genuinely important's son. When you permanently put him down, pieces started moving across the board that we could finally track and analyze. "
"What kind of pieces, specifically?"
"They've put the word out through established channels. Multiple sources confirming. They want to talk to you. But we're absolutely not going to let that happen under any circumstances. You're safe here. Completely protected."
I appreciated the sentiment and the resources behind it. Really, I genuinely did.
But right now, in this moment, hiding behind walls didn't feel like the strategically correct move.
"We should fight," I said flatly, meaning every word. "Go on immediate offense. Kill the fuckers systematically and be done with this before they get properly organized against us."
Connor shook his head firmly and immediately.
"You're not getting it yet, Kane. This isn't anything like St. Paul's was.
Small. Contained. Killable. This is like fighting a mythological hydra.
You cut off one head, two more grow back in its place.
You kill one lieutenant, you automatically piss off the entire massive organizational structure.
Every family. Every operation. Everyone. "
"Okay," I said slowly, forcing myself to think tactically instead of emotionally. "Then what the actual hell do we do? Just wait?"
"I'm honestly not sure yet," Connor admitted, clear frustration bleeding through his usual control.
"But maybe—just maybe—we can find some way to strategically separate what's left of St. Paul's from the larger Consortium structure.
Make them look incompetent to their backers.
Set them up to take a major fall. Create permanent distance and distrust. I don't know exactly how yet, but it's a direction. "
I was about to tell him that strategic approach didn't actually sound terrible when Ella and Mila suddenly rushed back into the room with obvious urgency.
Ella's face was completely drained of color. Pale as death. Eyes wide with pure panic in a way I'd never seen from her before.
Not even when she'd learned about Sabine's existence.
"Sabine's missing," she said, voice tight and already breaking around the edges. "Someone took her from school. She's gone."
Everything in the room stopped moving.
The air itself seemed to freeze solid.
My breathing. My heartbeat. Time itself.
I looked directly at Connor immediately, already knowing the answer but desperately needing verbal confirmation, anyway. "You think this might be them? The Consortium retaliating?"
"I don't know," he said with brutal honesty, but his entire body language had already shifted into full combat-ready mode. Mind calculating.
Ellsworth appeared silently in the doorway as if he'd been physically summoned by the sudden spike in tension alone.
Connor snapped instantly into pure military command mode without hesitation. "Get Kane whatever he needs. Weapons. Intelligence. Transportation. Communications. Everything available. We might be dealing with the active abduction of a five-year-old child."
Ellsworth's eyes went absolutely cold in response. Flat. Empty of anything even remotely resembling human mercy or hesitation.
In that single crystalline moment, I saw it with complete clarity.
The older British man had killed before. Many, many times. Probably significantly more than I had, despite my background.
Professional violence that went back decades.
And he would do it again without a single second of hesitation if an innocent child was involved.
"I'll get the wheels turning immediately," Ellsworth said, voice like ice, already turning to move with deadly purpose.
Ella was physically unraveling in front of me, hands shaking, trying desperately to hold herself together and failing. "We need to go right now. étienne needs help and I promised—"
"Go," Connor cut in firmly but not unkindly. "There's a car already waiting out front with a driver. We'll be behind you with full backup and resources."
I gave my friend a single nod of profound gratitude and quickly guided Ella toward the exit with my hand firm at her back.
Outside on the quiet street, a black SUV with tinted windows waited with the engine already idling.
Professional. Ready. Dangerous.
The driver turned to look at us briefly through the window.
He looked like he could strangle a full-grown grizzly bear with his bare hands without breaking a sweat or breathing hard. Heavily scarred knuckles. Completely dead eyes. Professional controlled violence barely contained under a thin veneer of civilization.
Exactly what we needed right now.
Ella climbed in quickly, visibly shaking, trying to control her breathing and mostly failing.
And all I could think about—the absolute only thing running through my tactical mind—was that my past sins had somehow directly come back to haunt the woman I was rapidly, irrevocably falling for.
The innocent five-year-old girl who'd wrapped her arms around Ella's legs this morning with complete trust.
Who'd smiled shyly at me like maybe I wasn't as scary as I looked.
If the Consortium had taken Sabine because of me, because of what I'd done—
If they'd hurt one hair on that child's head to send me a message—
I would kill every single one of them.
Personally.
Slowly.
And I'd make absolutely certain they understood exactly why they were dying.