Sinful Empire (Mount Trilogy #3)

“Do you want to handle this personally, or do you want me to meet them?”

Keira tips back another glass of whiskey as she hums, scrolling through her playlist, giving me space. I want to stay in this room forever, but this is part of my life. I don’t always get the luxury of deciding when the cops are going to raid.

I will, however, make it clear that they are not welcome in my establishment.

“I’m coming.”

“You sure? Because—”

“Get it handled. I’ll be there.”

“Okay, boss. On it.”

Keira lowers the empty whiskey glass to the table as her green gaze flashes with worry. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

“Nothing you need to worry about, but I do have to go handle some business.” I offer her my hand, and she threads her fingers through mine. “But we’ll pick this up again on our honeymoon.”

“We’re a team now. You can tell me if there’s something going on.”

I clench my teeth. Her question and tone are so expectant, and my instinctive reaction is to protect her from everything possible. “There will always be things you don’t need to know.”

“But there are some things that you can tell me. If I got a call right now that changed my demeanor as much as that one changed yours, you wouldn’t let me leave without an explanation, Lachlan. Besides, no one can force me to testify against you now.”

She’s right, and I respect her and her desire to know. This isn’t something life-or-death that I have to keep to myself, so I decide to share.

“Cops are gonna raid the casino, so I need to be sure a casino isn’t there to be raided by the time they arrive.”

Her brows wing up to her hairline. “You’d think they’d be happy you just cleaned up the streets for them.”

“I’m guessing this is their power play telling me they didn’t appreciate my assistance.”

“Has this happened before?”

I nod. “Once, when I first took over. They were testing me, and we came to an arrangement. It’s been in place a long time. This is just another test, but it won’t be an issue.”

“Okay. That’s all I needed to know. Go do your thing.”

I look around the room, not wanting to leave her without V here, but I gave him the damn night off. “Who else is in the building?”

Keira glances down at her watch. “At this time of night? Only Temperance. I told her she wasn’t allowed to stay after I left, but she said she wouldn’t leave until I do.”

“I’ll call V and wait for him to come, and then—”

She releases an exasperated sigh. “Go. Handle your business. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m not leaving you unprotected.”

“I’ve got an arsenal in my office at this point. Anyone who tries to get to me will be dead before they can walk through the doorway. I’m pretty sure Temperance can handle herself too.”

Even though she sounds certain, I still don’t like the idea of her being here without V here.

“I’m texting V. Don’t even think about leaving the building without him.”

Keira presses a kiss to my lips. “Don’t worry about me. Go.”

I bury my hand in her hair and take the kiss deeper before I pull away. “Later tonight. You, me, no more interruptions.”

“Deal.”

As I stride toward the elevator, the same uneasy feeling from this morning rides on my shoulder. I send a message to V to get his ass to Seven Sinners ASAP.





Keira





I haven’t even made it to my office before my phone starts ringing.

Temperance.

“I’m on my way down,” I tell her. “What’s going on?”

“Fire alarm at the rackhouse. I just got the call. I had them put me first on the notification list when you were in Dublin. We have to go now. I already called the fire department. They’re en route.”

Holy f*cking hell.

“I’m coming,” I yell, then disconnect the call and rush the remaining way to my office.

Temperance is already in the hallway with her purse. “Let’s go. I’m driving.”

“Good, because I don’t have a damned car here.” Something I’ll be talking to Lachlan about in the event of emergencies just like this.

We run to the parking lot and climb into Temperance’s Bronco.

“We can’t lose the rackhouse. That’s—” Temperance sounds just as terrified as I do.

“I know we can’t. We’ll be f*cked. This can’t be happening right now. It has to be a false alarm.”

Temperance hauls ass, the epitome of drive it like you stole it, toward the outskirts of town. The rackhouse is a tall, nondescript building that no one would know what was in it unless they paid attention.

When Lachlan basically admitted that he’d had a barrel of the Spirit of New Orleans pilfered from it, I knew I needed to upgrade the security system. But with everything that has happened since, I haven’t had time.

Of course this would happen now.

“My dad will disown me if anything happens to that whiskey.”

Temperance shoots me a look across the interior of the SUV. “Forget your dad. What the hell would we tell all those distributors we just signed big, fat contracts with?”

We make the rest of the ride in anxious silence, pulling up to the razor-wire fence that surrounds the industrial building. Flames shoot from one of the top-floor windows, but there’s not a fire truck in sight.

“Holy f*ck!”

Temperance punches in the gate code, and her tires spit gravel as she skids into the parking lot and jams the SUV in park.

“Where is the fire department?” I ask.

“I don’t know! I called them. The dispatcher said they’d be here soon.”

Not a siren can be heard, and my stomach flips. “Call them again. Right now. I’m going for a fire extinguisher.”

She grabs my arm before I can open the door. “Are you f*cking kidding me? You can’t go in there.”

“This is my legacy. I’m not going to watch it burn to the ground without doing a damned thing to stop it.”

I jump out of the SUV and sprint toward the building, heading around the side entrance.

My phone clutched in my hand, I pull up Lachlan’s contact, but before I can tap Call, something heavy connects with the back of my head.

All I feel is sharp pain before everything goes black.





Mount





The casino floor is partially cleared when I arrive, but not completely. It’ll be done before the cops get there, though, and I’ll be waiting to have a discussion that shouldn’t be necessary. By the time they leave, there will be no question that this city still belongs to me.

I text V.



Mount: You have her?

V: Not yet. On my way.

Mount: Tell me when you have her.

V: Will do.



I help haul away tables, filling truck after truck that will leave the city in different directions, until sweat drips down my collar.

V hasn’t texted me back yet, and it’s been almost forty minutes. Something doesn’t feel right.



Mount: You have her?

V: She’s not here. I’ve been looking. Can’t find her.



I’ve lived my life on gut instinct, and I should have listened to it. Something is totally off.



Mount: FIND HER NOW.



My next call is to J. “Did we miss anyone? Anyone at all?” I don’t have to specify what I’m talking about.