Page 65 of Queen of Ruin

“I…” Diego’s eyes meet mine and there’s a soft hopelessness to his gaze. “This is insane.”

“Not the royalty you were expecting, huh?” I tease quietly, eager to soothe him the same way he soothes me. Then I turn back to Bradley. “I have to agree. What you’re saying is insane.”

“Is it?” Bradley clicks something in his hand and the screen display shifts. Pictures of a young woman at various galas and events, along with training photos and more. She’s younger, but there’s no doubt that woman is me.

Another click and suddenly, the CCTV footage from Diego’s office flickers on the screen. My heart rises into my throat watching that bastard attack Diego, and I clutch his hand tighter. Moments later, I burst in and we watch an eagle-eyed view of the smooth way I tackled that man and took him out.

“Hold on.” Diego shifts in his seat. “If you had that, why the hell did you accuse me of hurting Valentina? You can see she saved my life and we left together.”

“We only recently recovered this footage,” Bradley explains. “The man who attacked you did an excellent job at wiping the hard drives before he left, which is why tracking you, Diego, was limited to the descriptions we got from your staff.”

Diego’s eyes narrow but he sits back in silence.

“I don’t know how I did that,” I finally say.

“It was instinct,” says Cassian. “You saw someone in danger and you reacted because you’ve spent your entire life doing that. Your mind has forgotten the steps, but your body still knows.”

“So you’re telling me I’m a Mafia princess?”

“No.” Bradley clicks and the screen changes. This time, there’s a collection of five cards—Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and a Joker. “You’re the Queen.”

“The… Queen?”

“You spent a few more years working as a freelance assassin for any Mafia family with enough money to hire you. Your lack of loyalty to any one organization and your cutting ties with your family made you the perfect candidate to become the new Queen. You were voted into the Suit with the fastest vote ever recorded.”

“There’s a theory.” Cassian chuckles. “That most families were so afraid of your skills that they thought they’d be safer with you in the Suit than on the streets.”

“I’m sorry.” Leaning forward, I press my palm flat to the cool table. “The Suit? What are you talking about? What Suit?”

“Us,” Bradley says. “We are the Fifth Suit. We’re a secret organization that manages New York from the shadows.”

Diego snorts again but this time coughs to cover it up.

“This city is a tinder box. Between more rival Mafia families than anyone can ever count, outside career criminals doing what they can to make their mark, and a government that doesn’t have as much power over the city and the people as they’d like, all it would take is one spark, and this city will blow. Before the Suit, the city, the state—no, the entire country—was flooded with organized crime fighting to be the top dog. Everyone was killing everyone else, businesses were suffering, those who weren’t dying for their craft were getting arrested and overflowing prisons, which allowed the real cunts to walk free. It was a complete and utter bloodbath. Until several families came together to form the alliance of the Suit.”

“The Fifth Suit?” I repeat softly. Something about this is familiar, something buried deep down, like the ache that rises from hearing a song you just can’t remember the name of.

“Exactly. They form the Suit to act as the top of the pyramid, a group with absolute power and trust to ensure that every single family remains relevant and able to work without the threat of mass war. Greed is a powerful deterrent for all-out war because the one thing every single Mafia family has in common? A desire for power and money. None of that can be obtained if everyone is constantly trying to kill their way to the top.”

“So… you’re like a Mafia government?” Diego remarks.

Cassian snorts in amusement. “Exactly.”

“Sort of,” Bradley corrects. “We keep the peace all over the state, and we liaise with the cops and the government. Our line of work is good for everyone because, despite what most believe, we have the people's trust. Trust that will never be placed in the government.”

“So the government, the actual real government, just lets you all commit crimes all over the city for free?” The disbelief is heavy in Diego’s tone. “You can’t be real.”

“It’s a delicate balance,” Bradley remarks. “We keep the peace with the Mafia families, we keep the peace when the lawyers and the corrupt senators want to take a bigger piece of the pie, and in return we help the government run smoothly while throwing them a bone every once in a while to make them look good.”

“Think about it,” Cassian says. “There’s always going to be crime. This way, the city doesn’t ignite every single night. No government asshole wants that any more than a Mafia Don wants to risk getting shot every night.”

“And everyone just… agrees?” Diego glances around the table. “You’re telling me all these organized crime families just… agree?”

“The benefits outweigh the restrictions,” Bradley replies. “And those who step out of line are safely pruned. After all, you’ve obeyed the laws and the government from birth, haven’t you?”

“Well… yeah. Mostly.”

“Why?”