Page 28 of King of Ashes (Kingdom of Sinners #4)

"Give me a timeline," I demand.

"A week, maybe two at most," Flint says, rubbing his jaw. "The Feds are already sniffing around. Hampton had too many connections, too many business partners who are wondering where he vanished to."

"And if they find him in the basement?" I ask.

"Kidnapping charges would be the least of our problems," Flint replies bluntly. "We could lose everything we just reclaimed. The businesses, the territory, all of it."

I nod, absorbing this information. "Then we need to be strategic about this."

"We could just kill them," Ash suggests, not for the first time. "Clean, simple, problem solved."

"No," I say firmly. “The families need to see their ruin for us to solidify our power.

We'll hand them over to the authorities on the wedding day.

After the loyalty ceremony, after everyone has pledged themselves to the Ifrinn family, we'll make a show of turning Hampton and Lana over to the police. "

"With evidence of their crimes," Flint adds.

"Exactly. We'll be the upstanding citizens who discovered Hampton's illegal activities and did the right thing." I smile coldly. "He'll spend the rest of his life in prison, watching as I take everything he built and make it mine—including his daughter."

Ash shakes his head. I know he’d rather kill Hampton, and I don’t blame him. We all have a reason to want him dead, but I’m more and more enjoying the idea of thinking of him rotting in prison.

“It’s a good idea, but not without potential problems. The wedding gives our enemies the perfect opportunity," Blaise says, lowering his voice despite our being alone in my office. "All the families in one place, including us. We'd be exposed."

“He’s right. We'd be fools not to prepare for it," Flint agrees. "We're back from the dead, Phoenix. Some people may question our legitimacy or our strength. There are plenty of people who'd benefit from seeing us gone permanently."

He's right. The wedding is a potential trap. It has my mind spinning with possibilities. "What about Keira?"

Blaise's eyebrows shoot up. "What about her?"

"Could she be involved in something? Planning something?" The moment I say it aloud, I realize how paranoid it sounds. Yet the nagging doubt persists. Maybe I’m overthinking this. But what if while I've been plotting my revenge, she's been plotting hers?

I've been so focused on the idea that she might be protecting a lover, I never considered she might be playing a longer game.

Hampton Kean didn't build his empire by raising a naive daughter.

He raised her to be cunning, to see opportunities where others see obstacles.

What better opportunity than marrying the man who just took everything from her family?

The theory builds momentum in my mind. She submitted to this marriage too easily.

Even her defiance could be calculated, enough resistance to seem genuine, but never enough to truly jeopardize her position.

And the sex… God, the sex could be the oldest manipulation in the book.

Make a man think with his dick instead of his brain.

How many times throughout history have men fallen for that particular trap?

How many empires have crumbled because a man couldn't see past his desire?

If she's planning to reclaim her family's power, she'd need allies. People loyal to the Keans who are biding their time, waiting for her signal. The wedding would give her the perfect opportunity to enact her revenge.

Maybe that's what she was doing that night, meeting with conspirators, planning how to turn my triumph into my downfall.

"You think your bride-to-be is plotting to kill you at your wedding?" Blaise asks, not hiding his doubt to my theory.

"I don't know what to think anymore." I stand up, frustration building. "She's hiding something. If it’s not a secret lover, maybe it’s a resistance team. She’s very, and I mean very compliant. Why do that if you’re not trying to give me a false sense of security?”

My brothers glance at each other, all looking uncertain.

“She could be a part of something, but I doubt she’s organizing it,” Flint says.

“Keira strikes me as a woman who’s given in to her lot in life,” Ash says, which is strange since he hasn’t seen her since our return.

“What does that mean?” I ask.

“You know. Learned helplessness. She had her chance to get away with you, but then that all went up in smoke, literally. I can’t imagine the fire didn’t send a message to her as well.

Be careful fucking with the Keans or they’ll burn you alive.

So she does what she's told. She becomes the dutiful daughter… now the dutiful fiancée. She knows she has no power.”

“It sounds like a bleak existence,” Flint says, sounding like he’s feeling sorry for her.

“Maybe that’s why they got the kid,” Blaise offers. “Give her something to focus on. Keep her minimally happy.”

But that brings me another thought. “Why didn’t they marry her off?”

Ash gives me a pointed look. “Maybe because she wasn’t a virgin anymore.”

“So this is all my fault?” It’s not the first time I’ve heard that my parents’ deaths were the result of being with Keira and my father’s disapproval, but fucking hell, would Hampton really burn everything just because my father didn’t support a match?

