“I’m sure some of you already know this, but one of ours betrayed us to the Desaltis,” I said, and soft murmurs filled the room. “Today, I finally found out the name of our mole.” I made a few steps around the room, eyeing the crowd. “Nobody likes traitors. You can agree with that, right?”

Everyone nodded.

“It pains me even more when the traitor turns out to be someone we’ve all known for years and who we trusted with our safety and our secrets, but he made his choice.” I swiftly pulled out my gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The shot was almost deafeningly loud, then silence bathed the room. I didn’t think anyone even dared to breathe.

Brent’s eyes were wide, but I knew he couldn’t see me anymore. Nobody moved. I didn’t think anyone had expected me to put a bullet in my second-in-command’s head.

“Let this serve as a warning to anyone who decides to cross me. I don’t care who you are and how close we might be—if you betray me and lie to my face, I’m going to find you and I’m going to make sure that never happens again. Understood?” I gave everyone in the room a hard look. Most of them nodded, and some mumbled a yes.

“Good,” I said, letting the darkness inside me spread and envelope me, because I couldn’t let myself break down now. “Unfortunately, Brent’s treachery went so far that he blamed and killed an innocent man to cover up his crimes. Chris Sinders was a good man, and we’ll always remember him.”

Someone was going for the door, and I realized it was James. He didn’t even look at me. People glanced at him, but they all remained where they were, their gazes flitting to Brent’s body and the blood pooling around him.

“The Desaltis will pay for what they’ve done. They’ve been a thorn in our side for way too long, and we won’t allow them to attack us as they please and take what they want from us. We’ll strike back.”

A few people were bobbing their heads, others were whispering about something, but I knew I had their support. I could feel it in my bones. It was pure power that was coursing through me, and it was the only thing holding me together right now.

I finally slipped my gun into my holster. “Someone clean up the mess.” I turned away from Brent’s body. Someone’s steps echoed as they made their way across the room, and I knew they’d be taking Brent away.

“Ma’am?” one of the men asked.

“Yes?” My voice sounded so alien to me right now.

“What are we going to do with the body?”

“Send his head to Romeo Desalti.”

“Yes, ma’am.”