Dark Mafia Kings by Penelope Wylde
Chapter Fifteen
“Gird your loins for this shit. You’re not going to believe it.”
Lucian slinked with easy, long strides through his office door and tossed a stack of papers two inches thick on Sevastyan’s desk before throwing himself into the chair opposite him.
Sevastyan looked up to see the shocked face of his secretary a second before the door swung closed.
Looking ragged and worn, Lucian let out a gruff exhalation. Still wearing the same clothes from the previous night, the man scrubbed a hand over his face, a two-day-old stubble across his chin.
Sevastyan tapped the file. “What? You found something?”
“It took an all-nighter, day, evening, shit what time is it?” He glanced at his watch. “Damn. Is that morning or evening?” His voice was a steady rumble that spoke of fatigue.
“Evening. You’ve been holed up in front of your screen for over fifteen hours. Have you eaten anything? I know you haven’t showered or slept.”
Lucian shook his head. “Roman hasn’t fared any better. He’s picked up where I left off until he has to go on stage again tonight.”
“I can’t believe he’s doing that shit.”
Lucian offered a tiny shrug. “His plan is working. He’s getting people to talk to him. Means to an end.”
Sevastyan nodded.
“That doesn’t matter right now, you need to hear this.”
Sevastyan straightened, his interest piqued at the look of disbelief on the other man’s face. “What did you find?”
Lucian scooted to the end of his chair; all signs of fatigue gone. He reached forward and tapped the file. Sevastyan flipped open the file and damn near choked on his surprise. Lucian’s investigation into Crowne shipping was bound to turn up some ugly crap no one wanted unburied, but this?
The most beautiful green eyes stared back at him.
“Seraphina?” he asked in disbelief.
His brows shot up in question, and he sliced his gaze to Lucian. “What the fuck is this?” “Our girl isn’t who she claims to be. Meet one lovely Rhia Crowne, illegitimate love child of one very dead Alfredo Crowne. The second half of that little gem took an extra hour of digging and a few hospital firewalls to crack. Wasn’t easy.” He held his hands out and made a move of popping his knuckles. “But you know me.”
Rhia Crown. The name fit her better.
Sevastyan stood and shoved his hands into his pockets. So the Crowne brothers had a little sister and she’d weaseled her way into Haven. He wondered if they knew where she was. Did they plant her here? Was she involved with the missing containers? Were the Crowne brothers? One question after another sailed through his mind and the faster they came, the fewer answers he had.
His inner monster stirred, stretched, ready for the hunt.
He stared at the picture of her in a candid shot with a man he assumed was her brother. Shorter than Sevastyan by a few good inches, Sevastyan considered the angle of the jawline and the similar eyes. He had his arm wrapped around her shoulder and some deep, irrational force in Sevastyan saw red.
He almost wanted to throw his head back and bark out a laugh until the anger that swelled in him dissipated. The little minx thought she could play them?
“Crowne Senior took extra precautions to keep all focus off of her.”
Sevastyan pushed to his feet and paced to the window. Night had fallen over the city, but he didn’t see the lights, cars, or people. All he could see was a set of green jade eyes.
“Why do you think that is?” he wondered aloud.
From the moment he saw her he knew something was off. He’d ignored all the warning signs. Misinterpreted her looks for desire when she’d probably been sizing them up.
In the window’s reflection, he saw Lucian shrug. “Why do parents do anything? I suppose for protection? Registered corporate papers don’t have her anywhere near the company, and you won’t find her in any official pictures they have of the Crowne family. I was lucky to find what I did, and I think it was a slip-up or some paparazzi got lucky. Why the father has her on the outs when the brothers are partners is anyone’s guess. Either he’s an egomaniacal bastard who thought women should be seen and not heard, at home while the men handle business. Or—”
“Or, he wanted to protect her from the people he dealt with. You saw the murder scene. The violent slashes. The burn marks. Pouring acid on the man would have been less cruel. Mikhail was burned almost the same way. Would you want your daughter tied up with anyone capable of doing that?” he finished Lucian’s thoughts for him.
“We can only assume for now. You think the father is guilty?”
Sevastyan considered the angles before he nodded. What kind of father would put his children at such risk? Such betrayal sat heavy in his gut. He knew the answer. A greedy one. “I think we’re on the right path.” He rubbed a finger against his lower lip. “More so now than before.”
“Do you want to wait and see, play it out a little longer, put a tail on her?”
“Good idea. Pull Roman off the floor and put him on her. Maybe the answer to who killed my brother has been under our noses all along.”
Lucian groaned. “He’s going to love being all alone with her again.”
“What does that mean?”
“Last night, after our meeting, he fucked her in the downstairs hallway.”
Sevastyan clenched his jaw to prevent from cursing his best friend, though the lucky bastard deserved a good ass-kicking at the very least. “Any luck with the number on the matchbook?”
Lucian rolled his shoulders and pointed back at the file. “Not yet, but you’ll find more on her, her schools, and Crowne corporate papers in the file. I’m working on the number—I have a friend who owes me a favor.”
Sevastyan nodded.
“You have an address for our little mole? Is it the same as in the file or does she go home from here to some mansion her daddy owns after slumming it as a hostess?”
“Won’t that be interesting to find out?”
And would reveal secrets he knew she didn’t want anyone discovering.
“Speaking of.” Lucian pointed over Sevastyan’s shoulder at the monitors. “Looks like we’re about to have an unwanted guest join us.”
The vein in Sevastyan’s temple throbbed from the impending headache. He reached across his desk and punched the speakerphone for security. Whether they had a mole working them or not, Rhia Crowne didn’t belong at Haven. Didn’t belong in their club or their world, and sure the hell didn’t belong shared between them.
God damn. Not her again.
Sevastyan crossed to his desk, his scowl deepening. The hunt had taken an unpredicted turn and the shit they were digging up went deeper than finding just one killer. This whole new angle left him grabbing for answers before whoever the hell stood on the other side struck again. Fire churned in his stomach at the thought his club was being used as a hunting ground for the very men they worked to take down.
If Seraphina—Rhia, he corrected himself—had dirty hands, he’d personally see she joined his brother in the graveyard.
His gut churned with the possible meaning behind Crowne’s daughter being at his club. What it meant for his men. None of it any good. She’d stood in the middle of his office and lied to his face. That took balls the size of King Kong. Part of him wanted to admire her, but the other half fumed for being taken by her beauty instead of keeping his focus.
Sevastyan needed answers. He wanted the real dirt. On her and her brothers. How deep the family dynamics ran and who was involved? In the meantime, it was time to pull the enemy close and let her carry out her ruse until she tipped her hand.
On some level he understood her angle; even the lies didn’t bother him. What dug under his skin and left him gnashing his teeth was the fact she considered herself safe when she was anything but.
Rage folded around him. It was one thing to lie to him, a whole other game entirely to think she would get away with it. And he looked forward to the creative punishments coming her way.
