Page 72 of The Devil We Know

“By marrying me?” Carolina asks.

Lilith turns to her and nods. “Yes, that was a solid enough union to eliminate a lot of possible threats, so we ran with it.”

Antoinette snorts and retorts, “As if Tony would’ve allowed someone else to marry Carolina.”

“True,” Lilith replies. “And he would’ve been even more infuriated by the idea that Matt outranked him.”

Antoinette laughs. “Kind of sad I missed the opportunity to razz him.”

Both women laugh, and I frown at what is obviously an inside joke. I wait for their laughter to die down and then ask, “So Matt being a Ferro means what exactly?”

Lilith and Antoinette look at me like I’ve suddenly sprouted two heads, and then Lilith turns to Antoinette and asks, “Is she for real?”

“She’s been out of the game for a spell,” Antoinette replies with a shrug. “And she’s a bit younger than me, so she wouldn’t know much about the old families.”

Lilith raises a brow quizzically as she peers at me, and I’m just shy of starting to squirm when she beams a glowing smile at me and exclaims, “Well, the Ferros are the oldest and most powerfulfamily in the organization. So being the head of the Ferro family puts a person firmly at the top of the entire empire.”

“So, there’s more of them?”

“Well, no.”

“What?” I squawk. “What happened to them?”

Lilith’s smile brightens even more as she responds, “Oh, I killed them.”

I frown, squinting at her enthusiasm, completely lost for words. Then Antoinette adds, “They totally had it coming.”

I rub my hands over my face tiredly as I mutter, “I’m sure they did.”

Carolina sighs and moves closer to me, leaning in as she says, “You get used to it.”

I turn raised brows to her and ask, “Get used to what?”

“The constant fuckery.”

“Okay,” I respond seriously. “Someone answer me one question.” I glance around the room, and everyone stares at me expectantly, but no one says anything. So, after a beat, I ask, “Why would Matt announce this now? When everyone was already out for his head?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Lilith answers with a smile. “Because he knows it’ll spread like wildfire, and all the rats will come out of the sewers in the hopes of taking him out and getting themselves the whole lot.”

“Surely there’s a better way to go about it? Something more methodical and sinister. Less fucking crazy.”

Lilith makes a face, tipping her head from side to side as she says, “Well, sure. But this way had far more impact given so many families were in attendance. And knowing he’s a Ferro means they’re less likely to kill him outright. Gotta stick with the rules and regs when you’re trying to steal a throne.” I nod but say nothing, too tired to think about it anymore tonight, and then Lilith asks, “Anything else?”

Antoinette presses her lips together, squinting her eyes, and then, after a beat, says, “Wait. How are you not related?”

“Oh,” Lilith exclaims. “Old man Ferro stole me from my parents when I was a small child.”

Antoinette’s eyes widen as she says, “Stole how?”

“Well, he murdered them and took me.”

“And no one tried to get you back?”

Lilith shakes her head and then shrugs. “He basically took out the majority of my family. The few who were left scattered into the wind, with the exception of my father’s brother.”

“And what did he do?” Antoinette asks cautiously as if unsure she wants to know.

“Oh, he stayed beside me my entire life. My most trusted confidante and colleague.”

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