AllFreeNovel
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In the living room, I poured the drinks with practiced ease, and ice clinked against the glasses in the silence of the room. Whiskey neat for Carter, a Classic Lager for Jack, and a Martini drier than Sebastian’s usual sarcasm. I wondered if Kennedy was beginning to remember what she’d liked before her amnesia. She ran her polished red fingernails along the tops of the bottles.
“Chocolate Martini?” I asked her. She’d always had a sweet tooth, and she rewarded me with a smile.
“Never thought I’d see the day when Greyson would play bartender for us again.” Jack eased himself into an armchair, nursing the ache of bruised ribs beneath his shirt.
“Only the best for my guests. Especially those who bleed for the cause.”
Sebastian’s impatient, tense posture as he leaned forward on the leather couch cut through the brief levity. “Can we get on with it?” His voice was terse, every word laced with the concern that haunted him.
“Speaking of bleeding,” I asked, handing him his drink, “are you having nightmares about Kennedy almost getting clipped by that car? Twice?”
He bristled, his jaw clenching as if ready for a fight, but his eyes betrayed his fear lurking beneath the surface.
“I don’t have nightmares,” he snapped, not bothering to hide the protective fury in his tone. “Except ones where we waste time instead of making sure no one ever comes for our girl again.”
I reached for the remote. The big screen came to life, casting an ominous glow over us as I pulled up the files I’d compiled.
“Meet my three least favorite people,” I announced, gesturing towards the images on display. “They managed to supplant the three of you.”
First, there was Marcus Velasco, a wiry man with cold, calculating eyes. He’d been my father’s best friend until my father took over the Jackals. Next, was Ivan Borovsky, a muscle-bound brute whose loyalty to Marcus was matched only by his love for causing pain. Lastly, Eduardo Santos, who was almost as committed to his grudge against me as he was to coke.
“Velasco, Borovsky, and Santos. Velasco pretended to go clean a while back, but he wasn’t quite as good as faking it as youthree. I think he’s the ringleader, but all three of them play a big role in trying to raise up an…alternative… to the Jackals.”
“Why didn’t you kill them already?” Carter leaned back in his chair, tilting his drink back and forth. His casual posture belied his intensity.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” I said. “I’ve needed to consolidate power. Make allies.”
“But now you’re ready to go to war,” Kennedy asked. “Or are you? Is it just that you feel you have no choice now?”
“A little of both,” I admitted.
“Maybe the attack was a kidnapping attempt and they never meant to hit me at all, or at least, not hard enough to kill,” she mused. “They must think that would give them power over you.”
A smirk played at the corner of my mouth as I leaned back in my leather chair. I admired her and the way she was always piecing together puzzles. She wasn’t just a pretty face.
And she was too right. Kennedy was the ultimate bargaining chip. For her, I’d go to war. I’d risk the kingdom I’d built.
“I’m not wildly excited about furthering your fiefdom,” Sebastian said. “But we should end them.”
Jack and Carter nodded in agreement, their faces etched with the same resolute determination. Kennedy’s brows furrowed, a touch of concern lacing her question. “How can we be sure they attacked me?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Jack snorted. “They’re not exactly good guys. If they might be the threat…we might as well eliminate them. We’d be doing the world a favor either way.”
Kennedy shot me a glance, clearly offended by the implication. She still saw something in me worth defending. It was touching, really, but I knew what I was.
The corners of my lips quirked up in amusement. “I’m not a good man,” I admitted, my gaze never leaving hers. “I only reallycare about one person...and luckily for you, that person is you, Kennedy.”
The air between us crackled, charged with an electric current only we could feel. The others may love her too, but my obsession ran deeper than simple affection. I was the head of the Jackals, and Kennedy was my queen.
I would burn the world down to keep her safe.
I just hated that anyone else knew she was my weakness.
“Kennedy.” She wouldn’t like what I planned, but that wasn’t going to deter me. “Once we take the first man, we can use him to get information about the others. Torture can be...persuasive.”
Her eyes locked onto mine, conflict playing out on her face as she chewed her lip—a nervous habit that betrayed her discomfort.
I leaned back in my leather chair, feeling its familiar creak. “The three of them used to be close, but the others are sick of Santos’s addiction and the trouble he causes. They won’t come looking for him too soon if he disappears.” The thought of exploiting the weakest link sparked a cold satisfaction within me. “And he’ll crack.”
