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“And that’s not the worst of it,” I added. “He used my numbers guy to steal from me, so this mysterious Ronin has a copy of my ledgers.”

“The fuck?” Marcelled growled. “Do you know how much risk this carries for the rest of us?”

“Of course I do,” I snapped. “I’m not a fucking idiot. Which is why I buried the body instead of giving into his demands. I chose to protectyouand our partnership over the whims of some half-baked blackmailer.”

“I appreciate that,” Marcelle said through gritted teeth while casting an angry look at his brother.

“I have money, and I have time. Rebuilding a criminal underworld is easy when you have those, but I hold the value of our partnership a lot higher. The only thing I ask of you all, is that you offer me the same faith if this Ronin reaches out to you.”

Dara stood and bowed. “You have the word of the Rowans. We will advise of any rumblings we hear. I will also send one of our witches to aid you.”

“I appreciate the gesture, but I already have—”

Genevieve scoffed. “Your charmer, Acheron, is nothing compared to one of our witches.”

Well, we could agree to disagree on that one. Acheron was one of the most powerful creatures I had ever come across, and I’d been around long enough to see a few. He was classed as a ‘Charmer’, a creature who weaved charms, but he was capable of much more than that. I had an inkling that he was of a similar ilk to the legendary powerful wizard, Merlin, but not even Acheron seemed to know the extent of his power. However, I wasn’t going to turn down the offer of help. “Thank you then. I would be glad to have them.”

“Perfect,” Dara said with a sly grin. “I’ll send my brother Wilder to you.”

I winced. Wilder Fucking Rowan. Exactly as his name suggested, he was as wild as they came. He was unlawful, unbiddable and clearly Dara wanted him out of her way for a bit. At least he was loyal to his family so he’d do as she said, but fuck knows what trouble he’d get up to under my roof. This was definitely a headache I could do without. Especially since Wilder liked to spend far too much time and energy trying to get a rise out of Byron. “If my house blows up, I’m sending you the bill, Dara.”

She laughed, a musical lilt to the sound. “I’ll tell him to play nice.”

I snorted. Wilder’s version of ‘nice’ didn’t line up with everyone else’s.

“I will also aid you with any additional men or weapons. Should you need them,” Marcelle said as he got up from the table. He walked around it, his hand held out. “I know what you’ve risked for us, for my brother, so thank you. Whatever you need, just ask.”

I shook his hand, and a sense of relief settled on my shoulders. This meeting could have taken an unexpected turn and ended with violence, but I was glad that I had invested time and money and blood into this partnership. “Thank you.”

“Know that Remy will be suitably punished for his slight against your name.” Marcelle’s honey-coloured eyes burnt fiercely. It didn’t bother me that Remy had slept with Lucia, we were spouses in name only now, our marriage having ended many decades ago, but it was against the rules we set up when we first started this partnership between the Three Families. Perhaps the time had come to change some of them, but that wasn’t a discussion for today.

The meeting room door burst open, and Byron rushed in, his face blank and his stare deadly. “Boss, we need to leave.”

“Why? What’s happened? Is Benjamin okay?” Panic started to bubble in my chest as a hundred equally awful situations flashed through my mind.

“Benjamin’s fine,” Byron said quickly, easing my worry. “It’s the warehouse at the docks.”

“What about it?” Vlad growled.

“It’s exploded.”

Rage erupted in my veins at Byron’s words. “That fucking asshole!”

The warehouse was one of my many storage locations that housed everything from drugs to guns. I excused myself from the room, promising an update to the other families as soon as I knew more.

“What’s the damage report?” Vlad asked Byron as we headed out of the hotel.

“Nothing appears to be stolen. Looks like someone set it alight just for the fun of it.” Byron almost sounded impressed.

I pulled my phone out and texted Acheron

ME

Warehouse explosion. Get Benjamin home safe.

He texted back almost immediately.

ACHERON