Page 37 of Room Six

Rune is already on the phone with Raja.

A few weeks more and this will be done. We will do whatever it takes to win her back. By Valentine’s day, Magnolia will be in our arms once again and all will be right in the world.

Seven

Oliver

Two weeks turned into eleven months of death and destruction. I’m exhausted. We all are. Not part of me isn’t in pain.

Every promise Danika, Rune and I made to each other fell through. Two weeks into eliminating the Hightowers we found out the family has spent the last two decades fortifying their compound, weapon reserve and army. Danika’s father made an enemy out of the wrong man and it nearly cost us our lives.

But it's done.

The Hightowers are no longer a threat to us or the smaller mafia families they were terrorizing. Danika’s father was wrong to make them into an enemy when he could have used their power among the gambling nightlife to help amass a fortune. But he was not wrong about their character. The Hightowers were shady motherfuckers with no morals. They didn’t care how they earned their money. The closer we got to eliminating the king, the more we learned about their empire. They built it out of blood, death and the sale of anything that turned a profit be it drugs, children, women or fake IDs.

As of three hours ago, the Hightower king met his end and the Sinn family is taking over all operations. We will shut most of them down within the week.

I fasten the cuff of my shirt and work in the link, then do the same to the other cuff.

Rune walks through my door–a bourbon in one hand and an ice pack in the other. He’s dressed for Club Sin’s annual Autumn ball looking like he went through a cement wall head first. Long black hair hangs around his face and helps hide the bruises, but nothing helps cover up the busted lip, the bloody knuckles or the knife wounds I stitched up half an hour ago.

“Have you talked with Raja?”

I hold Rune’s gaze in the reflection of my mirror and nod. “And if he wants to keep the property in Paris and his head, his intel better be spot on.”

“She ran from us. It’s going to be fun making her pay for her knee jerk reaction.”

“Careful with that line of thought. Just because we know where to find her doesn’t mean she’ll fall into our arms. We ghosted her and deleted her from our lives. We will be happy if she doesn’t shoot us.”

“Touché. Something tells me Raja would love that.”

“He did sound reluctant to give us intel on her.”

My chest tightens. “He’s wanting her for himself and I can’t fault him. She’s the perfect woman for anyone with eyes and a heart.”

Rune washes back the last of his drink, making me want one. The second we ended Hightower's reign and killed the last chance of anyone coming after Magnolia, we boarded our private jet for New Orleans. We showered on the way, changed and have about thirty minutes before the gates close for the night. Raja swore we could find Magnolia within Club Sin: New Orleans property lines for the next twenty-four hours and then she’s leaving. It’s all the chance we need. Once our hands are on her, she won’t be leaving our side again.

“Okay, let’s go, Romeo. Let’s go find Danika. It’s time to leave.”

I walk into the main cabin of our jet, slipping into my tuxedo jacket to find Danika bleeding through his shirt and arguing with his father. Danika turns from the video call to signal us to give him a minute.

“Five is all you have before I end it.”

Danika jerks his head at me as if to say agreed.

I don’t think he cares about the stained shirt. He slips on his tux jacket and does the same routine with his cufflinks I just finished. Beside me, Rune holds the ice pack to his chest where he took a blade over skin.

“The last Hightowers are dead. We have people from Chicago cleaning up the aftermath. It’s done, Father. No more. I fought to establish peace with a rival family out to harm every Sinn they could get their hands on. That is it. I will not sit down and talk about more war plans. Let there be peace for God’s sake. There’s no one left to fight.”

“People fear you now. You need to move on that surge of power.”

“You do not need to rule with fear. Had you not killed Hightower’s father in the first place, this whole clusterfuck blood bath with them would not have happened. Won’t you learn, Father?”

Danika’s father ends the call, and I can finally stop biting my tongue.

“I can feel your worry from across the room, Olie. Nothing changes about tonight.”

“Olie, huh? It’s been years since you called me that. Maybe decades.”

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