A Promise of Torment (A Violent Agenda)

He must be watching.

I scan the room again, gnashing my teeth as the drunken guy continues to maul me, until a swathe of black hair catches my eye. He’s sitting in a private booth, wearing a tailored black suit. His arm is around a leggy blonde, free hand groping up her dress. I can’t see his face all too well because the blonde is sucking it off. But I’d recognize the tattoos kissing the edge of his razored fade anywhere.

It’s fucking Lorcan.

I suck in a breath. Seeing him after all this time twists a dagger into my chest, which is ridiculous. It’s been months since he left the estate with Dino. I didn’t even miss them when they were gone. Well, maybe there was a small part of me that felt empty not having them around. But being a hostage of my father. I haven’t given any of the boys much thought. And now he’s here, letting some bitch drape herself all over him.

All I see is red.

The guy in the booth with me puts his hand up my skirt and that red turns to flame. I seize his drink, spilling alcohol over us both.

“Hey, watch it, kitten, this is an expensive suit!” he exclaims.

I smash the glass at the stem and press the pointy end against his throat. Crimson blooms where I poke it into the softest, fleshiest part.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” I say in a low, empty voice.

He doesn’t move, whites showing in his eyes as he focuses on me. I’m lucky that the bar is empty, and no one can see me threatening to kill the bastard. Sloppy though. I should not be acting this way. I’ve blown my cover and now I need to extract myself before I shove the glass in deeper.

I leave the booth without killing my actual mark—ironic, I know—and make a beeline for Lorcan’s table, dropping the shard of glass into a plant pot on the way there. The blonde is practically riding Lorcan at this point. Without thinking, I reach for my dagger.

“Miss Harper-Black, will you please come with me?” says a voice behind me, making me halt halfway across the bar floor.

I shift my attention to my right. My hand still rests on my dagger through the thin material of the dress but getting it won't be easy.

This has better be important.

It is.

It’s one of Kato’s men who works at the casino. I recognize him as the maître d of sorts. He looks down his nose at me as he waits for my answer to his question. “Kato wants to speak to you,” he elaborates.

I look at him blankly and then give him a curt nod. As I follow him into one of the private corridors behind a security door, I shoot a glance at Lorcan who still has his hands full.

I’ll deal with him later.

Right now, I need to know what Kato wants. He knows I’m here, but he doesn’t know the real reason why. I’ve no idea how he’ll react when he does.

“Why does my father want Kato dead?”

Dante looks at me. “That’s classified.”

“Bullshit. I need to know.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Tell me,” I say.

“Rebecca was having an affair with Kato.”

“Since when?” My mother has been in a sanitarium for years. A place so expensive I can hardly keep up with the payments some months. If she was having an affair, I would know about it.

“It was long before you were born,” Dante says.

I narrow my eyes. “So why kill Kato now? That was over twenty years ago.”

“Think about it. Who would your mother try to contact if she couldn’t send word to you?”

My mother is a fighter despite her condition. If she couldn’t get through to me…