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My lips trembled, remembering how Papa had told me to use that name to my advantage, to wield it as a weapon since I’d lead the family one day. He’d said angels brought hope and salvation and destroyed and conquered those who stood in their way.
I swallowed the pain of knowing I’d failed at being who he wanted me to be.
“I’m not her. She died with Papa.”
“No. I call bullshit on that sentiment. And I’m going to prove it to you.”
I held her gaze. “How?”
“I believe you are hiding plans you don’t want anyone to know about.”
A roaring echoed into my ears. Who the fuck was this woman?
Instead of giving any reaction, I kept my face emotionless.
“Excellent, emotion control.” She quirked her lips, amusement evident on her face. “To achieve your goals, the plan isn’t the only thing necessary. You need to learn to defend yourself.”
“And you’re the person who’s going to help me?”
“Yep, with a few friends of mine.”
Friends? A shiver slid down my spine. “And you’re doing this because I remind you of a younger you?”
“A younger me without the brothers and father to back me up. Though I believe those two protective men you have in my kitchen would step in if asked.”
Ignoring the latter part of her answer, I said, “I don’t buy it. What do you get out of this?”
“Let’s say I get to fuck with a misogynistic system that tried to force me to marry a man for a pot of gold.”
My eyes widened. “But you’re in love with your husband.”
“True. I love that asshole and would cut a bitch for fucking with him. But it doesn’t change the fact that he held all the power over whether we married or not and used it to his advantage. I had no say in my future because of a decision made a century before by a group of men.”
“Are you saying you hate-fucked each other until you fell in love?”
My thoughts drifted to Theo and how much I’d disliked him and his overbearing ways during high school. Though fucking hadn’t been part of anything between us. Well, not until my senior year.
That’s when things changed with Xander, as well. The attraction and desire sat as an undercurrent of our friendship, but we never acted upon it. Plus, I was well aware of what Xander and Theo had with each other. Then, one night, in the middle of a volatile argument with Theo with Xander trying to play peacemaker, it all changed.
“It coasted more on the lines of blackmail, but that’s a story for another time.” The mischievous expression on Nyx’s face told me she’d enjoyed the situation she’d found herself in. “Are my ulterior motives for helping you acceptable?”
I stared at her as a war of uncertainty battled inside my mind. Trusting her meant putting so many things in the hands of another person—no, not just one person, but many people. Then again, at the moment, I had very few people to depend on.
I couldn’t second-guess myself now. I’d made the call this morning in the shower.
Tilting my chin up, I responded, “I’m not sure I can trust you, but I don’t have other options, do I? So until you prove me wrong, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.”
“You’re a smart girl.” A voice came from the corner of the room. “Never give anyone blind faith. That’s lesson number one.”
Adrenaline shot through my system, and my heartbeat hammered in my chest as two women stepped out from the shadows and approached us, one Indian and one tall brunette.
I recognized them immediately. They were Devani King, the Queen of Diamonds, the notorious head of a gem-mining conglomerate, and Lilly King, the daughter of Papa’s long-time friend, German mob boss Joseph Lennox.
For years, I’d admired Lilly. She’d had the same role in her family as I had. If she’d stayed in Germany, she’d have become her father’s second-in-command. Rumors said she was as ruthless or even more so than her father. However, she’d decided to follow an artistic path.
The two women had married into the King family of New York City, known for playing the mediators between the underworld, i.e., various syndicates, and upper-crust society. Though I’d heard they were as heavily involved in the business as their men.
And from the looks on their faces, something told me everything said about them was probably true.
