Chapter 26: Chapter 26

We have two days of peace after that night.

Two days where I let myself cling to the hope that Luca D’Addario won’t find out what my men did. That he won’t be angry even if he does find out.

But on the third day after Jordan’s death, Marcus’s phone buzzes.

The four of us are in the living room, and I’m settled on Ryland’s lap, nestled against his chest. We’ve spent the past few days trying to track down information about the Viper, proceeding with our plan and pretending there isn’t a guillotine hanging over our necks.

We haven’t been able to find much. The man is like a shadow, although now that we’re looking for signs of him, it’s clear he’s been steadily gaining power in Halston for the past several years.

Marcus pulls his phone from his pocket and swipes across the screen. His expression hardens, and my stomach drops.

“Luca?” Theo asks the question we’re all thinking, although I already know the answer before Marcus speaks.

“Yeah. He wants to see us. Now.”

“Fuck.” Ryland’s hand stiffens where it rests on my thigh, tension gathering in his body.

“I’m coming with you,” I say quickly.

There’s a momentary silence as all three men freeze. I can feel their need to protect me, to shield me from all of this, warring with their knowledge that I’m no longer on the outside of any part of their lives. They let me in, just like I let them into mine.

I’m part of this, whether they like it or not.

Marcus’s jaw tightens as he looks over my head at Ryland, communicating something silently. Then he nods, and I feel Ryland let out a heavy breath. I turn to kiss the broad-shouldered man before climbing off his lap, and he grips me so tight I’m sure I’ll find bruises later.

He doesn’t try to stop me from coming though. Even Ryland, who fought the hardest against the pull between all of us, has finally seemed to realize it was always a battle we were doomed to lose.

We’ll live together or die together, but nothing will ever tear us apart.

The four of us pile into Theo’s car and head out. It’s a cool late fall day, but the sky is clear and the sun shines brightly, glinting off the cars we pass as we head out of the city. It all seems too bright, too vibrant, to fit the mood inside the car.

The guys talk quietly among themselves as we drive, agreeing on what they’ll tell Luca. They decide against lying almost immediately—if he’s called them in to speak to them, it’s because he knows about Jordan’s murder, or at least, he’s confident enough in what he does know not to believe a lie.

My stomach twists around itself as if I’ve swallowed a live snake, turning over and over until bile rises up my throat. I force it back down, and when Theo reaches over from the driver’s seat, I grip his hand tightly in mine.

I have no real idea what we’re walking into, but I cling to the belief that if the men expected Luca to kill them outright, they would never have allowed me to come—not that I wouldn’t have fought to come with them anyway.

The large house looks different in the light of day than it did when we arrived in the evening for the party, although it’s still overwhelmingly expensive and luxurious.

Our reception is different too. Instead of being greeted at the door by a butler, we’re ushered inside by two large men with guns holstered at their belts.

My already racing pulse kicks up another notch as they lead us through the house, and I can’t stop myself from darting glances at the two men. They have blunt, stoic faces and carry themselves with the casual power of men who know how to deal death quickly and efficiently.

Marcus and Ryland bookend me on either side, walking so close that their arms brush against mine, and Theo is just ahead of us, his posture stiff and alert.

We head into an entirely different wing of the house than we were brought to for the party, and the men stop outside a large wooden door. One of them raps sharply against it, and at the sound of a male voice from inside, he opens it and ushers us inside.

The door closes with a sharp click behind us, and I feel certain that the two men are posted on either side of it just outside the room. Ready to burst in at any moment if needed, or to stop us if we try to flee.

“Constantine. Bennett. Harrington.” Luca D’Addario sits at a large desk, and he nods at the three men as we all step forward. Then his gaze lands on me, and he cocks his head. “And who is this? I saw you at my party, didn’t I?”

“Yes, sir.”

I dip my head in a deferential nod. I’m not sure what the exact etiquette is supposed to be when addressing him, but the impression I’ve gotten of Luca is that he’s the kind of man who demands that others respect his power. And I don’t want to piss him off any more than we already have.

“This is Ayla Fairchild,” Marcus adds, introducing me to the dark-haired older man.

