Page 86 of Pretty Vengeful Queen

“Fuck no,” Dante says, snorting. “Sienna’s right about one thing. That would be fucking suicide.”

“And not good for the city,” Logan adds, his eyes flat.

Maddoc sighs, then pinches the bridge of his nose. “But since McKenna’s a narcissistic fucktwit, none of that shit’s gonna hold him back, and like Sienna said, he’s got the money to actually make a go at it.”

“Fuck,” Dante says. “We’re all gonna suffer if he does, win or lose.”

Maddoc nods. “But none of that means Sienna’s wrong.” He pauses, then curses. “She’s a lot of things, but I don’t think she’s that. Not about this.”

Dante and Logan nod, and even if I don’t know all the factors they’re probably taking into consideration, my gut agrees. Austin really is going to come gunning for The Six.

“That could change things,” Maddoc says grimly. “If they see McKenna as an actual threat to their power, they’ll have to step in.”

Dante drums his fingers on the table. “That could help us.”

“They still won’t take sides though, right?” I ask.

“That’s right, wildcat,” Logan says, giving me one of those small smiles that make me feel so damn in love with him. “But the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“I think they could become very good friends to us,” Maddoc says slowly, like he’s contemplating strategy. “But we’ll need to get proof of what Sienna said if we want to take this information to The Six and make that happen.”

Dante nods. “They won’t act on rumor or hearsay alone, that’s for damn sure. Especially not when it means starting some shit that could destabilize Halston’s entire underground.”

“The Six exist to keep order, right?” I ask, looking between the three of them.

“That’s right, butterfly,” Maddoc says, turning to press a thigh-melting kiss behind my ear. “They do, and they’re ruthless about it.”

“I like ruthless,” I say, earning three matching looks, each hot enough to curl my toes.

“We know you do, princess,” Dante says, those vibrant green eyes of his promising me that they’ll give meexactlywhat we like once we get home.

“But first,” Maddoc says, pinning us each with a look. “We need to get some actual evidence of McKenna’s plans. How are we gonna do that?”

None of them have a quick answer to that, and I bite my lip as they start throwing around ideas, realizing that the information Sienna brought was both good and bad. On the one hand, she’s finally given us the first real chance we have to fight back with something concrete; to really find a way to stop that motherfucker once and for all.

But on the other hand, the Reapers don’t have anyone on the inside in Austin’s organization, and with no reliable allies or informants to lean on for this, in some ways, being able to finally end this thing feels farther away than ever… especially if we don’t figure it out fast enough.

Because if Austin actually starts something that pulls Halston’s underground into an all-out war that involves The Six? Everyone’s gonna suffer, and I can tell by the serious looks on my men’s faces that even they aren’t sure the Reapers could survive that.

28

RILEY

“Quit scratching that thing, princess,”Dante says, catching me in the act as he passes my room.

I jump, dropping my hand from my healing tattoo, startled more than I should be since I know all three men are home right now. We’ve all been on edge though, and I know Dante gets it. West Point has been getting more and more aggressive, and just yesterday he attacked us again, getting a lot deeper into Reaper territory than he’s dared up until now.

Worse, this time, a few of our people got hurt. It’s not just Austin who’s getting more aggressive; the mercenaries he’s hiring seem to be getting more bloodthirsty by the day.

“That motherfucker,” I whisper, appreciating it when Dante frowns and steps fully into my room, pulling me against him.

“We’re gonna end him,” he says, not needing me to explain where my mind just went since he feels it too.

“I know. Are we making any progress, though?”

“You know what Logan says.” He pushes some of my hair back, smiling down at me. “It’s coming together.”

I’m not sure that’s exactly what Logan actually said, but I go up on my toes and press a kiss to Dante’s mouth, happy to take his reassurance in the spirit he means it.

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