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“They’ll be holding you for ransom until your engagement is called off.”
I bark a laugh. “My engagement is already over, you daft harpy. Did you not miss the quarrel the prince and I had on the dance floor? You’ve won. I will not be marrying Prince Albert. Are you satisfied?”
“I don’t believe you.”
“It’s true. I’m sure you’ll see it in the papers in a matter of days, if not tomorrow. If you’d prefer an answer now, by all means, go have a chat with my former fiancé.”
Her nostrils flare beneath the curve of her mask. “No, I will teach you humility, Miss Fairfield. You must learn your place. You can’t be allowed to break rules without being punished like the rest of us. If you refuse to suffer the consequences for your social missteps, then you’ll suffer a few days tied to a chair until your sister comes to save you.”
I grit my teeth and unleash the heat in my palms. Red flames coat my hands, burning yet another pair of gloves to ash. I shift my stance, placing all three men in my periphery.
The men leap back, as does Mrs. Vance. She can’t hide her shock. “Miss Fairfield! What are you—”
“You didn’t tell us she was fae,” the first man hisses. “The Durrely Boys don’t mess with the fae. This isn’t what we agreed to.”
The Durrely Boys.
The gang that attacked me and Dante…
Now I notice the brass pin each man wears on their collar, the very same emblem Dante pointed out after he turned our alleyway assailants into corpses.
“I paid you to do a job,” Mrs. Vance says, backing away several more paces, eyes locked on my hands. “You already messed it up once.”
I blink at her. “You…you orchestrated the attack in Jasper?”
She lifts her chin. “It wasn’t supposed to be an attack, merely a…a fright. Your cowardly prince was supposed to tuck his tail between his legs and sail home on the next ship.”
My mind reels. The attack wasn’t a coincidence after all. But instead of Albert being targeted by someone who sought to prevent peace, I’d been the mark all along.
She shifts her gaze to the three men, giving them a pointed look. “That so-called cowardly prince ended the lives of your comrades. Take her already!”
Only one of the men sneers at me, but the other two maintain wary expressions. None attempt to close in.
The first man repeats, “We don’t mess with the fae. It’s the only way the Durrely Boys can operate without getting shut down.”
“Oh, I’ll shut you down,” Maureen says through her teeth. “I’ll put an end to the Kolville job. You think I don’t know all the details? If you’re so afraid of the fae, I’ll inform the authorities about the job and ruin the Durrely Boys and Vance Industries in one fell swoop.”
“The Kolville job,” one of the men whispers. “Our biggest haul of the year.”
Maureen’s expression turns smug. “Yes, and if you want to keep yourbig hauland the money I already paid you—not to mention whatever ransom you decide to charge her sister—then you’ll do as you agreed.”
“Is her sister fae too?” one of the men mutters but receives no answer.
I could tell him she is, in fact, fae. If he learned of her identity, he’d wet himself. The three of them would run into the night at the mere mention of Evelyn Fairfield. But as much as I’ve slowly begun to accept letting my sister’s renown aid me, it isn’t pride that keeps me silent.
It’s vengeance.
An old friend I haven’t met in decades. A dark companion I buried alongside lust, love, and trust. But in freeing the latter, I’ve freed the former.
Vengeance, rage, passion, lust.
All born from the same element.
Fire.
“If you won’t hold her for ransom, then at least make her hurt.” The cold cruelty in Maureen’s voice cuts like an iron blade.
“We can make her hurt,” one of the men says, tone resolute.
