Chapter 187 KING.
UNKNOWN— SHANE.
I sat in the dim room, the air thick with smoke from my cigar. The single bulb overhead swung a little, casting shadows on the cracked walls. This place was a hole, hidden in the back streets where no one asked questions. I took a long drag, letting the burn fill my lungs.
The door creaked open without a knock. I dropped the cigar stick right there on the table, ashes scattering like dust. My eyes flicked up to see him step in, his face half-hidden by the fedora he always wore. He shut the door softly, like he owned the silence.
I crossed my legs, leaning back in the creaky chair. The wood groaned under me.
“I am getting fucking bored,” I said, my voice low and rough. “When do we start?”
He pulled out the chair across from me and sat down slowly. His coat was dark, blending with the shadows. “Hold on a little bit longer,” he replied, his tone even, like he was talking about the weather. “The family just suffered a loss. It will take time for them to recover.”
I let out a short laugh, but it had no humor.
A loss?
Yeah, I knew about that. Whispers in the streets said Luciano's wife, Raina, had been through hell. Kidnapped, and hurt badly.
It made the whole city feel off-balance. But to me, it was an opening.
“Exactly. That's the best time to strike then,” I said, leaning forward a bit. “You know them inside and out. It won't be a problem.”
He shook his head, his fingers drumming on the table. “They might have just suffered a loss, but it only raised Luciano's walls and guards even higher. We need to be careful.”
I hissed through my teeth.
That word grated on me like sand in a wound. We'd been dancing around this for years, waiting for the right moment to grab what we needed.
Those files and secrets buried deep in Luciano's world involved power, money, and leverage that could topple kings.
And here we were, still in the dark.
My mind raced back to the last time I tried something bold, which was reaching out to Raina.
I thought she was the crack in the armor. A soft spot, so I sent a message anonymously, hinting at her secrets and things she kept hidden from him. I figured she'd panic, reach out, and give us an in.
But nothing. She shut it down cold and didn’t even flinch when I pushed harder.
“Even when I reached out to that woman, Raina,’' I said, my voice tight. “You said it was going to work. She didn't even care that he was going to find out about her secret.”
He shrugged, but I saw the flicker in his eyes. Regret, maybe. Or just annoyance.
"I thought she was going to fall for it too. She is a weakling, and I thought it would work out.”
I hissed again, sharper this time. The sound echoed off the walls.
A weakling?
That's what everyone thought about her. The quiet one in Luciano's shadow. But she had steel under that skin and proved it when she survived whatever hell Marco put her through.
I picked up a fresh cigarette from the pack on the table and struck a match. The flame danced for a second before I lit up, inhaling deep. Smoke curled around my face like a veil.
“Well, I am tired of being in the shadows,” I muttered, exhaling slowly. “We need to do this fast. We need to get our hands on those files. What do we do? He trusts you. You can get it.”
He leaned back, crossing his arms. His face stayed calm, but I knew him well enough to see the strain. “Not enough to get those files. No one can.”
I shook my head, frustration boiling up. “So useless.”
“Hey, hey, careful,” he warned, his voice dropping low. “You’re here, in this position, because of me.”
I met his gaze, unflinching. “And you’re still here because of me.”
He paused, then nodded once. “I will make you king,” he said, like it was a promise carved in stone.
“So you’ve been saying.”
The words hung there.
That's what this was about. Power. Not just the files, but everything they unlocked. Luciano sat on a throne built from blood and deals, and we were the ghosts circling it.
And now, time was wearing thin. The city buzzed with rumors about Luciano's revenge on Marco and Talia, with their bodies cooling in some hidden spot. Guards tripled at his gates, and Raina tucked away, healing but watched like a hawk.
“But…”
The word slipped from my lips before I could stop it.
I sat upright slightly, my teeth catching my lower lip as a thought formed.
A new one, a better one and he noticed immediately.
“What is it?” he asked.
I didn’t answer right away.
I let the thought settle, let it grow, then I smiled.
“That girl,” I said slowly. “Raina.”
He stilled. “Yes?”
I leaned back again, the smile still on my lips.
“Wait,” I murmured, almost to myself.
Something clicked, clear and obvious.
“He has a weakness.”
The words came out softer now but they carried weight.
His voice sharpened instantly. “Shane, you can’t go after Raina.”
I ignored him.
“She is his weakness,” I repeated, the smile on my face growing just a little.
I could see it now, clear as day.
The way Luciano moved around her, the way everything changed when she was involved, and the way his control… slipped.
That wasn’t love, that was vulnerability.
And vulnerability…
It is a weapon.
“You won’t get away with it. Let’s stick to the plan.”
I hummed, amusement bubbling up.
That safe, slow, and boring plan. I leaned back in my chair, nodding my head like I agreed. The wood creaked again, protesting my shift.
“We stick to the plan, okay?” he pressed, his voice firm.
“Okay.”
But as he stood to leave, I watched him go. The door clicked shut behind him, and the room fell quiet again, save for the sizzle of my cigarette burning low. Okay. Sure. But in my mind, I was already thinking and already planning because plans could change.
And weaknesses were meant to be used.
I mean, it is fucking called a weakness for a goddamn reason.
The room fell quiet again after that but it wasn’t the same silence as before.
This one was different.
He had left, he thought the conversation was over, that he had control again, and that everything was still moving the way he wanted.
But I knew better. Oh, I always knew better.
I took one last drag from my cigarette before putting it out slowly.
My eyes drifted toward the door.
I wondered just how long the safe plan of his was going to last and how long before everything started to fall apart.
Because it would. It always did.
And when it did, I would be ready.
King, he had said.
I almost laughed at that.
Kings didn’t wait.
Kings took.
And I was done waiting.
Even if I had to play along for now.
Even if I had to nod and agree and pretend.
It didn’t matter.
Because in the end, I would make my own move.
And when I did, no one would see it coming.
Not Luciano, not Raina.
Not even him.
Especially not him.