Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 94076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
I don’t bother to ask how he managed to get a man inside the Knights of St. Boniface clubhouse. Because I suspect Viktor Olicheckoff always gets what he wants through any means he sees fit. He is not a man who asks. He is a man who takes.
Which is exactly what will happen on our wedding night.
Repulsion tightens in my stomach as a vision of this man forcing me onto the bed and climbing on top of me makes bile rise in my throat. My pulse races in my throat; my heart pounds against my rib cage.
Luca’s voice pulls me back to the present. “You, on the other hand…finding you in the library won’t raise suspicions. After all, you do love your books.” His lips curl into a snarl. “Just like your slut mother.”
I keep my expression neutral, so he doesn’t see the anger roaring inside me.
I won’t give him the satisfaction.
But our eyes remain locked for a moment longer.
One day I will kill you.
Luca rips his gaze from me to return his attention to Viktor. “It all seems like a lot of risk. Why don’t we simply take it by force?”
“You talk as if someone hasn’t tried that before.” Viktor’s arctic eyes don’t blink as he stares at my brother with disdain. He doesn’t like being second guessed, and it’s obvious Luca has offended him. “And since you clearly think I haven’t taken this into consideration, let me explain some things to you. In 1941, two desperados kidnapped the Knights’ alchemist and tortured him until he told them the recipe. They died before they could try it because the Knights found them, tortured them and made them eat their own tongues before they threw them off the cliffs that fringe St. Boniface.”
I audibly swallow.
“In 1967, the wife of the then club president was held for ransom by a rival club. When she was killed, the president brought hell down on the rival club until it was decimated and burned to the ground. He then hung the bodies of the perpetrators from Deadman’s Bridge as a warning to anyone else who wanted to try.”
Oh God.
“In 1975 and 1996, two crime syndicates started a war with the club and each time the club fought back with great power and a relentlessness neither could have predicted, until nothing was left of either family.”
These men are nothing like what I thought they were.
“The last attempt was fifteen years ago. Another rival club. Another attempt. Another trail of bodies. Do you need any further reasons, or have I made my point?”
Luca looks more affected by Viktor’s fierce glare than the gruesome details he just heard.
Viktor slides his gaze to me and I’m sure he’s expecting to see fear on my face.
But I’m my father’s daughter.
It takes a lot more than stories around a campfire to rattle my cage.
Although, I’m surprised. I always thought the Knights of St. Boniface were modern-day Robin Hoods. But Viktor makes them out to be monsters.
“Of course, your idea is sound, Pakhan. You can trust Ella to help you,” Luca says, bringing his gaze to me. “She knows what is at stake if she doesn’t.”
Viktor ignores him and picks up a large box from the desk and hands it to me. “This is what you will wear tonight. You will be my contact’s date to the party.”
“Is he your inside man?”
“No, he is a contact who can get you in. My inside man has gone rogue on me. He’s become a little complacent, so I’ve resorted to other means in order to get you in.”
I don’t bother to ask what these other means are because I have been around men like Viktor my whole life. Men who will blackmail, bait or bludgeon another to get what they want.
But I do want to know who the inside man is.
“Does this inside man have a name?” I ask.
“The best way to keep an inside man effective is to keep his identity hidden.”
“He’s not very effective if you’ve had to resort to other means to get me in.”
Sometimes I can’t help my smart mouth.
Luca’s face darkens, and I wait for him to start yelling at me for talking back before threatening me with punishment. After all, I’ve been locked away in my room for a lot less.
But a small curl of amusement touches Viktor’s lips, and those dead eyes gleam with appreciation.
“You are as smart as they say you are. I like that.” He looks at Luca. “I think this is going to be a very successful union.”
Luca looks pleased with himself.
“Does this contact know I’m there to find the book?” I ask.
“No, he’s an idiot who is on a need-to-know basis. The less you tell him, the better.”
Visiting the Knights’ clubhouse might be my way out.
Maybe I could talk to the Knights. Ask them for help. Their reputation for protecting the vulnerable is legendary.