Page 48 of Brazen King

Lance crosses his arms beside me as we watch the man’s hasty retreat. Behind me, I can hear the muffled conversation and laughter of my men as they begin the messy task of disposing of the bodies.

“Welcome back,” Lance observes quietly, his deep voice almost amused.

“Hmm?” I glance toward him in my confusion, and he meets my gaze with that ever-watchful, intelligent one I’ve come to know so well.

Lance might not be my brother in blood. But he’s my best friend, the person who knows me better than anyone else in the world. And I wouldn’t put it past him to have perceived more about what’s going on with me than he’s said. That’s just his way. And he doesn’t mind when I choose to keep things close to the vest because that’s his default setting.

“I’ve just never known you to show the leniency you did with Boris’s men yesterday. This is the Killian I’m familiar with,” he observes.

He’s not wrong, as a mafia boss, I’m known for being brutal, and that’s how I like it. It makes my business deals far less likely to go south. In fact, Saturo is one of the few men still reckless enough—or maybe just stupid—to try getting the better of me.

I should take a leaf out of Boris’s book and stop trying to do business with the yakuza. They’re just as likely to put a knife in my back as they are to shake my hand, at this point.

Lance might have a point. How I handled Saturo’s men tonight is a stark contrast to the way I handled Boris’s men yesterday. But Saturo needed a reminder of what happens when someone betrays the Kings. Boris I can give a bit more leeway because, when it comes down to it, I started that feud. And I can respect a man who’s willing to fight for his daughters’ honor.

Once again, my thoughts turn toward Natasha and the square we’re in. She’s still fighting it—her feelings for me. But they’re there. I can see it in the way she looks at me. The way she responds so eagerly to my touch. She might want me dead, but I’m willing to bet my life that, when it comes down to it, she won’t be able to kill me.

Making her mine, on the other hand?I suspect that’s going to be a much bigger feat.

Because I know how loyal she is to her family—and Boris has made it perfectly clear that he has no intentions of marrying one of his daughters to me.

Especially now.

But if I can, I intend to change that…

20

NATASHA

Keeping my head down, I pretend to focus on the eggs I’m picking at as I wait for the messenger to finish murmuring to my father. From the corner of my eye, I can tell whatever news he’s receiving is unexpected, and I wait with bated breath as I wonder if it’s what I already know.

The messenger leaves with a polite nod to my mother, then Tatiana and me.

And the sinister grin that stretches across my father’s lips sends a trickle of fear into my stomach. I shouldn’t be worried, but I suspect he just received news about Killian’s conflict with the yakuza. And if he’s looking that happy, it means something bad must have happened to our Irish enemies.

“What is it, Papa?” Tatiana asks as we’re left alone to our meal.

“It would seem the Kings had a deal with Saturo Takumi and it came back to bite them last night.”

“What happened?” I ask, my voice sounding breathier than I would like.

Tatiana casts me a quick, questioning glance before turning her attention back to my father as we wait for his answer.

“From the sound of it, his men managed to survive the attack, and Killian killed all but one of Saturo’s men—brutally, I might add. He sent the last back to the yakuza with the Kings’ typical barbaric warnings, and of course, Saturo made the messenger perform seppuku for not killing the Irishman or dying honorably with the other men.”

My heart stutters as I picture the scene—Killian dismembering and killing the men who betrayed him. I’ve heard about his brutality, which makes me question why he would have spared my father’s men when he’s clearly still capable of such violence.

A bead of sweat trickles down the back of my neck thinking of my father’s good, loyal men who came back with a few ugly bumps and bruises, and regardless of Killian’s motivation, I’m grateful.

And despite myself, I’m also more than a little relieved to hear that Killian survived the trouble he left so abruptly to deal with last night.Of course, that’s only so I have the pleasure of killing him myself…

“No surprise there,” Tatiana observes dryly. “It’s a wonder Saturo still has men to spare when he’s as likely to sacrifice them or make them commit suicide as he is to spare them.”

Our father snorts his amusement, and my mother’s lips curl in silent appreciation of my sister’s observation. She’s not wrong. But while our Bratva is the most notorious family in New York and Killian’s might be the most ruthless, Saturo’s numbers are nothing to balk at. He’s right up there with Lucian Agosti when it comes to the size of his army—which makes him formidable in a different sense, even if he is wasteful of his men’s lives.

I’m tempted to bring up my thoughts on Killian and the different way he handled my father’s men compared to Saturo’s.But after witnessing my father’s outburst about Killian’s marriage proposal, I don’t dare.

Tatiana’s always been the level-headed one. The tactician. And she doesn’t mind indulging my curiosity.

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