Page 12 of Tragic Empire

Apollo lifts a brow. “Does Doc say no as well?”

“There are no physical indicators.”

“You’re not saying something,” Nico drones the accusation without even eyeing the Russian. For a man with a kill count as high as his, my Nico sure seems to understand the human psyche better than most.

“She has a bruise on her breast,” he admits with a small wince. “But Jade told Dmitri that it was from Cole.”

Nico practically yawns at the information. “And that’s worth withholding because?”

“I feel it is odd to report on the intimate lives of my Koroleva’s friends. But it is new, Cole and Ana had never…” He trails off, trying to find the words.

“You think they started fucking recently and perhaps that act could have prompted the situation we’re currently in?” Elio concludes, brows knitting down.

“I would not bet money on it.” Anatoly shakes his head. “If it were the reason and I did not say anything?—”

“You did the right thing,” I interrupt. “Nothing is too personal when something like this happens. Ana could still be in danger, we need all of the information we can get our hands on.”

“Since no one seems to know a fucking thing,” Cassio grits out, angerly typing on his tablet.

“Have you made contact with anyone from The Kings?” Armani asks, swinging his eyes between Apollo and me. His tattooed knuckles crack as he fidgets while his knee bounces. He’s unsettled after coming back from the bloody warehouse, and I don’t blame him.

“Bron’s second was Killian,” I reply, rubbing a hand down my face. “I don’t know who to trust. This could very well be an inside job.”

“They’re going to notice all of The Knight family is missing,” Apollo points out amicably.

“We could ask Colton,” Armani suggests with a frown. “Dustin was friendly with Cole, he might know who the safest contact would be.”

Colton Wyatt is Armani’s long time best friend and heir to The Outlaws. His younger brother Dustin is a quiet kid, but if my son trusts his judgement, it’s a good enough place to start.

“Call him on a secure line,” I advise before pointing my gaze to Apollo. “We need to contact Ana’s mother as well.”

“We’re going to have a difficult time with that,” he mutters gravely, eyes locked on the screen in his lap.

My head shakes, devastation for Ana threatening to creep in. “No.”

“Remo has been hacking into their security systems from his phone. Vivian was staying in their London home. There’s a lapse in footage and then—” He turns the screen.

My hope for Ana sinks at the clear sight.

Vivian Knight lies on her back, pale face unblinking at the ceiling. Both of her forearms are slashed from wrist to inner elbow, pools of blood surrounding her body. All around her, soaking in her spilled DNA, are pictures of her daughter. Pictures that make it look like she wasn’t just kidnapped, but was killed along with her stepbrothers.

“This is a live feed,” Apollo reports with his monotone voice and a blank expression on his face.

“That’s fucking sick,” Elio grimaces, looking away from the screen.

“What is it?” Armani asks, not able to see from his chair.

Waving Apollo off so that he’ll remove the gruesome video from my sight, I heave a deep sigh. “Her mother is dead.”

“What the fuck?” Cassio seethes. “How?”

“She killed herself, or someone did an excellent job of making it look like she did,” Apollo replies. “Either way, someone made her think Ana was dead before it happened.”

“This is seriously twisted,” Armani says, pinching his brows. “Colton’s calling on a secure line. He’s with Dustin.”

“Put him on speaker,” Nico directs. “I want to hear if they lie.”

Armani scowls at him. “It’sColton, he’s not on trial.”