Page 78 of King of Depravity

“Yes, you do,” I give her a soft smile. “I happen to know you’re ridiculously smart.”

“And I know you’re the strongest man in the world.”

I doubt that’s true, but I’m not telling her that. “Which is why I’ll be fine, and we’ll be walking on a French beach together in just a few days.”

I see her soften and I know she’ll go.

In the lining of her suitcase are several data files holding the whereabouts of the Russian operation. Tucked in the back of the folder are the instructions to destroy them should anything happen to me.

Mason isn’t going to kill me if everything I know will die with me. He needs the information I’ve collected.

Hopefully, it all goes down just like I’ve planned. But there is only one way to find out.

CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE

Killian

Kissing Chloe goodbyeis the hardest fucking thing I’ve ever done. She doesn’t cry, but her eyes show all her worry. Her fear. I give her a long, slow kiss as the cab driver checks his watch.

“I’ll see you in a day or two.”

“Promise?” she squeezes my biceps. I’ve never made her a promise I didn’t intend to keep. And I’ll do everything in my power to keep this one, but I can’t say the word. I won’t mislead.

“I’ll do my best, sweetheart.”

“I love you,” she whispers, knowing what I mean.

“I love you too,” I squeeze her waist. I love her more than anything or anyone. Even myself. “It’s time to go.”

She gives a tentative nod. I hand her into the car, closing the door. Watching her drive away wrecks me and I stay out on the street until the cab has disappeared.

Then I head back into the apartment. We’ll all be patted down, weapons not allowed in the meeting, but I arm myself anyway. Two knives, three guns strapped to my body, one small pistol tucked by my junk so it will be difficult to find.

The entire time, I just picture Chloe and what she looked like driving away. The sight of her tears, of her face in the window of the cab.

Those fuckers are going to pay. Slipping out into the setting sun, I stay in the dark shadows. I don’t go straight to Smith Real Estate Development.

Instead, I go to Dimitri’s home. I’ve watched him before. From the shadows, I see him in the window as he swings a small girl into his arms.

“Alina,” I whisper to myself. His daughter. Four years old. I don’t know what happened to Alina’s mother. It doesn’t matter.

What’s important is understanding a man’s weak points. A car pulls up, and the nanny climbs out. She’s the prettiest nanny I’ve ever seen, and I wonder what the story is there, but it’s not a lever I’ll pull tonight, since I’m not certain.

I wait to watch the nanny arrive upstairs, Alina leans out from her father’s embrace, the nanny catches the girl and pulls her into her arms.

It’s the way Dimitri hovers over them both that I know…if he’s not fucking the caretaker of his little girl, he wants to.

I tuck that one away as I start for my family’s offices. I know all I need to for tonight.

I arrive early but wait in the shadows, watching all the players assemble. My brothers first, looking resigned. Mason, Jake, and Leo next, moving with the confidence of men who believe themselves in charge.

And finally, Dimitri along with two of his foremen. I enter last.

The guard at the elevator has been tasked with patting everyone down. “Ken,” I say with a nod, pulling three of my four pistols from their holsters and one of the two knives.

“That’s quite the spread,” he looks down at the tray where I’ve placed my weapons.

I shrug. “Big day.”

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