Page 72 of King of Depravity

It’s Mason’s turn to kill me with his eyes. “If I wanted Killian dead, I would never be so garish or so stupid.”

Fair.

Gris gets out of his car approaching in long strides. “What the fuck is going on?”

The four of us stand in a loose circle. “Someone attempted to kill Killian this evening. He’s gone underground with Chloe.”

“Underground?” Mason asks.

“We won’t find him,” Gris says with a shrug. “Unless he wants to be found. He plans for this kind of shit like you would not believe.”

“We don’t need to.” Mason rubs the back of his neck. “I got a text from Dimitri Ivanov this evening. It had footage of Killian killing Alexander. The helicopter was retaliation.”

“Killing Alexander?” Gris’s gaze slashes to me. “What the fuck is he talking about?”

“Chloe went to the bar before hours to quit. Alexander tried to rape her.”

Silence follows my words as each man begins to understand. Every one of them has fallen in love, married. If a man put his hand on one of their wives….

“Would Killian take out the entire Russian Bratva?” Mason asks.

I don’t like the question. Even I know that killing takes a toll on Killian, even though he pretends it doesn’t. “He’s not a fucking assassin.”

Gris meets my eyes, and he gives the briefest jerk of his chin. “We’re sticking to the plan. Meet with the Russians. Put them on notice.”

“Did the video happen to show that Alexander had already killed a Vendetti?”

Mason’s eyes widen in surprise, a smile spreading on his lips. “So they’re already falling out on their own. This is excellent news.”

“Gris is right,” Jake adds. “We have the meeting. Sell Killian’s actions as that of a man in love who lost his temper over his lady. Pretend we’re throwing the Russians a bone by allowing them a second casino in the tunnel deal as an apology.”

We’re all nodding.

But I add, “We should have Killian attend.”

“Why?” Gris asks.

“I agree,” Mason says before I answer. “And let him be as pissed as he wants to be. They should fear him and what he’ll do to them if they don’t fall in line.”

I don’t answer. Because while I agree with Mason, I have no idea if I can convince Killian to come and if I’ll be able to control him if he does.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN

Chloe

We walkfor what feels like hours. We zig and zag down streets and alleys, skulking through shadows, until I have no idea where we are.

Finally, we stop in the doorway of a building and Killian pulls out a key. My eyes go wide as he unlocks the door, and we step inside. He softly closes it behind us, turning a deadbolt. We walk up two flights of stairs, before he unlocks another door.

Stepping inside, he flicks on a single light, and I gasp. We’re in an apartment. A small kitchen sits to the left, a cozy living room with a couch and two chairs to the right.

“Where are we?” I ask, peeking into a doorway that leads into a small but very clean bathroom.

“My apartment.”

I turn to stare at him. “But weren’t we at your loft apartment already?”

“I have five,” he answers like that is a completely normal response.

---