Page 76 of Lovely Venom

That’s none of my business. It could have been, but the DEA tossed me on my ass.

Every night it’s the same thing. After the kills, Connor always leaves his lair around midnight looking freshly showered and wearing a sharp suit. He gets into a Denali, and I follow him using tailing skills from my Quantico training.

He and Rhys meet at the hot nightclub Luxe. They sit at a VIP table with Rhys’s brother, Quinlan Empire’s enforcer Trace, and two other men who look like Connor.

I cataloged all these names in my head in case a prosecutor picks me up, and I have to start singing like a canary to stay out of Riker’s.

Each night Connor walks into Luxe, my stomach clenches, wondering if I’ll catch himwith another woman. But healwaysleaves alone.

I asked Ruby if Luxe has private rooms. She didn’t know but asked around. An embarrassing amount of relief washed through me when she told me on good authority that Luxe is a nightclub with a bar, a dance floor, and VIP balconies only.Openbalconies. The owner is a woman, too, but Ruby didn’t get the name.

The bottom line: Connor isn’t fucking anyone in there.

Despite him saying I’m his, mob bosses can’t be trusted when it comes to commitment. Plus, I don’t want to get married, so what am I keeping him alive for?

My phone rings and I curse, seeing it’s Valdrin. “Hi. I’m waiting for Connor to get home from a club. I’ve watched him for a week. I know what to do.”

“I know you do. That doesn’t mean I don’t worry he’ll hurt you,” Valdrin says, sounding uneasy.

I sit up. “If something happens to me, will Noel not inherit my father’s wealth?”

“It’s not the money he’s worried about. There are hackers to make sure he gets every dime, it’s the power.”

“He’s thekyre. Isn’t his power secure?”

Valdrin hesitates. “There’s more to the brotherhood than thekyre.”

A spike of adrenaline has me shaking. Did Valdrin just tip his hand? Is there a stronger force in play here that they haven’t told me about?

A beep on my burner phone steals my focus. Connor is on the move. I convinced an old agency contact who hates Meyers as much as I do to track Connor’s phone.

“He’s on his way home. I have to go,” I say to Valdrin.

“Good luck, zem—” he says and clears his throat. “Raina.”

The call ends, and I stare at it. What did he want to call me? And why are my ears ringing and buzzing over it?

I can’t think about that now. I drive around the blockto Connor’s apartment. When I get there and see he’s a few blocks away, I leave the rental and break into the apartment again through the same window.

This time it’s even unlocked.

He’s setting a trap. But to kill me or keep me?

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Connor

Luxe is loud tonight. Or maybe it’s my head.

The DJ’s bass shakes the walls, but these kids like it loud.

Kid...

Fuck, where did my youth go? I’m thirty-seven, and that empty feeling I had at Da’s memorial service creeps back into my bones.

Rhys and Trace talk about weapon shipment routes and concerns about a squad. A team of brats led by Kip Hendrix.

“He tends to wander,” Trace mutters, leaning in. “His wife left him, and I worry he’s off the rails.”