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Shepherd was dead, and Roman had pinned the safe house explosion on the other faction. He was currently consolidating Shepherd’s followers under his leadership. It was all going according to plan, but there was one other thing that had been bugging me.

Dexter had provided some meager details about the source of the Brotherhood’s funding, but I wanted to know exactly who was funneling money into the organization when they weren’t taking on new contracts.

Roman would shit a brick if he ever found out I was involving his brother in our scheme, but when it came to the financial world, no one was more powerful or resourceful than Dominic.

Dominic’s eyes glinted. “You want a favor.”

I rarely asked for favors. I hated owing other people, but sometimes, it was necessary.

I nodded.

He smiled. “Consider it done.”

CHAPTER42

Ayana

As expected, Maya went all out for her birthday gala. It was held at a private event space downtown, and the theme was the Seven Deadly Sins. There were party stations for each of the sins, including a lavish buffet for Gluttony, eye-popping burlesque performances for Lust, and custom massages and facials for Sloth.

I’d convinced Vuk to make an obligatory appearance, but we were coming separately since I got ready with Maya beforehand.

Vuk:I’m on my way. Be there soon.

Vuk:I can’t wait to see you.

He followed up his text with an excited cat meme. I giggled and responded with a similarly excited minion meme.

I never thought there’d be a day when I would exchange silly memes with Vuk Markovic, but here we were. It started after I left the Valhalla Club last Friday. I’d sent him a stupid, gushy thank-you meme—for the shooting lessons,notthe admittedly mind-blowing sex—and he’d shocked me by responding in kind. Since then, it’d been a nonstop volley of images, GIFs, and the occasional social media video.

I was sure he was doing it to indulge me since I would’ve bet my entire shoe and perfume collection on him not being a meme guy, but that only made it more endearing.

I was still grinning when I looked up from my phone and saw Maya beelining toward me, champagne flute in hand. We’d split when we arrived since she had so many people to say hi to, but she appeared frazzled as she came up beside me.

“Please save me,” she said. “My mother invited ablind datefor me. Can you believe that? He’s been trying to dance with me for the past twenty minutes, and I’m over it.”

I followed her not-so-subtle grimace to where a handsome man with a neatly trimmed beard was staring at her with a longing expression.

I laughed. “Hey, he’s good-looking and he seems taken with you. There are worse things in the world.”

“He also has the personality of wet cardboard. No, thanks. Besides, it’s my birthday. I want to flit around, not settle down. Look at me.” Maya gestured to her outfit. She was clad in a stunning, floor-length orange gown that complemented her brown skin perfectly. She’d styled her thick black hair into an intricate twist, and a pair of diamond showstoppers grazed her delicate shoulders. “This was not meant for a blind date.”

“True,” I acknowledged.

“Anyway, forget about him. Are you having fun? Where’s Vuk?”

The news about my “split” with Jordan broke last weekend, around the time I told her about my relationship development with Vuk. Jordan and I had released a joint statement that’d been cleared by both our PR teams.

Canceling wedding plans was easy; dealing with the aftermath was harder, especially when I’d been seen with my ex-fiancé’s best man before the breakup was publicly official. Throw in the wedding attack and Jordan’s recent coma and it was all very scandalous. Maya took the news in stride, but the city’s rumor mill was in overdrive.

I didn’t care. I was finally happy, and I wasn’t going to let a few whispers ruin that.

“He’s on his way,” I said. “This party is wild. I saw Indira and Riley K. doing shots with Asher Donovan and his girlfriend at the bar.”

I swear, half of Manhattan, Hollywood, and London society was in attendance.

“Oh yeah, that tracks.” Maya grinned. “Also, can I just say those earrings lookstunningon you? Whereever did you get them?”

“Thank you. I believe they’re from your closet.”