Page 139 of Lovely Venom

“Tell me about your leadership structure,” Griffin asks Valdrin. “I can’t kill a king without understanding the court.”

“It is nearly impenetrable,” Valdrin says immediately instead of the definition Griffin is asking for.

“It’s your legacy, Val,” Connor reminds him. “You either go into hiding and look the other way when we destroy it, or help us get it back for you.”

Valdrin looks at Connor holding my hand. “Where does Raina fit in?”

“With me,” Connor says right away. “Raina is the rightful princess. And when I take her to wife, that means I’m aligned with that brotherhood.”

I blink, keeping my face even. I specifically said I wasn’t ready to get married. But uniting with Connor is a small sacrifice if Valdrin walks away with Quinlan Empire’s backing to lead the brotherhood. I’m crazy about him, and he’s crazy about me. Look what he’s done for me. What else can I possibly want in a man? A husband?

“We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Griffin says through gritted teeth, not immediately on board with allying with an organization that attacked Lennox. “The leadership, Sokolov. Talk. We’ll decide if it’simpenetrable.”

Leaning forward, Valdrin wipes sweat from his brow. “They follow a traditional Russian brotherhood model of brigadiers. There are four powerful knights. High ranking and highly respected.Worshipped. Their men will follow them to their death.”

Connor signals something to Shane, and it’s he who speaks. “You mean, there were four. Now only three remain. The man we killed was a knight, wasn’t he?”

Valdrin’s jaw trembles, and he looks at me because he sentmeto kill Connor to save the knight. I failed him on both counts. “That is correct,” he replies, low and controlled.

“We never got his name,” Connor says. “Tough bastard held out.”

“When you reach that level, you give up your identity.” Valdrin shifts in his seat. “They go by code names. You killed Iron Moth.”

The name alone gives me chills.

“The knights think they can destroy anyone,” Valdrin admits. “As a whole. But it hasn’t been done in a very long time. The complete annihilation of a syndicate.”

“He’s right, crime lords don’t wipe out hundreds of people from a rival family in one night anymore,” Griffin says. “Too much technology and risk of getting caught. That’s why marriage alliances have grown in popularity.”

He should know. He had to marry Ava to stop her brothers from slaughtering the Irish in Lower Manhattan.

“What makes the brotherhood impenetrable?” Shane asks.

“Without them, thekyredoesn’t control the army of soldiers,” Valdrin answers. “The knights command the entire force of the brotherhood. All Noel has are personal guards.”

“Did the other three kill one of our captains?” Shaneasks. “A high-ranking capo named Hendrix was killed right after we killed Iron Moth.”

Valdrin’s throat tightens, having to answer for the death of a man sworn to the people who currently have guns pointed at him. “Noel ordered the death, yes. The knights wanted to taste the blood themselves. It is also required when one is killed.”

Ruby’s voice echoes in my head:There were three of them.They had accents like Valdrin.

“Who are these other knights?” I ask.

“Ghost Hound, Red Vulture, and Black Fang,” Valdrin says freely. “Kyreis one man. One king.”

“A shaky throne,” Connor says.

“Noel is a false king.” I stand up, my brain twisting as crazy thoughts fire at me. “That should be you, Valdrin. The knights have to go, too. We need a complete decapitation of the leadership.”

Valdrin gives a low chuckle. “What you’re suggesting is impossible. You want to kill Noelandthe remaining knights?”

“With them out of the way, Noel’s life is at risk,” I say with a grin.

Connor smiles, accepting this side of me. “You sound like you have an idea, Venom.”

“You call my daughterpoison?” Valdrin grounds out through clenched teeth.

“It’s a compliment.” My eyes flutter. “I’m a beautiful, deadly snake in his eyes.”