CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
Raina
V aldrin’s face drains of its color, and I watch Connor’s words play out in those green eyes. The way his jaw ticks. How immediately it seems preposterous. Until he realizes he’s got the backing of Quinlan Empire. If anyone can put a crown on his head, these Irish brats can.
After Griffin sits down next to me, Connor takes the seat on the other side with Shane on his left.
“Tell me about your leadership structure,” Griffin asks Valdrin. “I can’t kill a king without understanding the court.”
“It is nearly impenetrable,” Valdrin says immediately instead of the definition Griffin is asking for.
“It’s your legacy, Val,” Connor reminds him. “You either go into hiding and look the other way when we destroy it, or help us get it back for you.”
Valdrin looks at Connor holding my hand. “Where does Raina fit in?”
“With me,” Connor says right away. “Raina is the rightful princess. And when I take her to wife, that means I’m aligned with that brotherhood.”
I blink, keeping my face even. I specifically said I wasn’t ready to get married.
But uniting with Connor is a small sacrifice if Valdrin walks away with Quinlan Empire’s backing to lead the brotherhood.
I’m crazy about him, and he’s crazy about me.
Look what he’s done for me. What else can I possibly want in a man? A husband?
“We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Griffin says through gritted teeth, not immediately on board with allying with an organization that attacked Lennox. “The leadership, Sokolov. Talk. We’ll decide if it’s impenetrable.”
Leaning forward, Valdrin wipes sweat from his brow. “They follow a traditional Russian brotherhood model of brigadiers. There are four powerful knights. High ranking and highly respected. Worshipped . Their men will follow them to their death.”
Connor signals something to Shane, and it’s he who speaks. “You mean, there were four. Now only three remain. The man we killed was a knight, wasn’t he?”
Valdrin’s jaw trembles, and he looks at me because he sent me to kill Connor to save the knight. I failed him on both counts. “That is correct,” he replies, low and controlled.
“We never got his name,” Connor says. “Tough bastard held out.”
“When you reach that level, you give up your identity.” Valdrin shifts in his seat. “They go by code names. You killed Iron Moth.”
The name alone gives me chills.
“The knights think they can destroy anyone,” Valdrin admits. “As a whole. But it hasn’t been done in a very long time. The complete annihilation of a syndicate.”
“He’s right, crime lords don’t wipe out hundreds of people from a rival family in one night anymore,” Griffin says. “Too much technology and risk of getting caught. That’s why marriage alliances have grown in popularity.”
He should know. He had to marry Ava to stop her brothers from slaughtering the Irish in Lower Manhattan.
“What makes the brotherhood impenetrable?” Shane asks.
“Without them, the kyre doesn’t control the army of soldiers,” Valdrin answers. “The knights command the entire force of the brotherhood. All Noel has are personal guards.”
“Did the other three kill one of our captains?” Shane asks. “A high-ranking capo named Hendrix was killed right after we killed Iron Moth.”
Valdrin’s throat tightens, having to answer for the death of a man sworn to the people who currently have guns pointed at him. “Noel ordered the death, yes. The knights wanted to taste the blood themselves. It is also required when one is killed.”
Ruby’s voice echoes in my head: There were three of them . They had accents like Valdrin.
“Who are these other knights?” I ask.
“Ghost Hound, Red Vulture, and Black Fang,” Valdrin says freely. “ Kyre is one man. One king.”
“A shaky throne,” Connor says.
“Noel is a false king.” I stand up, my brain twisting as crazy thoughts fire at me. “That should be you, Valdrin. The knights have to go, too. We need a complete decapitation of the leadership.”
Valdrin gives a low chuckle. “What you’re suggesting is impossible. You want to kill Noel and the remaining knights?”
“With them out of the way, Noel’s life is at risk,” I say with a grin.
Connor smiles, accepting this side of me. “You sound like you have an idea, Venom.”
“You call my daughter poison ?” Valdrin grounds out through clenched teeth.
“It’s a compliment.” My eyes flutter. “I’m a beautiful, deadly snake in his eyes.”
“That better be true,” Valdrin says.
“It is.” Connor pulls me to his side and turns me to face him. “Now, what’s your idea?”
The room quiets, heartbeats slow down, and breathing turns shallow. For a moment, all attention is on me. For the first time, I feel powerful in this world.
“This could be a long shot, but my friend was with the Irish capo the night he died.”
“What?” Griffin goes rigid. “Who?”
I keep Ruby’s name out of it, and Connor doesn’t out her either. That is her truth to own up to. She might want to keep her assault a secret.
Connor squeezes Griffin’s shoulder. “We thought it was just an unfortunate coincidence that Hendrix hired Raina’s friend. Hendrix only fucked whores.”
My skin crawls, hearing Connor call Ruby a whore, but that’s to further make her invisible to his brother.
“My friend said three men killed Hendrix and then raped her.” My voice cracks, saying it out loud.
“All three?” Valdrin asks with a hitch in his breath, suggesting he might have figured out I’m talking about Ruby.
“Yes, all three of them raped her.” I keep my stomach from revolting. “They took turns with her.”
Shane stands up. “We have a witness to all three committing a crime?”
“She said they had on masks,” I argue. “But they spoke with thick accents.”
“We assumed they were contract killers. Not the actual leadership .” Connor scrubs a hand across his jaw. “Not links in the chain to destroy your brotherhood. We need a reliable, undisputable way to identify these scumbags and what they did.”
Shane holds up his phone. “Noel Tahiri has three planes at LaGuardia Airport registered to one of his shell accounts. I’m hacking a commander’s order to have the jets impounded so the knights can’t leave the country.”
“Trace and Rhys, kill their pilots if they resist,” Connor adds with zest.
“Hang on,” Griffin objects like a sane boss.
Connor is lighting a match for World War III on the streets .
“I’ll speak to someone in the mayor’s office about what our options are regarding the rape.” Griffin turns to me. “Your friend will need to speak to a prosecutor.”
“I’ll talk to her,” I say, hating to use Ruby’s attack to our advantage. But it will be the justice that she deserves. “We have to get the knights out of the way to take down Noel.”
“Tahiri is still a don,” Griffin says, running a hand through his hair.
“He’s illegitimate,” I argue.
“Without the knights, the whole organization is sheep,” Valdrin adds, sounding on board with our plan. “ I can handle them.”