Page 135 of Inferno

“We will have to assess once we get there, who knows her motive or how we can use her. And we need to speak to Enzo.” The words just keep tumbling out.

“You’re stalling. Don’t let her get to you. That’s her plan.” Finn taps his finger to his temple.

“Crazy. Remember that. You could still be in jail or fucking dead because of her.”

I nod, and the anger flows through my veins as I clench my fist.

Finn pulls out some paper from inside his gray trench coat and hands it out to me.

I take it and I crumple it. It’s her application.

“What?” I ask.

“I had another look at the files Enzo sent. This was his late addition.”

I gathered that.

“Russian links. Already screwed you over. The same trip you met Enzo. This isn’t a coincidence.”

My mind spins. Finn doesn’t trust Enzo. Never has. Believes someone with that much power at his fingers can turn at any moment.

That’s why we have minimal help from him. We avoid interventions. We run our games. Enzo helps from a distance.

But would he fuck us over?

Whatever he has going on in Russia is spilling into my territory.

No. We’re an important asset. The games are too. We purposely created this to become too hard to lose.

“With everything going on in Russia, the unrest after Ivan’s death, and Mikhail not wanting to lead the Volkov family there? Yeah, Enzo probably does have another motive. But it won’t be against us, brother.”

I rub the back of my neck, trying to relieve some of the tension. I hope I’m right.

“Fine. I trust you. Maybe speak to him before you reconvene the games? He’s holding his cards, and you fucking need to see them.”

Finn straightens, leaning heavily on the bar, the scent of old wood and stale alcohol heavy in the air, and takes down the bottle of our father’s whiskey.

A constant reminder of how we got here. The empire we’ve built is on the foundations of his sacrifice.

Blood is everything, even in death.

No one takes that from us.

Not even her.

Chapter 51

CHARLOTTE

There’s a knock at my door the second I finish my sandwiches. I had to start with the chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne.

This all seems extreme to find a submissive for a year.

Especially when none of us seem to be willing participants. That isn’t the vibe I get from any of them.

Something doesn’t add up.

I bet Drago could have worked this out sooner. That last game has thrown me off. I don’t want to believe it’s him. Maybe I don’t want to face my past.

---