Ravenous Kingpin (Kingpins of the Syndicate #4)

7. Killian

CHAPTER 7

Killian

L ife was an unpredictable bitch.

For years, I had been after Sofia Volkov and revenge. She’d arranged for my parents’ death, and it was my intention to return the favor. Unfortunately, her own daughter—Louisa—had gotten to her first, which left me oddly dissatisfied.

But there wasn’t much else I could do about it, so I moved on.

Despite losing my parents in such a brutal way, my sister and I were fortunate enough to have Liam Brennan in our life. He was all Juliette knew, and he had become a parent figure to me somewhere along the way.

Sometimes I worried he was pushing his agenda for me to take over his empire too hard, but now that he had a wife and a child, that pressure had eased. It was only right that his son would take over the Brennan mafia.

I had my own business to take care of, and my criminal organization didn’t include any human trafficking. It was one thing everyone in the Irish mafia had in common.

My jaw set as the elevator slowly rose above Central Park and the city’s skyline before stopping at Liam’s penthouse. I loved my family, but sometimes the chaos and noise were a chore to power through.

Or maybe deep down I was angry, jealous even.

The woman I thought was dead was in fact alive, parading around as a kingpin and no longer the young woman I remembered. I kept waiting for Em to approach me, offer me an explanation. When she never did, I had no choice but to force the issue, but first I did a thorough research on everything about her.

I started digging to learn everything there was about Emory DiLustro, scheming how to make her pay for making me believe she had died. Yes, it had been six years, but fuck it, I had nothing better to do, but hold a grudge and plan a revenge.

The elevator dinged as I masked my thoughts into a blank expression. The doors slowly glided open, and I couldn’t help an eyeroll at what awaited me.

Home. Family. Fucking chaos.

“Killian,” Liam greeted me. “Finally, you’re here. Your sister is driving me nuts.”

I stepped out of the elevator into the foyer. Its luxurious views over the river and the glittering city dominated the penthouse. This home had enough bedrooms and bathrooms to accommodate ten children. And judging by the way the two quickly straightened up and Davina wiped at her smeared lipstick, I was fairly certain Liam was working on getting his young wife knocked up again.

It amazed me how much he’d changed since meeting Davina. This place had always been Liam’s sanctuary, but since their wedding, he allowed family and friends to invade it. Truthfully, it made him appear younger.

“Am I last to arrive?”

Davina nodded. “It’s so nice to see you back in the States, Killian. You’ve been away for far too long.”

I grinned. “Don’t tell me you missed me, Davina?”

Her smile widened as she combed her fingers through her hair. “Of course. We all miss you. Juliette, in particular. She keeps insisting we find you a bride.”

I groaned while the image of a dark-eyed Italian beauty flashed in my mind.

“I hope you care enough about me to shut down the idea.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course, but then that made her even more determined. So now she has a list of potential candidates.”

I bit back a smile. Juliette was convinced that marrying me off would stop the underworld rumors about my failed arranged marriage attempt with Branka Russo, now Nikolaev. The truth was I barely even thought about it. I’d made the deal with Liam and her brother before learning my woman—Emory—was in fact alive and well. Sasha Nikolaev, the crazy Russian bastard, did me a favor when he barged into the church and kidnapped Branka in front of everyone.

Not that I would ever speak those words aloud.

“I hope that wasn’t the reason for the invitation here today.”

“Of course not.” She smirked, confirming that it was exactly the reason.

“Well, better not keep my sister and cousin waiting.”

I strode through the penthouse, mask firmly in place, and greeted them. Thank fuck their overbearing husbands weren’t with them. I was certain none of the DiLustro men knew about Em and me; otherwise, they’d be up and in arms about it. It played into my suspicions that Emory had kept our interaction a secret all these years.

Juliette sauntered to me, hugging me. “Well, well, well, look who finally showed up.”

I pecked her forehead, my gaze bouncing around the living room. Sprawled on the couch was Wynter, with her newborn in her arms and her son, Grayson, at her feet. At the rate Wynter was going, she’d end up with a whole litter of DiLustro spawns.

I strode over and slumped on the couch next to her. “Can I hold my niece?”

Before I even finished the sentence, she handed me the child. “I should have given her a different name. She’s too demanding.”

Much like her name, Fallon acted like a superior descendant from rulers, and the child was still shitting her diapers.

“Maybe she’s like her father,” I remarked dryly, although a glimpse into the baby’s face told me she’d be a spitting image of her mother. Green attentive eyes and tight blonde curls.

