Throne of Vengeance (Throne Duet #2) by Rina Kent

“Is he one of us?”

“I believe so, but I’m not sure if he’s one of the existing ones or if he went back to Russia.”

“So you decided to attack us without concrete evidence.”

“Russian Bratva in New York was all the evidence I needed.”

“Are you serious? You would’ve destroyed an entire organization for one person?”

“I would’ve done more. I told you, I was raised for the sole purpose of destruction. I’m a killing machine and all I know is how to kill.”

“That’s not true.”

“Not true? You called my hands filthy, remember?”

“That’s because you hurt me, you jerk. I bite back as hard as I’m bitten.”

“Isn’t that the fucking truth,” I sigh, lips twitching.

“Let me ask you something.”

“Anything.” I wrap my hands around the small of her back, because touching her feels critical right now. Like if I stop touching her, I will stop breathing.

“What took you so long to start your revenge? Surely you could’ve done it in your twenties or somewhere during that time.”

“It took me a long time to track things down. I always knew my parents were killed and the scene was vivid in my head, but I lost lots of details during The Pit. I lost sense of time and space and didn’t know if it happened in Ireland or in England or in the States.”

“When did you remember clearly?”

“It didn’t happen in one go. I recalled Rolan’s involvement after I joined Nikolai when I was in my mid-twenties. That came to me as clear as crystal the first time I saw the fucker, Rolan, at one of your grandfather’s parties. I thought, ‘hey, being kicked out from Godfather’s side wasn’t so bad, after all’.”

She smiles a little. “Troublemaker.”

“Always have been, Princess.”

“You’re not supposed to be proud of that.”

“You like that about me.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do, but I digress—slightly.”

“Then?” She uses another cotton ball to wipe at my brows.

“Then what?”

“You said your memories didn’t come in one go. When did you recall one of the Bratva’s involvement?”

“Before I came back, I had a job in Northern Ireland, and maybe it was being there and hearing people talk in Mum’s accent is what had triggered a memory from that night. At the time, my mother was carrying me in her arms while she was talking on the phone. I remember hearing the Russian accent from the other end, and he ordered some people in the background while he was talking to her, which means he had some rank in the Bratva.

“Before that, I spent most of my time investigating Rolan’s background and boring Irish internal affairs. He’s not easy to track down, but that was expected since he didn’t only kill his own brother and sister-in-law then sell his nephew. He also beheaded his own wife and buried his son alive when he learned he was not his biological child.”

“Wow. So the rumors about him are true.”

“They’re probably worse than you’ve heard. He’s a heartless fucker who never gets enough. That’s why he’s after your territories.”

“I thought you instigated this.”

“I did, but there’s no smoke without fire. Rolan always had eyes for your territories, but Nikolai was too strong for him. He thinks he can win now that Sergei is the Pakhan. Igor believes Rolan has an ally from the inner circle.”

“Igor? Your fake father?”

I smile, then wince when my cut lip burns. “How did you know?”

“I ran a DNA test.”

“Smart, though I thought you wouldn’t be able to get Igor’s sample.”

“It wasn’t easy.”

“I’m sure. That was still smart.”

“And you’re cunning to use Igor.”

“Yeah, well, I had to get access somehow.”

“Why did you choose Igor?”

“We chose each other. I thought he was the Russian from that time and mentioned my mother’s name in front of him to gauge his reaction. Surprisingly, he didn’t act like he didn’t know her and told me she was a famous prostitute in one of Brooklyn’s notorious clubs. Not going to lie, it was no fun to learn my mum was a prostitute.”

She grimaces. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. It made sense why Dad always looked down on her and often called her a whore. Anyhow, Igor also mentioned that she was ‘acquainted’ with most of the brothers at the time, so the person I’m looking for could, in fact, have returned to Russia throughout the years.”

“And he decided to help you just like that?”

“Not just like that. It was an exchange. I bring the traitor he suspects down and he gives me an in to avenge my mother’s death.”

“Traitor?”

“Yeah, Igor believes there’s one among you.”

“What made him think there’s even a traitor? Does he have evidence?”

“I don’t think so. He’s following his instincts on this one, and he strongly suspects someone.”

“Who?”

“I guess it doesn’t matter if you know. Igor doubts Damien.”