Throne of Power (Throne Duet #1) by Rina Kent

“Because that’s what I do. I disappear. I couldn’t stay in touch because that would’ve made me want to come back, and that was out of the question.”

“You just wanted to leave.”

“Yes.” And I didn’t want to think about you. “You’d already chosen your life path, and I didn’t have a place in it.”

“Idiot,” she mutters.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You don’t need to know for your own safety.” She repeats my words from earlier in a mocking tone.

“You never give up, do you?”

“No, and if you leave without notice again, it won’t be pretty.”

I brush my lips over her forehead as my form of an answer.

We remain like that until exhaustion takes its toll on her and she falls asleep. As soon as she does, I reach for my phone and unlock it. I have several messages.

One of them is more important than the others.

Flame: The attack tonight went smoothly.

Fucker. Of course it did.

Shouldn’t it be ironic that I’m shot by an attack I initiated?

I type.

Kyle: Were there any casualties from our side?

Flame: None aside from your embarrassing shot.

Kyle: It was part of the plan.

Flame: Bullshit.

Kyle: Why the fuck did one of us take aim at Sergei?

Flame: You said to hurt them enough to start a war.

Kyle: If Sergei is gone, who the fuck would start that war, genius?

Flame: All the others. Genius.

Kyle: Don’t take aim at Sergei without telling me first.

Flame: Yawn.

Bloody arsehole.

Kyle: How is it with the Irish?

Flame: They’re trembling in fear.

As they should. Because while the Russians were holding back before now, they will never allow one of their own to be shot and stay quiet about it.

That in itself is worth being shot for. Not only that, Sergei will also have his full trust in me, and everyone will respect me for protecting their boss.

I will use all those privileges to my own advantage.

Flame: Oh, and Ghost knows you were shot.

The phone nearly slips from my fingers as I read and reread Flame’s text. I’m not imagining things. He just said my godfather knows.

Kyle: Why did you tell him?

Flame: Passing conversation.

Kyle: Bollocks.

He doesn’t do anything without a prior plan, and the reason he told Godfather isn’t a coincidence, either.

Flame: He asked me about you.

Godfather asked about me? But why? When we parted ways ten years ago, he made it clear that he didn’t want to see my face again.

Kyle: And?

Flame: And what?

Kyle: And what did he say?

Flame: Nothing. You know he’s a man of few words.

The hope that rose in my chest from earlier withers away and perishes. Of course he would say nothing after that betrayal.

Shaking my head internally, I get myself back in the game.

Kyle: Keep me updated about your side, and next time, kill one of the Russian leaders.

If one of them is gone, the war will be stronger and more furious.

The only miscalculation in my plan is this woman who has her hand wrapped around my waist as if she doesn’t want to let me go. This woman is my only loose end, but I will find a way, and I will get her where she belongs.

Right next to me.

“Sleep,” I whisper. “Your life will never be the same in the near future.”





29





Rai





Two weeks have passed, and although it’s a significant amount of time, it doesn’t feel like it.

I think it’s because of how little has happened, but at the same time, it feels like a lot.

As promised, Sergei had Damien start his attack on the Irish. It was savage and merciless, like Damien’s character. We only lost two men, but the Irish lost more.

The Italians are currently by our side, but the Yakuza and the Triads are still reluctant about a war they don’t belong to.

Vlad asked me to talk to Kai since he seems to be open to negotiation. However, Kyle wasn’t very fond of the idea. He didn’t like the thought of me having a one-on-one with Kai.

For now, I will just agree with him because he is recovering, but in the long run, I know we can’t survive on our own. If the Irish bring in their allies, the Luciano family alone won’t be enough.

Other than the attack, we’ve been somehow blissfully living our lives. Kyle and I wake up early and take walks, or we go through V Corp’s numbers with Ruslan and Katia. I’m surprised by Kyle’s way of conducting business; he knows the ins and out at a level that rivals mine. When I asked him how he learned these things, he said it was from his ‘family’.

The one he told me about the other day. For the first time ever, he talked about a part of his life I had no idea about.

In the midst of our uneventful days, I’m far from relieved. If anything, I feel like it’s the calm before the storm.

Anastasia told me the storm already happened during the shooting at dinner, but why do I have a premonition like that’s not even the beginning of it?

Two days after the attack, Katia told me that they couldn’t get a DNA sample from Igor’s glass of wine because she was interrupted during the attack and wasn’t able to preserve the DNA. I was too preoccupied with Kyle to get another sample of Igor’s DNA during his recent visits, but I’ll eventually have it.