That seems over the top even for Hampton.

No, he wanted to take what my father had.

“No it’s Hampton’s fault. And I'm not saying we shouldn't be cautious. We absolutely should. But Keira planning your murder? That seems far-fetched,” Blaise says. I suppose he’d know better than anyone since he spent a great deal of time infiltrating the Kean family.

Even so, the suspicion has taken root. "Then what is she hiding? Why the secrecy?"

“There are a thousand possibilities between 'innocent secret' and 'assassination plot’.” Blaise smirks at me.

“We could bring the wives in,” Flint says suddenly, interrupting my spiraling thoughts.

I look up, confused. "What?"

"Lucy, Jenna, and Hannah," he clarifies. "They are going to be sisters-in-law with Keira. They could help us figure out what Keira's hiding. Lucy’s real good at ferreting out information."

"Hannah's still recovering," Ash objects immediately, protective as always.

"I'm not suggesting we put her in danger," Flint counters. "But think about it. Women notice things about other women that we don't.”

I consider this, seeing the logic. "You think they could get Keira to open up?"

"Maybe." Flint shrugs. "At the very least, they could keep an eye on her, see if anything seems off. Lucy's got journalist instincts. She can spot a lie from a mile away. And Jenna's so unassuming that people tend to let their guard down around her. Plus, she knew Keira."

"It's not a bad idea," Blaise admits reluctantly. "Jenna's been asking about Keira anyway. Says it must be hard for her, being surrounded by enemies with no allies."

Of course Jenna would take Keira’s side. I like her, but she’s got too soft a heart for this life. Still, the idea isn’t a bad one. "We could make them bridesmaids."

My brothers look at me with varying degrees of surprise.

"It makes perfect sense," I continue, warming to the idea. "It shows unity between our families. Makes the marriage look more legitimate to the other families. And it gives your wives a reason to be around Keira constantly in the days leading up to the wedding.”

“Will Lucy be alright with spying on Keira?” Blaise asks.

“If she’s concerned about our safety, yes.” Flint looks at me. “Although, she wasn’t happy with that display at dinner the other night. I think her words were something like, ‘I didn’t realize Phoenix was such a misogynistic pig.’”

I grind my teeth while Blaise snickers. Even Ash’s lips twitch up.

“You do seem a little full of yourself, Phoenix. We stand behind you, but remember what they say about power. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

I arch a brow. “You think I’m corrupt?”

“Hell yeah,” Blaise says. “We all are. It’s the nature of the business, but Ash is right. Don’t let it go to your head. Or maybe it’s not power. Maybe it’s your dick, but you have to keep whatever has you like a rabid dog around Keira.”

I don’t like any of these analogies. “I’m not any of those things.”

Ash shrugs as he stands. “Good. I’ve got to take Hannah to the doctor and then I’m working at home.”

“She’ll want to be in on the bridesmaid thing,” Flint says, rising from his chair. “We’ll make sure she’s safe.”

“How do you know what Hannah wants?” Ash asks, peeved.

Flint laughs. “Lucy knows everything about everyone.”

I watch them file out and for the first time since we invaded the Kean home and took back what was ours, I feel it.

The satisfaction of it. The pride in it.

And in a few days, I’ll make our claim even more solid by marrying Keira.

The Ifrinn and Kean families will be bound together in a union built on revenge and suspicion.

What a foundation for a marriage.

I rub my eyes, feeling the weight of sleepless nights. Every time I close them, I see her. Sometimes, she’s the girl I loved ten years ago, sometimes, she’s the woman who might be plotting my downfall. Which version is the truth?

What I hate is that deep down, I still feel something when I look at her. When I touch her. Something that goes beyond desire, beyond the physical connection. Something I've spent ten years trying to bury alongside the memory of my parents.

But I can't afford to let those feelings cloud my judgment. Not when so much is at stake. Not when I've fought so hard to reclaim what was taken from us.

This wedding isn't just about Keira and me. It's about securing the Ifrinn legacy, about showing Boston that we've returned to claim what's ours. It's about honoring my parents' memory by rebuilding what Hampton Kean destroyed.

And if that means keeping my wife under constant surveillance, if it means never fully trusting the woman who will share my bed and my name, then so be it. I'll do what needs to be done.

I'll make this marriage work, not because of what we once had but because of what we now represent. I'll be the husband she needs publicly, the leader my family needs privately, and I'll keep my eyes open for any sign that she's playing a different game.

Because whether she's hiding a lover or a plan to reclaim her family's power, I'll find out. And when I do, I'll be ready.