Luca nods, his gaze still zeroed in on my face as if he’s dissecting me, picking me apart into small pieces and cataloguing which bits might be useful to him. It makes my skin prickle with uncomfortable awareness. His gaze isn’t sexual or leering, but it’s so fucking perceptive that it makes me feel naked anyway.

A long moment of silence drags out while he studies me, and then he nods to himself and shifts his focus back to the men. “You know why I called you here, I presume?”

Marcus nods. “Jordan McCabe.”

Luca’s heavy dark eyebrows jerk upward a little, as if he’s surprised Marcus admitted to it so easily. That he didn’t argue back or feign ignorance.

“Yes.” Luca leans back in his seat, tugging at the sleeves of his crisp dark suit. “He was important to me.”

“I know. He told us.”

“But you killed him anyway.”

“Yes.”

Marcus’s voice remains calm and blunt, and unease prickles through me. I know the men decided that lying to Luca would guarantee a worse outcome, but I wish he would soften the truth a little.

Luca’s eyebrows rise even higher, and he scans Theo’s and Ryland’s faces carefully.

“Care to tell me why you thought it was a wise idea to interfere with a man who was important to the operation of my business?” His tone hardens. “You were handpicked as potential successors for me, but that does not give you the right to interfere with my assets until the competition is over, do you understand?”

“They did it for me,” I say before I can stop myself. Then I add, “Sir.”

Now Luca’s thick brows reverse direction, dropping low and pulling together as he turns his attention to me. “Explain.”

Marcus and Ryland seem to have stopped breathing beside me. I can feel danger crackling in the air, but they already decided not to lie to the crime lord. If we’re going to tell the truth, he should hear the whole truth.

“That man they killed, Jordan McCabe, was my foster father when I was younger. During the time that I lived under his roof, he raped and abused me repeatedly.”

The words fall from my lips awkwardly. It’s easier to talk about now that all of it—including Jordan’s life—is in the past, but I’m still not used to so openly sharing the painful details of my past.

If it makes Luca understand, though, if it saves my men from harsh punishment, I’ll tell him every sordid, fucked up detail.

Ryland finally shifts beside me. I think it’s the first time he’s drawn a breath since I spoke up. “She told us what happened, and Jordan didn’t deny it. With all due respect, sir, he didn’t deserve to live.”

Luca’s sharp gaze cuts to Ryland, his expression turning hard. For a second, I can see every inch of the ruthless criminal who fought his way to the top to become the de facto king of Halston.

“That was not your call to make,” he growls. “None of you.”

My stomach drops. Blood rushes in my ears, and my mouth goes dry as I brace myself for what comes next.

Luca lets his words hang in the air for a moment, cutting off all the oxygen in the room. Then he sighs. “But in this case, I agree with you. Jordan was useful, but he always thought too fucking much of himself. If I’d known he was a child molester on top of it, I would’ve killed him myself.”

He rises smoothly from his desk, walking around it and leaning against the heavy mahogany as he crosses his arms over his chest. “That doesn’t change the fact that you went behind my back and killed a man who played an important role in my operations. His loss can be compensated for, but if you ever pull this kind of bullshit again, you’ll be out of the competition with a price on your heads, do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

All three men nod, their faces carefully blank. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep my own expression as neutral as theirs. Equal parts relief and terror flood my veins at Luca’s words.

The men won’t be punished for what they did.

But they just used up the last of Luca’s good will. Any other perceived slight will be a death sentence.

Luca assesses their faces for a moment, then nods in satisfaction. “Good. I’ve been watching your progress in the competition, and I’ve been impressed. Of course, it remains to be seen how it all plays out, but each of you have presented yourselves as strong contenders.”

“Thank you.” Marcus dips his chin slightly.

Luca smiles, something I can’t quite decipher passing through his expression. “And of course, I should congratulate you again on your engagement. When I agreed to let Victoria compete, I have to admit this was a development I never saw coming.” His dark gaze flicks to me for just a heartbeat before returning to Marcus. “And you two seem to be well-matched.”

My stomach hardens into a lump, and I almost bite a hole through my cheek as I work to keep any reaction from showing on my face.

Marcus stiffens beside me. “Thank you, sir.”

“I expect an invitation to your wedding,” Luca adds, a broad smile spreading across his face.

“Of course,” Marcus agrees.

My toes curl inside my shoes, but I manage to keep my fingers from doing the same as emotions roil inside me.

