Page 12 of Claimed By the Ruthless King

“Who was he speaking to?” I select the correct floor number in the elevator.

“Another colleague. Luckily, he laughed off the theories.”

“Well, at least he doesn’t know I own the mafia.”

“Here’s where it gets interesting,” says Robert, flashing me a sideways look in the elevator. “The guy reports Wilson talking about a self-storage compound over in Queens.”

“He can lock himself in there if he continues with the conspiracies,” I grumble. “People believe anything these days if the opinion sounds genuine enough. The last thing I need is a scandal, people exposing the Moretti mafia.”

“That’s all under control,” says Robert. “But the storage unit in Queens is not.”

I huff, stepping out of the elevator when the doors slide open. “What does a forgotten storage unit have to do with me?”

“Wilson mentioned something about Crows evidence being left in the compound.”

“What kind of evidence?”

Robert shrugs, walking alongside me as I head back to the meeting room where Ophelia spilled the coffee. “The assassin only overheard bits and pieces of the conversation, but it sounds like important records have been locked away there.”

“Burning records is much more effective.”

“Yes, if your plan is to eradicate the past completely, forgetting it ever existed…” mutters Robert under his breath, careful others might here.

I flash a quick smile to the cleaner, walking into the glass meeting room.

“The coffee has been cleaned, sir,” she says. “I left Miss Bennett’s purse on the chair, along with an envelope addressed to you.”

“Thank you,” I say, cracking open the door, Robert following.

He stands in front of me when the door shuts, his voice returning to normal. “Someone knows Crow information is being held in the Queens storage unit.”

“Why do they care?”

“Someone in this city clearly wants the Crows to be powerful again.”

“Giving vulnerable teenage boys an incentive to commit crime is not powerful.”

“I agree, but we both fell into the trap.”

“An easy mistake to make when you’re approached by someone who you believe is genuine, offering to take you off the streets, to put a roof over your head, in exchange for a quick drug deal.”

“I know,” grimaces Robert, doing a lap of the room. “Looking at the way this economy is going, the Crows may rebuild. Homelessness is increasing. Trash cans are empty, people fighting over who can raid them first. People at the very bottom of society see powerful billionaires like you and become desperate to knock you down. Resentment can be a very powerful emotion, and resentment is what built the Crows the first time.”

“Resentment is a very powerful emotion indeed. Weakness can be turned into power very quickly. All it takes is the wrong person to say the buzzword…”

“And then you’re dealing with an army.”

I pull up a chair at the glass table, swinging my hands between my legs. “I need to speak to the salesman and find out what he knows.”

“If he knows where top-secret Crow information is being held, his next step might be to break into the unit.”

“And best of luck to him,” I chuckle. “Salesmen know how to break people, not locks.”

“Unless he knows someone…”

“Perhaps,” I say, raking a hand through my hair. “Like another Crow.”

“Exactly.”