“And how did the Snake’s men get past the still-loyal security guards you had at your father’s estate?”
“I thought they were just overpowered.” Again, Dante and Killian exchanged looks.
“They were overpowered because Ivan let the Snake’s men in. He planned it all.”
Dante shot to his feet. “How do you even know that? How do you know so much about all of this?”
David leveled him with a dark look. “Are you insinuating that I’m working with the Snake?”
“I mean, how do we know you’re not?” Dante bit back. “You come out of nowhere, claim to be with the feds, and suddenly you have all this information despite the fact that the Snake is still out there.”
“Dante,” I cut in. “Please.”
“No, this is bullshit.” Dante glanced between the two of us. “Why do you trust him?”
“Because we have no one else to trust,” I whispered.
“Look,” David said, putting up his hands defensively. “The Snake’s game is usually all about trust. If this was a part of their plan, they would use someone closer to you two. Not a stranger you don’t know and have never heard of.”
“He’s right,” I agreed, surprising both Dante and Killian. “The Snake has been stealing our own family members. Their whole game has been about betrayal. David being one of his men doesn’t fit into that puzzle.”
I could practically see Dante turning this information over in his mind. He sat back down, scowling. “I still don’t trust you.”
“Me either,” Killian agreed, looking as if he’d like to take the fork he was turning between his fingers and stab David with it.
“I don’t need your trust,” David told them. “I just need your cooperation. Like I’ve said, the Snake seems interested in you two specifically. They went after your parents for a reason, perhaps to destabilize your families first before going directly after you.”
“Giving us nowhere to run and no one to turn to,” I whispered. David nodded.
I studied the map again, tracing the dots and lines across the paper. This was bigger than either Dante or myself had originally thought. If the Snake really did have this much power and influence, something that spanned across the oceans, then we would need serious help. Maybe if our families were whole, if we’d retained some of the power our two families had before all of this, then we would have the manpower and resources to deal with something this huge. But we didn’t. Not anymore.
Dante would see it eventually. He would have to. The number of people we could trust right now was limited. We would need all the help we could get. I caught David’s eye, giving him a slight nod.
“What would you need us to do?”
11
DANTE
Istared at the map, too deep in thought to pay attention to whatever David was telling Sienna right now. He wanted to capture Ivan—someone I hadn’t even known was involved. Ivan, who’d been like family since I was born. Each one of these betrayals was like a knife in the back, over and over.
While I hadn’t been close to him growing up, he was still a part of our family. Still one of us. He’d been in the picture since we were born. He’d even helped me with my training now and then, tasked by my father to help me become the monster Sal always wanted me to be. And, while there was no real love between us, I’d thought there had at least been respect.
Clearly, I had been wrong. We’d all been wrong. My father had chosen to put his trust in the wrong person. And in the end, it had killed him. I knew this life was cruel. I knew true loyalty was like finding a needle in a haystack. But even I could never have seen this coming. I couldn’t plan for it. I hadn’t trained for it.
Killian’s elbow nudged me a bit, his face tilted to try and catch my expression. I let my face fall blank, glancing up at him. “What?”
“Stop beating yourself up. You can’t know everything.” He tried to smile, but it fell flat. I could see just how much this news had shaken him—him who had never really been a part of this life until now. He’d been sheltered for most of it, tossed aside while I had to carry most of the burden of being the Don’s firstborn son.
“I don’t think I know everything,” I replied roughly, pushing him away. “Why are you here anyway?” He shouldn’t be here. He was one of the only family I had left.
“Sienna called me.” His eyes flicked towards where she was currently bent over the map, discussing possible entry points with David. “She said you needed me.”
“Well, I don’t. You can go back to whatever club you crawled out of.” I leaned back, crossing my arms.
Killian checked his shirt, sniffing a bit. “I didn’t even come from a club.”
“Are you two paying attention?” Sienna asked, glaring at both of us.