Page 30 of Fierce Monarch

When the door closed behind him, it left only Two-Bit and me, with our seconds close by.

Griz, Two-Bit’s right-hand man, looked nothing like a bear. He was long, lean, and unassuming, like his boss. It wasn’t until you got to his eyes that you understood the name. History lived in the depths of those warm blue eyes, fierce and determined, like he’d rip you apart with his teeth. The stark loss that followed told me why he was the best man to protect his leader.

Griz was a man righting his wrongs, and it made him more dangerous than anyone else I knew. Power was one thing, but guilt could topple empires.

He nodded respectfully. “How are things lately, Mari?”

“Fine. You?”

“Still alive.”

That was that.

“You asked to talk?” Two-Bit’s eyebrow rose in question. I’d sent him a text before arriving, telling him to stay after the meeting. We needed to get something straight.

I was unsure how to answer that since I hadn’t expected Griz, whose loyalties were to the organization, not to Two-Bit as a leader. I really didn’t want to add break in another Viper to my to-do list if what I said got this one killed. I flicked a questioning glance at the bodyguard, but Two-Bit waved off my concern. “You can talk freely in front of Griz. Neither of us will tell a soul.”

Even if I were still in the habit of trusting people—something Nate had broken me of, thank god—I wouldn’t have believed a word out of his mouth. “As freely as one can talk in a room that’s likely been bugged, to a man whose secrets rival Cash’s. Is that about right?”

Two-Bit just smiled, and yeah, I was pretty sure I’d hit every part of that on the money. Fine, I didn’t mind playing word gymnastics from time to time. It kept me young.

Greyson and Griz settled in at our backs, letting us have the floor. They were both well-trained in underground etiquette, and unless the bosses were pulling guns, they’d stay the silent muscle they pretended to be.

“You’re a knowledgeable man.”

Another grin. “I have my moments.”

“Lots of them surrounding me.”

“Are you surprised? You’re a fascinating woman.”

“Not surprised, curious.” And annoyed. “You always seem to know more than you should.”

Two-Bit shrugged. “My birds are everywhere. They’d be pretty worthless if they didn’t do their jobs, wouldn’t they?”

Ah, the translation portion of our talk had begun. This one was easy. I have spies in every camp. Don’t forget that I’m always watching.

Given that he was a man who’d barely scraped together the power for a seat at the table, it didn’t make any fucking sense that he had the information network he did.

“Did your birdies tell you about my angel?” Translation: How did you know about my mother’s family?

“It took a lot of work to figure it out.” I wasn’t sure if that meant they had to dig pretty deep to get the truth or that it took them a while to get someone in the Osorio camp.

“How much work did you do involving my houseguest?” I asked. Translation: Did you know who Nate was before I did?

Two-Bit’s smile never wavered and Griz was stoic behind him, but there was a flicker in the solemn man’s eyes that gave me the answer before his boss did.

“It’s smart to know all the pieces on the chessboard if you’re going to play.”

Translation: Yes.

Rage had become my constant companion since Cash dropped his little bomb, tempered only by grief so stifling, I had to pretend it didn’t exist to function. But this? It twisted that rage into a torpedo ready to blow us all sky-high.

“You didn’t think it was necessary to share that information with me?” I asked, done with the games already. Even on my most patient day, I didn’t play them long.

Two-Bit shrugged. “I assumed you vetted your lovers. Besides, it wasn’t my business.”

The fact that I did vet Nate didn’t matter. I hadn’t done enough, and Two-Bit was right. What happened with Nate was no one’s fault but mine.

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