If I held out any hope that Luca would interfere in Victoria and Marcus’s engagement or call it out as the sham it is, his words have quashed it. No matter what he might think of it personally, he’s obviously decided to let it play out, to allow Victoria to leverage marriage as a power play.

So much for Luca believing in true love.

Or maybe he’s just decided the game is more important.

My heart is an insistent drumbeat in my chest, and I want desperately to get out of here. We’ve done what we came here to do, and the men have somehow managed to escape Luca’s wrath for the murder of Jordan McCabe. Now I’m anxious to flee this suffocating room before I say something that will get us in worse trouble.

The man who called us here is dangerous, and I shouldn’t press our luck, no matter how angry I am.

“Is that all, sir?” Theo asks, and I wonder if he can somehow sense the violent emotions churning in my chest. Maybe I’m not hiding them as well as I thought.

Luca turns another sharp-eyed look on him, and I get the feeling even asking the question has put Theo on thin ice. It’s a sign of disrespect, asking to be dismissed before the king has made it clear he’s finished with you.

But Luca’s features smooth out again as he nods, that easy, confident smile spreading across his strong features once again. “Yes. That’s all. As long as you’re clear on what the consequences will be if you cross me again.”

“Yes, sir.”

The older man’s smile broadens. “Good.”

He steps forward, catching my hand and bringing it to his lips. All three of the men around me react, and I have a feeling this is a test of some kind, that Luca wants to see what their reaction will be.

They each shift a little closer to me as he presses a kiss to my knuckles, but none of them make any move to fight him or pull me away, thank god. I get the sense he already knows that something exists between us all, and that he’s trying to gauge exactly what it is. The less we reveal to him, the better.

His lips are warm against my knuckles, and although my skin doesn’t prickle painfully the way it did when Jordan touched me, I have to work hard to keep from yanking my hand away.

Luca’s gaze shifts up to mine as he lifts his head. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Ayla. I hope our paths will cross again.”

“Me too,” I say, managing to keep my voice fairly even.

He smiles again, and my gaze flicks down to where he’s holding my hand. His palm is turned up, and as I glance at our joined hands, I notice the dark ink of a tattoo just barely visible beneath the edge of his sleeve.

It’s a snake’s head.

The body disappears under his sleeve, presumably wrapping around his forearm as if it’s clinging to his limb.

My heart jolts in my chest, and I yank my gaze away quickly, returning his smile with an automatic curve of my lips. “Thank you, sir. For understanding.”

He nods. “Of course. I’m sorry to hear about what happened to you.”

Then he releases my hand and returns to his desk, lifting his chin at the men in a gesture of dismissal.

I keep my footsteps even as I follow the three men out of Luca’s office. The two bodyguards who escorted us in lead us back out, and with every step I take, my heart beats faster and faster.

I can barely breathe anymore by the time we step outside the house into the chilly breeze, and Marcus shoots a glance at me as we walk down the front steps toward the car.

“What’s the matter, angel? You look like you saw a ghost. You’re pale as fuck.”

I shake my head and keep walking, waiting until we’re farther from the house before the words finally burst out of me in a low whisper.

“It’s not right. Something about this is all wrong.”

“What do you mean?” Theo rests his hand on the hood of his car, looking at me with concern.

My gaze shoots back to the house, and the image of the snake’s head flashes in my mind again. My blood seems to turn to ice, chilling my whole body as the confusion roiling in my mind turns to certainty.

“This whole thing is fucked up,” I murmur. “I knew that from the beginning. But I didn’t realize how fucked up.”

“What are you talking about?” Ryland’s hazel eyes darken at the tone of my voice.

I draw in a deep breath, gathering my scattered thoughts as the truth pounds against my head like a hammer. “He’s not planning to let go of his power. I don’t know if he ever was. He set this whole thing up, picked the most powerful families in Halston and pitted you against each other… gave you permission to kill each other. And while you’ve all been distracted, fighting over a prize that doesn’t even exist, the Viper has been rising in power.”

Marcus makes a noise in his throat, and I know he’s followed my train of thought and arrived at the same place I have.

I clench my hand into a fist, shifting my gaze between all three of my men.

“Luca is the Viper. He’s been playing you all this whole time.”