I wrinkled my nose. “If your charm is anything like the smell of this place, then no thank you.”
Cain touched a hand to his chest. “You wound me.” He sat up, dismissing the two girls lazily. They rose, glaring at me as if this was somehow my fault. Archer slapped her ass as she got up, a hungry look on his face as he watched her walk away.
“Declan said you have news,” I prompted, swiftly taking the empty chair and leaving Declan to stand beside his brother.
“The Devil pulls the strings which make us dance,” Cain mused.
“English,” I snapped.
He gave me an amused look. “We heard something about your man.”
Though I expected this, my heart still skipped a beat in my chest. I crossed my arms, trying to feign indifference. “I don’t really care where he is at the moment.”
“Damn. Icy. I love it.” Declan grinned. I glared at him.
“I’m sure you’ll care about this. It’s going to come back to you eventually,” Cain said, ignoring his brother completely. “The Devil has started his antics again. Two Italians were murdered last night, though they weren’t a part of any family that I know of. I’m guessing they were hired hands.”
“So, how do you know it was Dante?” I asked, cold dread slipping down my spine.
Cain caught my eye, grimacing. “Because they were moving shipments of snake venom.”
My mouth opened before shutting again. “What?”
“The feds found the crates this morning. Two boxes just fucking full of vials of snake venom. No idea where they came from, though. Or where they were heading.”
“And what makes you think Dante killed them?” I asked again.
Cain shrugged. “He’s the only one out there asking around about this mysterious Snake. The only one crazy enough to try and find him.”
Declan shuddered. “I know I wouldn’t be searching for the psycho, that’s for sure.”
Archer gave him a dry look. “That’s because you’re a coward.”
“Thank you,” I said, interrupting them just as Declan’s face went beat red, “for telling me.”
Cain’s head nodded slightly. “I thought you should know. The feds might come sniffing around your door. Asking questions. They know this guy went after your family…and your husband’s. They’re going to want to figure out how it all ties together.”
I figured as much, and I’d been expecting to hear about the Snake again as well. I just hadn’t expected that Dante would find…this. If he found the men transporting the shipment of venom that the Snake used on his victims, then he must have at least tortured some information out of them. He was much closer to finding the Snake than we’d ever been before.
I just hated that he was doing it without me.
There was a part of me that resented him for leaving me behind. The Snake killed my father as well. It’s not like Dante was the only one the Snake had slighted. I wanted revenge just as much as he did, and he was taking that away from me. My hand curled into a fist in my lap, the one holding my glass squeezing it so tightly it felt as if it would break.
“I’ll deal with the feds,” I muttered. “They’re nothing but useless.”
Declan eyed me with something that looked like respect. “Damn, girl. I knew you were a hardass before, but this? Dealing with the feds right when you take over both families? That’s just asking to be brought in.”
My head snapped towards him. “How did you know that?”
“How did I know what?” He looked confused for a moment, clearly replaying what he’d said in his head. “Oh, everyone knows.”
I stared at him before glancing at Archer and Cain, who nodded. “How do they know? I just got the papers this morning.”
“The lawyer who wrote up those papers has a big mouth,” Archer drawled.
“But don’t worry,” Cain added. “The Devil took care of him as well.”
I didn’t know how I felt about that. It’s not like I wanted that lawyer—whoever he was—to die. But if he was walking around spouting our families’ secrets, then he deserved it. It made sense that Dante took him out if he couldn’t keep quiet. I didn’t need the same man to go running his mouth to more…interested parties.