Page 60 of Savage Kingdom

One Year Later

Location:Moscow

Rule number one in espionage:never let people see your true face. Once they know you, they could decipher your every move. I liked to think I was a master of deception. Not much rattled me anymore. As I grew older, I got colder, losing a bit of humanity along the way.

If there had ever been a doubt in my mind that training Bastian had been a failure, he’d just proved himself today. The oil prince had bigger balls than I thought.

Like all organizations, Sekten had its headquarters, but you could only access them once you were a full member and you had pledged your allegiance to them. The place the Sekten called home held more secrets, and some of the wonders of the world.

So this building was the next best thing when it came to conduct business meetings with civilians. It was where people of high power could request meetings, making things a little more formal and official for them. You know, so they would get to keep some peace of mind and pretend they weren’t messing with terrorists.

How life had changed since my brief time in Chicago. Bas had become a member and was the reason I knew about this meeting. I also had one of the four relics I had been hunting, but the most important thing was that I didn’t fear Damian anymore.

The building wasn’t huge, but it was wide, with black windows and maximum security. I mean, we were all killers with charm, so whoever was stupid enough to come prodding got what they deserved. If the guards looked surprised to see me, they didn’t show it.

In the last year, I had taken the jobs no one wanted. It kept me away for longer, and I got sick satisfaction coming back from a deadly mission and smirking in Damian’s face, proving that I was far from weak. He might have been lenient with the Yoro fiasco and given me a few years of freedom, but I would be returning back to him sooner rather than later.

The doors to the meeting room were closed, but I put my code in and waltzed right in. No one would make me feel like I hadn’t earned my seat at the table. Like I hadn’t bled and kneeled for this organization. I had paid the price for this more than anyone.

“Looks like someone forgot to tell me about this little meeting,” I said in a sweet voice as I strutted toward the big oval table that was in the middle of the room. There were no windows, and the only other thing was a large monitor behind Damian.

Damian spoke in a lazy tone. “It was my understanding you couldn’t make it. Your vote was by proxy.”

I smiled. If Damian wanted to play, I would entertain him. I smiled at him, my eyes looking at him and ignoring everyone else at the oval table. He tried to assert his authority over me, but it wouldn’t work—not anymore. Men played dirty when they feared women. They couldn’t take the fact that a queen would always trump a king.

“Pray tell, who gave my vote?” I raised a brow.

“I did,” the whiny voice came from across the room. It was Johnny, a member who had been here for a while. He’d auditioned at a time when his country was beneficial to us. If he were to do it in this day and age, he would have been denied. He’d always wanted a piece of me, but what a shame when a whore turned him down.

“That’s funny. I don’t remember giving you my proxy.” I didn’t glare at him, just stared into his eyes.

“It’s just a formality. Not everyone should have a voice,” Francesca said from where she was seated next to Damian. I hated her with her model frame, tan skin, and brunette locks. She had the perfect upbringing, but she was just evil. She enjoyed the hunt; she’d chosen this life, and not the other way around. She came here trying to become the queen of the Sekten. She thought just because she spread her legs for Damian, she deserved a crown.

I didn’t answer her. My eyes met Bastian’s from across the room, and he looked at me with awe. He was proud, and his support meant the world to me. He was more family to me than my own flesh and blood had been.

I was never good at playing politics, and I wasn’t about to start now. I pulled a throwing star from behind my back and aimed it at Johnny’s head. The star blade was a beauty in the air. As soon as I threw it, I smiled. He didn’t expect it, no one did, for who would be crazy enough to kill at a meeting? And a member at that. Johnny’s head rolled back, blood oozing from his forehead and his lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling.

“Since he gave my vote, I guess it’s only fair I get his.” I shrugged it as if Johnny had been an inconvenience and this hadn’t been Damian’s doing.

I turned to look at him, and his face was perfectly controlled, stoic even, but I knew he was fuming behind his calm façade. He despised me, but I knew him—and he didn’t know me.

Francesca leaned back, putting her curls behind her ear. She smiled at me triumphantly. “Do you know what we do to traitors? Killing a member without reason is a crime.”

Her head turned to the other end of the table. That’s when I turned my profile to see who she was talking with and almost staggered back.

It had been almost a year since I last saw his face, and it still hit me like the first time. I couldn’t drink anything amber because I was pathetic. Gideon was here trying to get voted into my world.

He had a smirk on his handsome face, and even though I saw him a year ago, I could see the changes in his façade. He wasn’t the same man I had left behind. There was something different about him. In London, I’d noticed the tattoos covering his neck and hands. There used to be some restraint to him, but now I saw none. He was all chaos. I knew he had abandoned his crown, but I never thought he would want to join this organization.

“No, I don’t know. Why don’t you enlighten me, love.” He smirked at Francesca, ignoring me.

My body was on fire. My palms itched to throw another star, maybe two, and have them land in Francesca’s eyes. That would make for a pretty decoration. I wanted to see her blood spill for—fuck. I stopped my train of thought when I realized that I was jealous.

“We punish death with death.” Francesca beamed with pride.

The only thing left for me was to keep smiling. Everyone was a monster in this room. I came because I had a point to prove, so it was time to prove it. I walked around the table, aware that I had everyone’s eyes on me. It was their fault for underestimating me. Well, almost everyone underestimated me. Three people in this room knew what I was capable of. I knew Damian was waiting for me to show my hand. Bas was addicted to mayhem, so he was waiting for me to put on a show. But the one who unraveled me the most was Gideon. What he’d said to me in London stayed with me. He knew I could slay my own demons, but he wanted to be the one to do it.

I went around the table toward my seat. I passed Francesca, and my fingers glided over her back. She stiffened at my touch. She might act like she wasn’t afraid of me, but the bitch was.

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