Page 92

"And if we refuse?"

Rinaldo tilted his head, studying me as he considered my words. "I believe I've shown you well enough now how easy it is for my men to get to yours. I'll give you some time to consider whether you wish to hand her over peacefully or if you'd prefer to find each of your men murdered in their beds before I take her by force." He nodded to his men and slid from the booth, tossing a few bills on the table. "I'm sure you'll make the right choice."

"Fuck," Joey hissed once Rinaldo and his men had left the bar. "That didn't go down the way we hoped."

"No, it didn't." I replied, shaking my head.

"You think he was serious about giving us time?" Craig asked. "That seems a little risky, considering it would also give us time to prepare for a fight."

"Rinaldo is an arrogant prick, and as long as he's got a mole in our organization, he's going to think he can take us out." I sighed, motioning for Craig to let us out of the booth. "It's time to call your best people. We need this mole found before we go to war."

CHAPTER FORTY

Rich

The meeting with Rinaldo hadn't gone well. Az had filled us in the minute they returned to the manor. Victoria had sat silently beside me as the realization that buying her freedom wasn't an option sank in. Leighton, on the other hand, had stormed from the house as soon as Az was done speaking.

"How long until he comes for me?" Victoria asked, breaking the tense silence left in Leighton's wake.

"I don't know, Princess." Az answered honestly.

"Let us worry about that, Babygirl. You have a charity event tomorrow to worry about." I said, grabbing her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Seriously?" she asked with a laugh of disbelief. "You were just stabbed and shot last night. This Rinaldo guy won't let you guys buy me from him. Hethreatenedall of you to get me, and you want me to worry about a charity event my father already made a donation to?"

"Yes," I replied. "The event tomorrow means networking with potential donors for the center. When all this is over, you need to be able to go back to your normal life. That means hobnobbing with elitist pricks who shell out insane amounts of money for the tax write offs like nothing is wrong."

That had been nearly thirty hours ago. Victoria had argued with me long enough that I pulled the injured card to get herto agree to attend the event. Now, I was standing in the kitchen with Joey, Craig, and Leighton, all of us wearing tuxes, while we waited for her and Az to be ready.

"Any news on the hunt for our mole?" I asked them.

"Nothing. Which actually gives us something." Joey answered. "Whoever it is knows enough to know how to rat on us without us getting wind. There's only about a dozen or so horsemen with that kind of access."

"I plan to go through them one by one until I have the mole." Leighton spoke up. "When we find out who he is, I'm going to take my fucking time cutting him into little pieces while he cries for his momma."

"I expect you'll have the chance soon enough." Craig piped in. "Phil is already working through the list that Joey put together based on what we know. With him and us working on it, we should know who the mole is in the next couple of days."

"Good," I said absently, glancing at the watch on my arm. It was nearly eight, and neither Victoria nor Az had emerged. We were going to be unfashionably late if they weren't ready soon. "Someone should go grab–"

I was cut off by the kitchen window shattering, a black canister sailing through the air before bouncing across the floor.

"Flash bang!" Leighton bellowed.

The world around me transformed into a brilliant white void. The intense radiance seared through my eyelids, penetrating every fiber of my being. My vision was obliterated, leaving me momentarily disoriented and vulnerable. I was plunged into a disconcerting state of sensory deprivation.

Simultaneously, a deafening explosion reverberated through the air, pounding against my eardrums like a physical force. The concussive blast rattled my entire body, disorienting me further. My ears throbbed with the pressure, temporarily rendering me deaf to the world around me. It was as if the worldhad been engulfed in chaos, with the cacophony of the explosion drowning out any other sound.

My equilibrium wavered, and I struggled to maintain balance as I gripped the island to steady myself. I blinked rapidly as I struggled to reorient myself and find the others.

"Joey, Craig, Leighton." I called out, my voice sounding muffled as if I were hearing myself through a bucket of water.

A tap on my shoulder from behind caused me to swing wildly around with my fist raised to strike. I let out a breath of relief when I found Joey behind me and dropped my hand to my side.

"Where are the other two?" I yelled, hoping it was loud enough for him to hear me over the ringing I knew was in his ears.

Joey shook his head and tapped a finger to his ear while pulling his phone from the inner pocket of his tux with his other hand. He tapped out a message to Az, allowing me to read over his shoulder before hitting send.911.Giving him a curt nod, I glanced at the busted window, checking for movement, before crouching low and creeping around the kitchen island. Craig was sitting on the floor, leaning against it, while Leighton crouched in front of him. I waved my hand to get Craig's attention, and he jerked his head in my direction to let L know I was coming up behind him.

"Cameras." I heard Leighton saying as the ringing in my ears began to subside, and my hearing returned. "We need to know how many we're against and where they all are. Nobody followed that flash bang through the window, so I can only assume it was meant to disorient us while they went forla petit démone."