“He always had a side hustle selling drugs. Just a small client list, nothing big. But he stepped on Luca’s territory, and Luca has a zero tolerance policy for that kind of thing.”
My lips press together, remembering everything we just learned about Luca. How his pain morphed into rage after the death of his wife and unborn child. “He killed Jaden?”
Victoria shakes her head slightly. “No. Worse. He named a figure and said that was how much Jaden had cost him by dealing in his territory. He told him he could work it off. And for the past five years, he’s held Jaden under his fucking thumb, making him do whatever shit Luca wants to pay off his ‘debt.’ But he’s never going to let him go. He’s just going to kill him slowly.”
Her lips curl back, and she looks nothing at all like the woman I spoke to by the pool when Marcus and I went to her house that day. I have a feeling the Victoria I’m looking at now is a lot closer to the “real” Victoria than that calm, smiling version was.
“There was nothing I could do. Nothing Jaden could do,” she continues bitterly. “He couldn’t go to the cops. If he fought back, Luca would kill him. And if he ran, Luca would hunt him down and kill him. Luca owns this city. The only way I could get Jaden out of his grasp was—”
“—by winning the game,” I finish for her. “That’s why you entered.”
She’s silent for a second, then lets out a breath. “Yes. My dad didn’t want me to. He hates this whole fucking thing, and he hates Luca. But I couldn’t let him talk me out of it. It was the only way. I have to win.”
I glance at Ryland and Theo. They’re both staring at Victoria like they’ve never seen her before in their lives, which I guess they haven’t—not this version anyway.
My gaze shifts to Marcus. His opinion of Victoria doesn’t seem to have shifted one bit with this new information, but when he looks up at me, he gives a sharp nod. “Tell her.”
I can’t tell if he just wants to see her break completely, or if he’s hoping she’ll become an ally if we can convince her. Either way, I think he’s right. She needs to know.
And if she doesn’t believe us, we can always kill her.
“I see why you decided to play,” I tell her, "but it won’t work.”
Victoria’s eyes narrow, and for the first time since she started speaking, she glances away from me, looking up at Theo and Ryland before flicking her gaze to Marcus’s face. She looks like she’s trying to figure out her angle, so I continue before she can solidify whatever theory is forming in her mind.
“It won’t work because the game isn’t real. Luca has no intention of stepping down, or handing over his power. He’s been using the game as a distraction, letting the powerful families of Halston tear each other apart while he systematically fortified his empire, building it up even more.”
“Luca is the Viper,” Marcus says shortly.
Victoria’s eyebrows rise, and I hear a choked sound from behind me.
Fuck. I forgot Dominic was still here.
“That’s insane,” Victoria bites out, looking unsettled and pissed. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“He’s the Viper. We’re sure of it.” I nod, echoing Marcus’s words. “It was just a hunch at first, but given his reaction last night, I’m damn fucking sure of it now. Didn’t it strike you as a little strange that he suddenly called in an attack on three players in the game? That he set the rest of you against Marcus, Theo, and Ryland with no real explanation given?”
“No.” Victoria’s lips purse. “Luca does whatever he wants, whenever he wants. I’m well acquainted with that fact by now.”
“That’s why he needs to be stopped,” Dominic says quietly.
I stiffen, surprised at his words. Maybe I shouldn’t be, but I am.
“Oh, yeah? You’re on our side now?” Theo glares at him, and I can’t help the little glow of satisfaction I feel at the anger in his tone. If I let him, I think he’d still put a bullet in Dom, or at least take a few swings at him.
“I’m on the side of whoever’s against Luca.” Dominic snorts humorlessly, shuffling forward a little before bracing his bound hands on the shredded sofa. “So, probably the losing side. But Victoria’s right. Whether he’s the Viper or not, he’s gotten away with doing whatever the fuck he wants for way too long. And if he is the Viper, then he’ll kill every one of us to keep his secret.” He shrugs. “I’d rather die fighting than die running.”
Ryland cocks a brow at him. “Wow. When you say shit like that, you almost don’t sound like a cowardly piece of shit.”
“Fuck you, man.” Dom glares at him.
Theo catches my gaze as I shift to stand between Dom and Ryland. I know I need to tell Marcus and Ryland what I found out, but now isn’t the time. And I’m definitely not going to mention even a hint of my suspicions in front of Dominic.
Not now. Maybe not ever.
“Fine,” I say, dragging the conversation back to the topic at hand. “Then Dom is with us. Victoria?”
She looks at me like I’ve lost my fucking mind, her green eyes hard and penetrating. “What?”
“Are you with us, or should we kill you?”
She shifts a little beneath Marcus, her lips pulling back. “With you in what? What are you planning to do?”
“We’re going to find solid proof that Luca is the Viper. That he’s been double-crossing every family he conscripted into this fucking ‘game’ and who knows how many other people in Halston as he built up his empire under an assumed name. Then we’re going to bring him down.”
Victoria stares up at me for a long moment. Even though I’ve seen the sharper, messier, more real version of her, that doesn’t discount her intelligence. She’s cunning as a damn fox, and I can practically see her doing mental calculations in her head, working out the smartest move. The move that will benefit her the most.
Luckily for us, I have a pretty good idea I know which move that is.
And I’m right.
Breaking the silence that hangs in the air, Victoria huffs out a breath and gives a grudging nod.
“All right. I’m in too.”
Chapter 16
“Like fucking hell you are.”
Marcus has been still as a statue on top of Victoria ever since I stopped him from shooting her, so when he leans down suddenly and shoves his forearm under her chin, pressing his gun against her temple, the movement makes me jump.
She lets out a tiny noise of surprise too, but to her credit, she keeps her face impassive as Marcus gets in her face.
“Before we accept your ‘help’ for anything, let’s get a few goddamn things straight. This engagement? It’s over.”
Victoria sneers, her eyes flashing. Her voice is raspy when she speaks, and I wonder how close Marcus is to cutting her air off entirely. “Of course it is. It was a tactic, you asshole. I was playing the fucking game, but apparently that doesn’t matter anymore. And you’re welcome for saving your life, by the way.”
“Fuck you,” he growls.