Sweet Salvation (Ruthless Games 3)

“What did you find?” I ask, scanning the damaged screen quickly.

“Everything.” Theo sounds smug as fuck, and when I look at him, he grins at me. “He had this shit well-encrypted for a reason. It’s the connection between him and the Viper, all the little pieces he couldn’t hide. Offshore accounts where he hid the money coming in from the Viper’s activity, the names of intermediaries he used to keep from ever having to directly touch the Viper’s business. It’s enough that if we put this shit out in the world, only a fucking moron wouldn’t make the connection.”

I glance from him to Ryland, then over to Marcus, hope swelling in my chest like someone pumped it full of helium. “So that’s it then. We have it. Do we send it to Gabriel and Michael? Try to get it out more widely than that?”

“That’s what we need to decide.” Marcus leans against the kitchen counter, his long legs stretching out as he crosses one ankle over the other. His fingers brush absently over the tattoos on his knuckles.

“Why wouldn’t we want to?” My brows furrow. “Don’t we need to tell them the truth to get them off our backs?”

Ryland grunts, stepping away from the computer and grabbing a chair from the small table that sits against one wall. He spins it on one leg so it’s facing backward, then straddles it, resting his forearms on the back. “Gabriel and Michael are both mafia. Two of the most powerful families in Halston besides Luca. Their organizations exist with Luca’s blessing and permission, but that doesn’t mean they're not powerful in their own right.”

“Isn’t that good? If we get them on our side, we’d have that much more firepower against Luca.” I shove my hand into the pocket of my borrowed jeans, glancing around the kitchen.

Dominic and Victoria turn away from the computer too, facing the rest of us.

“Well, they’d go up against Luca, almost definitely,” Theo says with a shrug. “Whether they’d be on our side or not? That’s a bigger question. If they decide to take on Luca, they’ll both still be gunning for ultimate control of Halston. It’d be a bloody fucking gang war that would infect every corner of the city.”

My skin chills a bit. Having been chased down a dark road by both Gabriel and Michael, I have a pretty good idea how vicious they can be. And the idea of innocent people getting caught up in the crossfire turns my stomach. None of these men asked to be part of this bullshit, and neither did the other people who’ll end up getting hurt if a turf war breaks out.

“So what other option do we have?”

“We don’t tell Gabriel and Michael. We don’t tell anyone the details of what we know except Luca.” Marcus’s runs his hand over his jaw, where the shadow of stubble darkens his complexion slightly.

My eyes fly wide at his suggestion, but it doesn’t take me long to figure out what he means. “Blackmail.”

He nods. “We give him the option—retire like he promised he was going to, step down from ruling his empire, or we unleash the dogs of war on him. He’ll either take the deal or he won’t. If he doesn’t, then we follow through on our threat and spread the word far and wide.”

“So you blackmail him into upholding the terms of the game,” Victoria says slowly, her eyes narrowing. “In that case, he has to declare a winner. Who do you propose it be?”

“Marcus,” Theo says immediately. Ryland nods.

Marcus doesn’t say anything. He just stares at Victoria as she stares at him for a long moment.

Then, quick as a snake striking, he straightens and pulls his gun from the waistband of his pants, aiming it at Victoria’s head.

“Think twice before you do that,” he says quietly.

She uncurls her fingers from the grip of her own gun, which is hidden at the small of her back, tucked into her waistband beneath her shirt. I didn’t think she was still armed, but it occurs to me that maybe she had it in the same go-bag where the clothes were.

My stomach tightens. We should’ve kept a closer eye on her. I should have. I’m the one who convinced the guys to give her a chance to help us. And the first

thing she did after we arrived here was sneak back to her car and grab a weapon.

Luckily, although she moved fast, she's not as fast as Marcus.

Her hand still hovering a few inches from the black metal of her gun’s grip, Victoria glares at him, her jaw clenching.

“There’ll be room for you and your family to keep operating as you have been,” Marcus tells her evenly. “Room for expansion, even. We won’t interfere with any part of your business, and Ayla already gave you her word that Jaden will be safe. That’s the best offer you’re going to get.”

Victoria doesn’t move for several long beats, her gaze locked with Marcus’s as she considers her options.

It strikes me suddenly how similar the two of them are—both strong-willed and intense, both passionate and determined. In another life, in another world, maybe their engagement wouldn’t have been a sham.

A ridiculous surge of jealousy rises up in me at the thought, and I shove it down.

Marcus doesn’t want her.

He wants me.