Page 145 of Knights Game

“Don’t play stupid now, John. Not when you’ve been playing us both so well.”

“It was you?” Levi asks his father.

“What was me?”

Levi glances at me and I nod. “You see, Cousin, you and I have been causing a bit of a headache for Uncle John here.”

John stares at me for a long moment, taking in my relaxed stance. “Your intelligence has always impressed me, Luca.” He looks almost proud. “Even as a child you had the ability to think outside the box. It was both a strength and a weakness. But sometimes that brain of yours misses things.”

He opens a drawer and puts a gun on his desk; Levi shifts ever so slightly, but I remain still. This is tactics, this is him telling us we are in his house, that he is in control. Just like he always has been.

“You manipulated me into pushing the Albanians out for you.”

He pulls a face and waves a hand. “Hardly manipulated you, Luca. You came to me with the plan. I merely saw the opportunity for you to help, it was also the moment I knew youwere more of a risk than I could have ever given you credit for. You sit here saying that Imanipulatedyou, but you were the one manipulating my boy,” he says angrily. “You wanted us to push them out so you could move in with your new relationship with the Colombians.”

“How long have you known what I was planning?”

“Do you think you’re the first person to move against us? Against me?” he asks, his ruddy face from the years of alcohol flushing with anger.

“So, you set me up with the Russians?”

“I merely called in a favour.” He shrugs. “Let’s not forget that I have an understanding with the Russians. Which sometimes means I scratch their back, and they scratch mine. You though—” he turns to Levi, who up until this moment has been listening and watching “—were you planning to kill your own flesh and blood? Your own father? Was that part of your plan?”

Levi doesn’t reply.

John shakes his head. “You were always so impatient. Desperate to change things that didn’t need changing.”

“The Covenant is dying,” Levi snaps.

“The Covenant is very much thriving,” John says firmly. “You think our organisation has ruled this long by standing still? You know what I choose to show you!” John's voice booms in the large study. “But both of you, too busy building your own fucking empires to see that there’s one already here. And it’s not going anywhere.”

“The Albanians are running you out,” I say. “You’ve lost control.”

“Yes, I admit it, the Albanians have caused more of a problem than any of us were expecting.” John studies me. “They took over our territory quickly, and your plan gave us options. But you think we’re the only ones in this world that want the Albanians out of London?”

“The government,” I take a punt, knowing that there’s a link here with Terry Peyton.

He snaps his fingers and points to me. “See, always so clever. They had become as much as a problem for the government as they had for the Covenant. You boys know how this world works. We pave the way for whoever we want in power, whoever we want to turn a blind eye. We’ve had relationships with political parties since the Covenant first formed. It’s nothing new. We have always worked alongside those government officials, and working together to push the Albanians out would work for both parties.”

“Better the devil you know,” Levi adds quietly.

“The foundations of those relationships are built on secrecy, trust, and respect,” John continues, moving the gun. “You can imagine our surprise when the couple that almost brought everything to its knees daughter appears with none other than you. A coincidence maybe or was it that I had underestimated you, Luca. Did you know who she was this whole time?”

Did I fuck.

“We had to make a call the day of the car accident, we didn’t manage to tie up all our loose ends. And when an acquaintance recognised her and realised the danger she poses to that precarious understanding with the government and those in power, we had to pivot.”

“Terry fucking Peyton,”

“So, you have been doing your homework.” John nods. “I’m impressed. You’ve become quite the united front. Layla was certainly a loose end that I hadn’t expected to resurface, and this is where you played right into my hands.” His cold eyes landed on his son. “You were so desperate to bring us to our knees, all I had to do was plant the seeds for you to do what I needed you to do.”

“You set me up,” Levi hisses.

John waves a hand dismissively. “You were already looking for information on Luca’s long-term plans, always threatened by him. It should be his seat after all. Layla gave you the perfect opportunity, and it allowed me to get what I needed too. Information. When Terry saw Layla at the gala dinner, he put a contract out on her. Desperate to finish what we started ten years ago.”

Motherfucker.

“She was supposed to die in the car accident with her parents,” I say.

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