Despite Wynter’s admittedly rough beginning with her husband, marriage looked good on her. She and Basilio were filling their lives with love and family.

Meanwhile, I was here scheming how to make Emory DiLustro, her sister-in-law, pay for her deceit.

“How was your visit to Ireland?” Wynter asked.

“And why didn’t you call us the minute you returned?” my sister added, taking a seat on my other side. This was a gang-up for sure.

I rolled my eyes and tamped down a scoff. “I didn’t realize you wanted a minute-by-minute account of my days.”

She sighed heavily. “We need to find you a wife.”

That didn’t take long. “And why is that?”

She grinned. “So she can tell me what you’re up to minute by minute .”

“And if she doesn’t?”

Her brows shot up. “We women always stick together.”

Somehow I couldn’t envision Emory sitting around the couch and gossiping with the girls, wasting her time on such nonsense.

Only… Did I just?—

I froze for several heartbeats, and it was as if the skies opened up above me.

I finally knew how I would punish her.

“What?” Juliette and Wynter asked at the same time. “The look on your face.”

I cleared my throat. “What look?”

“The very same one that promises trouble,” Wynter grumbled, flicking a glance at my sister. “Do you see it, Jules?”

“I do, and it isn’t going to bode well for someone.” I grinned, smugly satisfied with myself, which caused my sister to sigh before asking, “Can you let us in on it?”

“Absolutely not,” I grunted.

“Then at least tell me if it involves a woman,” Juliette begged.

I shrugged nonchalantly.

“Come on, Killian,” Wynter chimed in. “It will save us all time. Jules has a long list of candidates for you…”

As they began on the names, I tuned them out. There was only one woman at the center of my thoughts.

Emory DiLustro.

Liam rolled his shoulders and leaned back in his chair while I waited for him to spit out whatever he had to say.

From the moment I locked eyes with him in the foyer, I knew something was up. But we never discussed business in front of the women. For their protection, of course. If shit was ever to go down, they’d never be found complicit.

“We need to talk about the elephant in the room.”

My brows furrowed. “The DiLustros?”

“They’re our allies now,” he grunted. “But there are rumors circulating about human and organ trafficking in their territory.”

My jaw set as his words sank in.

The criminal world was, for the most part, a free-for-all. Money and power were the ultimate goals among our kind, but over the years, a hard line had been drawn. Human trafficking was strictly forbidden in the Syndicate, and many organizations around the world had opted to stay the course and reject the darker side of operations. Of course, some still dabbled, but they were in the minority.

The choice to abstain from the archaic practice was what led to my parents’ demise.

“What evidence do you have?”

Liam scowled. “The Serbian don’s niece…” I searched my memory for the name until I found it. Bogdan Dragovi? was the ruthless head of the family whose modus operandi would make the hardest criminals in our circles cower. “She was one of the girls found slaughtered with her organs missing.”

“Here in New York?”

His jaw tightened. “No, in Vegas.”

I scowled, straightening up in my seat. “But that’s Emory DiLustro’s territory.”

“Basilio and Dante aren’t even entertaining accusations. She had nothing to do with it,” Liam grunted, shaking his head. “The problem is everyone knows nothing happens in Vegas without her knowledge.”

I winced. Shit.

Bogdan wasn’t someone you wanted as your enemy. He wasn’t one for setting aside grudges.

“Just how bad is this?”

“I met with him this morning.” He pushed a hand through his silver hair. “Let’s just say he’s ready to level Vegas, to hell with the Irish mafia, if we don’t keep out of his way. He wants the DiLustros to give him absolute freedom to track down the culprit.”

“ Fuck ,” I groaned. This was a big fucking problem. “I’m guessing the timing of Priest’s attack on Bogdan’s docks in Philadelphia didn’t help?”

Liam looked grim. “It did not.”

The Serbian don hadn’t made a move on Irish territory, so we’d never bothered breaking our business relationship with him. Not even following his spat with the DiLustros. But if he and his band of psychos went after Emory… That was a different story.

“So what’s the plan?” I inquired, although I already had one forming.

“Stay out of Bogdan’s way.” He lit up his cigar and inhaled deeply. “Keep things diplomatic between the DiLustros and the Serbians. And I want you to keep an eye on Emory DiLustro.” My brows shot up. “There is no fucking way she didn’t know girls were being slaughtered and their organs trafficked right under her nose. I need you to do this as a favor for the family.”

“You got it.”

My entanglement with Emory DiLustro already ran deep. Liam just gave me a perfect excuse to go deeper.