Page 18 of Devious Knight

Last semester, when we trialed for the elite group, we had to welcome him into our fold. They needed four guys. Dmitri, Logan and I already vowed from when we were fourteen that we were going to be part of the elite. Failure was not an option.

We also accepted that we would need to be open to a fourth member of our close-knit crew. When we came here and met Alek we knew it had to be him. His cousin is Lucian Sokolov, the third member of the elite unit leadership, so we felt that working with Alek would bode well for us. It did.

But that doesn’t mean he has to know my private business.

We grab some bottles of beer and head to the pool table on the second-floor balcony. There’s no one up here.

We gather around the table and open our drinks.

We haven’t spoken properly since before Christmas. I wanted them to enjoy their birthdays and the holidays with their families. They deserved the break and the time to appreciate their accomplishments.

I don’t celebrate anything anymore. Not since that night.

Two weeks ago was the anniversary. It’s been three years since I lost my parents.

After they were killed no one could find the people who attacked them. No one knew who they were. Dmitri, Logan and I were the only witnesses to what happened.

I vowed to spend the rest of my life trying to find the bastards. Thanks to Dmitri’s tech skills and my off-grid contacts I was able to do so. It took a long time, but we did it.

It was the Malina. The Ukrainian mafia.

I don’t know what motive they had for attacking my family. And it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I know it was them.

Now that I know, they’ll pay.

Dmitri raises his bottle. “Well, here’s to the start of the new semester. And everything that comes with it.”

“Hear, hear.” Logan and I agree, clinking our bottles with Dmitri’s.

I take a gulp, allow the buzz from the alcohol to mellow my mind, then set my bottle down on the table, signaling that I’m ready to talk. They stare back at me in anticipation.

“I’m not so sure I should drag you guys into my shit.”

“Are you kidding me?” Dmitri’s brows shoot up while Logan clenches his jaw and places his beer bottle next to mine.

“I’m serious.” I set my shoulders back and look at each of them. “This is going to be dangerous.”

“When has that ever stopped us?”

“This is different.”

“The Malina are one of the worst groups of motherfuckers in the underground. They have no alliance with the Knights, so going after them is a suicide mission.”

“You need our help.” Logan glares at me.

“Maybe so, but this is the kind of bad idea that could get me kicked out of Raventhorn, ruin my chances to play for the NFL, and as for getting to the initiation stage of becoming a Knight? Well, I could kiss that goodbye, too, if I’m caught. That’s why I’m hesitant to involve you guys any more than I already have.” They knew I would never stop looking for justice. But that justice is mine to seek, not theirs.

“Kade, do you seriously think we haven’t considered those risks?” Dmitri asks, chewing on his bottom lip. “From the moment I realized it was the Malina I knew what I was signing up for.”

“Me too,” Logan agrees.

“I don’t want you to take any of the risks I have to take.”

“That’s too bad, bro, because we’re in this together,” Dmitri argues before I can say another word.

He and Logan bump fists and fix their gazes on me.

“Can’t let you have all the fun without us.” Logan laughs.

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