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He nodded. “Grace is safe under our roof. Nothing will happen to her, Cole.”
I wanted to believe that.
If there’s a will, there’s a way, my grandfather used to say. Ten years of relentless searching proved that Viktor Romanov would never give up on his daughter, no matter the obstacles.
I turned to leave, and my dad added, “I know you have feelings for her, son. But getting in Fitzy’s way will hurt our family.”
“I understand what’s at stake for us.”
But my dick doesn’t.
“Good.” He raised a tumbler of scotch to his mouth and drank. “I have seen first-hand what happens to Knights who disobey The Founders, and it would not end well for us.”
“I have to go,” I said, hating that I could only ever look at Grace and never touch her. “The Knights are waiting for me. You know how Luca gets when we’re late.”
I stopped in the library, removed a few books from the shelves, and set them on the table. Then, I reached into the open space on the center shelf and pulled on the lever. All the founding families of Devil’s Creek had a similar passageway in their homes. You only had to remove the correct books to find the secret door, which swung open for me.
In every house, the lever was behindThe Count of Monte Cristoby Alexandre Dumas. Choosing a classic novel about a man tunneling his way out of prison only seemed fitting. Our ancestors had an interesting sense of humor. But it would take forever to discover this door in a library of this size, with a thirty-foot ceiling and wall-to-wall books.
I closed the door behind me and hit the button on the wall to illuminate the narrow channel. Then, taking the stairs two at a time, I headed into the catacombs beneath Devil’s Creek and followed the familiar path.
The cramped passage smelled like mildew, salt water, and earth. And this far below ground, the air was dense and harder to breathe. Iron lanterns cast a soft glow on the stone walls with symbols etched into them.
Some images depicted skulls with knives driven into the bone. My favorite was a knight wearing a helmet with the eyes of a demon. Beside that one, a knight in full armor held the Scales of Justice, but the weight was unbalanced. It dipped to one side from a giant serpent holding it down, slithering up the arm of the knight.
Most of the wall had deranged and borderline satanic markings. The Knights were like other secret societies, but we killed people. We did horrible things for a good cause, to protect the citizens of this country from the scumbags of the world. But we also did some of those things for personal gain.
After a few minutes of walking, I entered a massive room with two thrones sitting on top of a dais. There was a ceremonial table laden with red silk sheets to my right. On my left, several Knights grabbed their hooded robes from hooks.
Luca Salvatore waited for us on the throne, already dressed in his robe and wearing an irritated scowl. He was about to take over for his father as the Grand Master of The Devil’s Knights. Arlo had been transitioning his duties to his son for the past few months.
The Salvatores had ties to the Italian Mafia, ruling without fear for nearly a century. They weren’t descendants of the Founding Fathers of the United States but had earned their place among us.
Without a word, I crossed the room, dressed in my robe, and took my place beside my brothers. The Knights were not my blood, but we were a family. Only those who lived locally were in attendance—the four Salvatore brothers, the three Cormac brothers, Drake, and me. We had several hundred members spread out across the country.
“The auction is approaching,” Luca said with a bitter edge to his tone. “And we’re no closer to shutting down the Il Circo website.”
“I’m getting closer,” Drake told him. “But whenever I hack into their site, they shut it down and lock me out. I’m doing everything I can.”
“You’re best isn’t good enough, Battle,” Luca snapped, his top lip curved upward like a pit bull ready to attack. “Try harder. Your future Queen’s life is on the line.”
I didn’t think Luca cared about anyone until Alex came into his life. He was cold and cruel, one of the most ruthless men I had ever met. You would never know he was only a few years older than me because he never showed his age. Wise beyond his years, Luca was a good leader and never did anything without a plan.
“I’ll find a backdoor,” Drake assured him, though his voice lacked his usual confidence. “Give me more time. They have teams of hackers running that site. The Knights only have me.”
Luca rested his elbow on the arm of the throne, looking like a gilded god holding court. He blew out a deep breath as he studied each of our faces. “Now that Alex and Grace are in Devil’s Creek, we have even more of a target on our backs. We don’t have time. Get her off that fucking site and do it quickly!”
Luca always had the appearance of rage simmering beneath the surface but rarely lost his cool. The thought of losing Alex must have set him over the edge. I could relate now that I had Grace to think about. Until she walked through my front door, I had no real purpose within the organization.
She gave me one.
“Luca,” Marcello interjected in his usual calm voice, the peacekeeper of the Salvatore brothers. “Drake is doing everything he can to get Alex off the Il Circo site. Yelling at him isn’t going to change a thing.”
Luca shot up from the throne and was in front of Marcello instantly. “Don’t tell me how to rule, little brother.”
Marcello sighed. “Luca, we love her, too. We get it. Taking out your frustration on Drake isn’t helping.”
“Marcello’s right,” Bastian Salvatore chimed. “Let Drake do his job, and we’ll do ours. Alex is at home sleeping. No one is going to touch a hair on her pretty head.”
