Page 98 of Kings of Cruelty

“The blueprints say otherwise,” I retort. “Just because you couldn’t find it doesn’t mean it’s not there.” I have a headache, but it’s offset by the triumph I feel at finally having solved this puzzle. “So I guess we go there, find them, then…” I glance at Konstantin. “Then what? We have to figure out what to do about your dad.”

“We call allies.” Konstantin turns to Kyran and Silvano. “Will you fight with us?”

Kyran glares at him. “Why should we? Seriously? If we let you fall, I get my sister back. Because if you care about her, you’ll send her to me and Silvano instead of letting her get caught up in this mess.”

“I’m not some pretty little princess to be sent away at the first sign of danger,” I tell Kyran hotly.

Silvano coughs into his hand. “Last I checked, I was still the head of the organization, Kyran.”

“And Kyran’s your bitch,” I mutter bitterly.

I didn’t really expect him to hear me, but from the way he turns his glower on me, he obviously did. I shrug, unrepentant.

“So? Mr. head-of-the-organization, what will you do?” Yuri asks Silvano. “We are not giving Sierra to you.”

Silvano nods, smiling sadly. “I know. So I agree to working together, if Sierra will allow it.”

No.

I stare at his fake nice expression, the overly elegant clothes, the air of being above it all, and I can imagine sawing his limbs off the way we’d done to James. We could do it, right here. There’s four of them, sure, but Kyran wouldn’t touch me—hell, none of them would touch me. If I get my hands on a gun, I could blow Silvano’s brains out and finally get revenge for how he’d utterly destroyed my family.

My hands clench. Even if they don’t touch me, they’ll kill Konstantin, Yuri, and Nikolai. Any hope of retaking Konstantin’s empire will go down the drain even if we manage to survive.

“Only if you rally more people,” I say through gritted teeth. “You’ve got contacts.”

Silvano nods. “I do. Although I suspect many of them are the same as you have.” He walks over to the nearest chair and sits down. “I can supply a few men of my own, too. How many do we need?”

“At least thirty,” Konstantin says immediately. “My father will have brought many men from Russia, and there are the defectors from my crew as well.”

Yuri nods. “The mansion is well protected, but we know it better than he does. On the other hand…”

“They have inside men,” Nikolai mutters. “Okay. Weapons, allies. Let’s—” He winces when the doctor grabs his arm.

“You are staying put,” she says. “And I’m leaving, because I don’t need to hear more of this.”

“Two teams,” Silvano says. “Kyran, Sierra, and Yuri will go to the slaughterhouse. Knives, you can go with them too. Maddox, Konstantin, Nikolai and I will start calling around.”

One of the men who had come with them nods. “Got it.”

“Sierra doesn’t—” Kyran starts, but he sighs, seeming to realize at long last that he’s not going to win this argument.

“Yes,” I say firmly. “I do need to.”

One way or another, I have to see this through.

TWENTY-FIVE

Sierra

It’sa tense ride to the slaughterhouse. The building looms up over the horizon like some sort of haunted mansion, and I can see why my father loved it.

“You don’t have to go in,” Yuri says once we’ve parked. “We don’t know what we’ll find.”

Kyran’s car pulls up beside us.

I shake my head. “Are you crazy? I’m not staying in the car like some sitting duck. I’ll be safer with the three of you.”

Assuming they don’t turn on each other the second they’re semi-alone with one another.

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