Page 117

Lev closes his laptop and tucks it under his arm as he stands to fall into step beside me. Together we head for the secured door, the thrum of music and laughter fading behind us.

We find Rowan in the office, standing behind his mate as Ash crawls through the security feed one image at a time on the monitor in front of him.

Lev stiffens and steps forward. “What’s going on?”

Rowan holds out a single sheet of paper. I step forward to take it and hold it so Lev can read as well. The paper has no letterhead or signature. Just the stark black of printed words.

God falls before the lion.

But the game is far from over.

Further contact will follow.

Lev freezes beside me, as though the words have burned him. “No.”

Rowan straightens. “Do you know what it means?

“It’s a reference to my family.” He takes the paper from me. “Levon means lion, and my Uncle Mikhail’s name meant…”

“God?” I guess.

“Close enough.” Lev leans into me. “Does this mean it wasn’t my uncle who masterminded this whole conflict between the Blue Note and the Vartanian family?”

“It would appear so,” Rowan says.

“But…” Lev shakes his head. “Mikhail was the one who manipulated the council. He pushed for conflict.”

“I’m sure he did,” I murmur. “But somebody was feeding him the information.”

“Which means somebody else has been steering both sides from the beginning.” Rowan turns back to Ash. “We’re trying to see if we caught the person who dropped it off on camera.”

Lev reaches for my hand, and I lace our fingers together as tension thrums through me.

This changes everything. Not just for the Blue Note or the Vartanians, but for every player on this hidden board.

Lev stares down at the paper as if willing it to vanish. “But why? What’s the point?”

Ash exhales, humorless. “Power. Destabilization. Territory. Could be any combination of the three.”

“Or something bigger,” Rowan adds, a worried furrow forming between his brows.

A long, breathless silence stretches between us.

Then Lev’s fingers clamp down harder on mine, pain and determination lacing his grip.

“What happens now?”

Rowan looks from me to Lev and back again. “Now, we find this asshole who’s messing with our family.”

As the room falls into silence, I tug my mate closer.

Lev and I made it through the first battle.

But somewhere beyond the Blue Note, someone is still moving pieces into place.

And for the first time since this all began, I have the sinking feeling our families were only the opening volley.

The End