Page 157 of Fallen Rook

“A dictator seldom knows he’s a dictator; he thinks he is an idealist, and that the ends justify the means. You are your father’s son, Luca.”

“His son, yes. His carbon copy, no. The sins of the father are not visited upon his children, Rothwell. Not in this case. Know how I know?”

“How?”

“You fell madly in love with one of them.”

I smiled, then, pleased with his ingenious logic. He was very rational indeed. It was probably what had driven his wife away.

“Give it a think,” Luca coaxed. “I’ll make you and your future husband very rich. Very happy, too. And remember—I am the moral choice. By helping me stay in power, you’ll do the world good. If not me, then Achilles. And if Achilles runs the show, these streets will be filled with rivers of blood. There are not enough coroners in the state to handle my brother’s insatiable brutality.”

“If I strike a deal with you, I want your word that no innocents will be harmed under your rule.”

“You have my word,” Luca said. “I am the lesser evil.”

“Still evil.”

“Monsters deserve to live, too. We’re a part of the ecosystem.”

“How so?”

“We devour one another, doing some of your work for you.”

I thought about what Slava had said about gods and mortals. How they did not mix.

Perhaps they did not. But I would gladly become a human sacrifice to save my deity.

“Goodbye, Luca,” I said.

“Arrivederci, Tom.” It was the first time he didn’t call me Agent Rothwell.

I slid into the shadows of the night, making my way to my apartment.

We’d never finished the game.

But somehow, still, I’d won.

Chapter Forty-Four

Enzo

“Fucking Slava.” I drove my fist straight into the wall.

The solid concrete cracked, as did my knuckles, yet I couldn’t feel the pain. The impossible weight of the world rolled off my chest, and I could finally—finally—breathe again.

“And Rothwell says he has it covered?” Achilles raised a skeptic eyebrow.

My brothers and I were standing in Luca’s living room after he’d called us for an urgent meeting. I’d come here not knowing if this was the last time I was going to see my family as a free man.

Luca nodded. “He gave me his word. All we need to do is sit pretty, avoid the port, and, of course, kill Slava.”

“I’ll slaughter him with my bare hands,” I promised.

“Figured as much.” Luca rolled his tongue along his front teeth. “Just make sure you do it before he makes the trip to headquarters in the morning to bitch and moan about your ex.”

“Count on it.”

“And don’t be anywhere near that ship when it arrives, Enzo. I promised Rothwell we’ll steer clear of that operation.”