It was nearly impossible to trackIl Circo’s owners. The name meant the circus in Italian, and the elite club for the world’s deviants sure as fuck lived up to its name. It was like a traveling circus where you could bid on anyone and anything.
Anything went atIl Circo.
But they had one rule you couldn’t break. If you listed someone for sale at the auction, you had to produce them. Men would come looking for Alex, and not just the Russians.
I nodded at Drake. “Shut down the website when it pops up. We can’t afford to have Alex listed.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Your best isn’t good enough when it concerns our queen.”
“Whoever runs their site is untraceable,” Drake shot back. “A fucking ghost. I can’t track their IP address. Every time I get close, they crash my fucking servers.”
“You’re the tech genius, Battle. Find a way. I don’t care who we have to bribe or kill to make it happen. We’re not letting predators bid on her on the Dark Web.”
“I can help with tactical planning,” Cole Marshall offered.
Cole was the youngest of the local Knights, and the son of a Founder. He was only twenty-one and in his final year at York Military Academy. His family owned the school that Cole and his younger brothers had attended since they were children. Like Marcello, he had a mind for war. He could see different angles and assess the threat.
“I want you to coordinate with Marcello,” I told Cole. “He may have other ideas about how to approach this situation.”
My brother was the muscle, and I was the brains. I relied on him to view my plans from a different lens, to find any flaws.
“The Founders Society Elders issued a kill order for every member of the Volkov Bratva,” I informed the group. “They have everyone under their scope out looking for them. It’s only a matter of time before they resurface.”
“What about The Serpents?” Drake asked. “Have they made any progress?”
I nodded. “They found someone connected to Konstantin Volkov and are working a new angle.”
“Such as?” Drake inquired.
“A close American friend of Konstantin Volkov has a taste for young girls,” I said as I blew out a puff of cigar smoke. “He also has a raging drug addiction. The Serpents are working with our Sicilian friends to exploit that weakness. So far, it seems promising. They got a lead on a safe house the Volkovs use in Brooklyn. We’ll see how that pans out.”
“What are we going to do?” Finn Cormac asked. “I’m not sitting on my ass, twiddling my thumbs until they bring the fight to us again.”
“I have notifications set up,” Drake said in an authoritative tone. “If anyone lists Alex on the Dark Web, I will know immediately.”
“And if that happens,” Bastian said, “we’re going to have a bloodbath on our hands.”
“Maybe we should temporarily move to a safe house,” Damian suggested. “We don’t need them bringing a war to Devil’s Creek.”
“Let them,” I shot back. “We’re prepared.”
“This is our home,” Drake cut in. “I don’t want that shit brought to my doorstep.”
“It’s the smart play.” Sonny took a puff of his cigar, blowing rings in front of his face. “We don’t want blood all over the streets of Devil’s Creek. Drake is right. This is where we live. Gunfire will draw a lot of attention from the surrounding towns.”
“Who fucking cares?” I rested my wingtip on my knee and leaned back in the chair, my eyes on Sonny. “We own the police, the mayor, the goddamn governor.”
“Without a queen, we can’t admit new Knights,” Drake said, annoyed. “One of you needs to lock down this marriage with Alex.”
“I have it under control,” I assured him.
Drake’s phone dinged. He shot up from the couch and held out his cell phone. “Volkov is on the move again.”
The Knights jumped to their feet, looking to me for instructions.
“I’ll tell Marcello to add a few more guards on Alex’s floor,” Bastian announced. “Just in case this is a trap.”