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It only took a second, but something flashed across his eyes, too fast for me to recognize what it was, but his body relaxed as he threw up his hands. “Oh, whatever. Fine. Burn it up. Who cares? I will just make sure I get out of here alive, and then it will be just Rayla and I.” When I did not respond to his outburst, he let out an exaggerated exhale and flopped onto the velvet couch.
A loud clunk sounded just as Lex jumped up, rubbing his ass as he cried out, “Ow! This couch just tried to sexually assault me! Falcon, burn it. Burn it to hell!”
Did he just . . .? I rushed over, pushing him aside.
“Hey! I'm the victim here! Defend my honor!”
It was always best to ignore him when he was speaking nonsense. I bent down and pulled out a pocket knife from my shoe. Ever since our incident with Vincent, I liked to make sure I had something on me that would help in case I didn't have my magic as an option.
I stabbed the couch cushion that Lex was sitting on. Lex’s voice sounded behind me, “Oh, ya. You kill that couch. Kill it dead for me. Avenge the honor of my ass.”
Closing my eyes, I took a breath, reminding myself that he was a part of the Syndicate, one of the bosses. He was also one of Rayla’s mates. I couldn't kill him. It would make her very upset. No. Killing him was not the solution.
The shuffling of the others surrounded me as they gathered around the couch, watching me as I yanked the knife down, slicing a slit down the velvet fabric, and pulling it apart. Desperate to confirm my suspicions. If I was a different kind of man, I would be smiling, I would be standing up and yelping in excitement as soon as I saw the black steel box nestled inside of the couch. That's how I would’ve reacted if I was a less complicated man.
Sitting back on my legs as I stared at the black box for a second as the others around me chattered away at my safe being found. “See, I knew my ass was useful!” Lex boasted.
Ax puffed out a laugh, “Ya. Your flabby, fat ass was super needed here."
I felt a pull of magic, noticed the shadows were bending around me, reaching for their master. Before anyone could prevent anything, I felt the magic snap out, releasing the shadows to go back to their natural spots.
"You know what? My rose likes my ass, she grabbed it just the other day. Can you say the same, wolf boy?" His taunt was met with a low growl and stare, but that was it, surprising me that it didn't escalate.
"Now, we just need the numbers. Did you figure that part out yet?" Avery asked seriously over my shoulder. He was in my space, and I resisted my immediate urge to shove him away, knowing he would just whine about it, and I didn't have the patience for that now.
"I will." Standing up, I turned around, and I reexamined the area. Retracing my steps, I looked at the walls, moved under tables and chairs, inspected the space around the lamp, trying to find something, anything that was tied to four numbers.
The others tried to help, looking around in silence. “This one seems hard . . .” Avery scratched his head, looking from side to side.
Back at the coffee table, I stared at the chess game and the newspaper. It had to be between either of these. Everything else just didn't make sense.
I could spend my time going through the newspaper line by line, trying to figure out if any numbers were bolded or italicized, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the chess set had something more to it.
Concentrating on the chess board, I took a different approach from earlier and tried to figure out what each side was doing. Black had most of its back row still in place, except for its horses, with the king pawn out. White had the king's pawn out two spaces, a bishop on its left, and the queen out on its right.
My father's words drifted around me from the first game we ever played when I was six.
You should always find the most quick and efficient way to get rid of your opponent. If that doesn't work, then learn as much as you can about how they operate.
“So, what's this thing with black and white squares?” Lex goes to pick up one of the pawns on the end and can’t since it’s glued to the board.
Cosmo saddled up next to him, arms crossed as he gave him the side-eye. “You’ve never heard of chess before?”
Lex scratched his head like an imbecile. “I don't think I need to know about chess to kill people.”
Avery’s laughter filled the room, “Naw. I guess you don't need to know how to play chess to do that.” Avery turned to Ax, looking for a comrade, but Ax was already staring at the chessboard with pinched brows, mumbling about how he should’ve paid attention to his father when he tried to teach him.
Avery looped his arm over Ax’s shoulders. “We were too focused on chasin’ tail and learning the biz for shit like chess . . . but now that we’re mated and locked down to one woman, it seems like we should’ve done a lot of things differently in our youth, Eh?” Ax shrugged him off but didn't hide the smirk forming across his face.
“Rayla and I learned-” Cosmo started, but Lex gave an exaggerated sigh, always irritated when Cosmo brought up their youth. I didn't understand that, since it was a fact, and he has helped us a few times in learning about Rayla, but I understood the wish to have grown up with her ourselves.
Cosmo glared at Lex as he continued, “but she was always the one to win against Ternin.” I could feel everyone's attention on me at that moment, and I nodded. It looked like it was going to be my role in this group, the only educated and cultured one.
I moved around the table and sat down on the side of the couch that wasn't ripped up, chin in hand as I focused back on the board. Ignoring those around me, I looked at the pieces again, trying once more to see if I could spot a four digit numerical pattern.
“It's weird that the queen is out so early in the game.” Cosmo said under his breath, but I immediately thought the opposite.Usually, very skilled chess players use their queen early on. It reminded me of the recent conversation I had with my father a few months ago after one of the transition meetings with the other bosses. Everyone had left, but he called out to me.
“Falcon. Can you sit for a moment?”
