“Allowed?” I question him with an eyebrow raised.

“Yes.Allowed,” he emphasizes. “My dearest brother hired a hundred to be rid of you ruthless lot. A good number, honestly. Expensive to get them to stop a mission midway, but I decided to give them a bargain by proving your group isn’t one to mess with. Even if your own traitorous leader hired them to ensure your end.” He watches the way the news settles in our expressions.

This hurts…

“So you allowed twenty of them to come through while the other eighty waited in watch to see what would happen,” Ares concludes.

“Yes.” He smiles nice and wide then. “Your brother put on a show, I must say. Made a few of them pale up and say the Lord’s Prayer in thankfulness that they weren’t cocky enough to take the deal. I guess getting one million each to try to take him out was enticing, but alas. It ended with me proving my point and them realizing your group isn’t as easy to kill with the bodyguard around.”

“How…” Ares questions but stops himself.

“I did my research,” he declares as he looks between the two of them. “And if it wasn’t because you look like an innocent baby in comparison to that lethal assassin over there, I’d assume you two were twins.”

“We’re not,” Aries and Ares say in unison.

I have to huff because I’m tired of all this shit.

“Dolcezza needs oxygen,” I emphasize in haste, leading everyone to look at her as if to confirm she’s still breathing. She is—thank the fucking universe—but I don’t like how slow her inhales and exhales have become since he injected her with that forbidden shit.

“I’ll take the lead,” Bunny Stalker announces, but Aries takes a step forward.

“I’ll go first.”

“And get shot out by my ten watch guards? That would be a damn shame,” Bunny Stalker announces, leaving us to take the lead to the door.

We all share a look, and I can tell Aries is pissed, but we have no choice but to follow until the door to the locker room opens at Bunny Stalker’s approach.

A woman in black encourages our exit, and I’m even more surprised to see she’s blindfolded. It only takes me a second to see the five very obvious red dots that are far enough that if they wished to kill us, no one would ever find our killer.

So, he was right…

“Shall I get the car, sir?”

“Yes, please.” I’m surprised by his mannerism. “The Cadillac will do. Ensure the medical team is on board with oxygen on standby. Be sure to also give permission for the duo to join us. As long as they won’t try to kill anyone.”

Duo?

“I’ll ensure the captive duo are read their rights and will accompany us to the next location,” the woman assures him with an added bow.

“Who?” Ares dares to ask.

“Your medical duo,” Bunny Stalker declares.

“You kidnapped Kian and Argo?” I don’t sound mad, more surprised, if anything.

“Kidnap? I wouldn’t necessarily call it that,” Bunny Stalker notes. “I simply put them in a secure area, just in case things got messy. They are rather valuable with a strong rep in our dark world. Wouldn’t want them to randomly get killed because you lot forgot their existence.”

Fuck, we did…

“As for your account, I’ve already reported the recent charges of today as fraudulent, with evidence that proves none of you are in the country. You all are currently in Turkey, receiving special medical examinations due to the approaching gala. I’m sure your health and well-being are rather important when being reassigned as Ruthless Kings, so seeing the effort being put in place is a valid reason to ensure these charges are dismissed promptly.”

“But we’re not in Turkey,” Ares notes the obvious.

“Not yet. Once we stabilize Precious Gem and have a bit of a discussion on everything that occurred leading to this moment, I think you’ll wish to take the trip to Turkey for your own well-being.”

Our own well-being.

“What was done to us?” I dare to ask.