Page 76 of Desperate Victory

“That’s the fucking truth,” Liam muttered and it was my turn to smile. The simple fact was, it took a while for King to die and he suffered through a lot of it.

When he finally started to beg, I kind of wondered if she would relent. I didn’t think so. King had cost all of us and he’d hurt Milo and Emersyn. Then there was the death threat to me and the abuse he heaped on Ezra.

No, I didn’t think she would relent. Her mind was made up. Her determination was resolute. Not for the first time in her life, but maybe the first time in our adult relationship, I saw the true influence Leopold had been on her.

She was her grandfather’s protege and she reflected his values. Particularly one of his favorites—if you wanted a job done, you had to be willing to do it yourself.

The begging and pleading didn’t last long either. He was having trouble staying conscious, but the pain? That wasn’t abating. Even half out of it, he kept moaning.

A little over seven and a half hours after she poured his cognac, Julius King was dead.

Doc pronounced. Bodhi checked it.

Then we wrapped up the body.

Definitely burning him and making sure there was nothing left but ash.

And maybe some salt.

Yep, ding dong, the king was dead.

I flicked a look toward Lainey and found her watching me with that steadiness that we all needed more than she could possibly know. Or maybe she did.

Didn’t care. Loved her and wanted her in my life. Every single part of it.

“What?” A hint of curiosity populated her question and my grin only grew.

“The king is dead,” I told her. “Long live the queen.”

Chapter

Twenty-Three

LAINEY

PRAGUE

Everything came down to family.

Everything.

Arm in arm, Em and I matched paces as we approached the Charles Bridge. Em let out a happy little sigh the closer we got.

“We’re here,” she said, her excitement leaking into her voice as she squeezed my arm. We were in warm coats, hats to keep our ears warm, gloves for our hands, and fur-lined boots for our feet. “We’re really here.”

“You said you never actually saw the city when you were here previously.” The minute she’d let that slip, I put a visit to the bridge at the top of the list. We’d arrived in Prague over the past two days, traveling in smaller groupings.

Currently, following not far behind us were Bodhi and Freddie. They’d both been game when I said I wanted to take Em for coffee and to see the bridge.

“I didn’t,” she said with a sigh as we paused to cross the Vitava river. “Doing anything touristy was not an option. Not really. Limited schedule, high engagement. I spent most of my not practicing time, sleeping.”

“Well, luckily for you, we have time on this trip.” The urgency in my blood burned. We had a handful of leads. Leads that the guys were in the process of running down now. Emersyn had to head to the theater today to meet the cast that would be working in and around her show.

But only if we got confirmation that the rest of her crew had arrived. The only people handling her equipment were her people, the ones Liam and the others had vetted. Vaughn would handle all the ties in the rafters and he’d be on one of the catwalks as needed.

No expense spared and no chances taken.

Em pulled her phone out and then turned to tuck her shoulder to mine before she angled the phone to snap a selfie. Our grins matched and then I gave her a kiss on the cheek during another snap.