Page 29 of Indecent Villain

Tiberius slams his fist down on the table, scaring the hell out of me. Veronica reacts in the same way.

"Kinsley is not a plaything; she is family. My family. Watch your fucking mouth." He narrows his eyes on the woman. “Do I make myself clear?”

“Of course. No need to be so dramatic,” Veronica says.

I notice the dock down below, so I stand.

“Is it okay if Salem accompanies me to the water?”

Tiberius’s frown deepens, but he nods.

13

TIBERIUS

Nothing would giveme more pleasure than to place my hands around Veronica Rossi’s neck and squeeze the very life out of her. She is a lethal and conniving bitch. I wouldn’t be in this damn predicament if I didn’t want to stay on her father’s good side. For now, at least.

It felt good to hear Kinsley defend me, but Veronica won’t take too kindly to it and will get her back. I know the woman too well.

“You are really taking this thing with your niece too far, Beckett.”

“Kinsley is family. I won’t tell you again. Do not fuck with her, because if you do, I will take it as a personal affront,” I say.

Veronica hears me now and doesn’t like my words. Well, tough shit. That’s how I fucking feel. Kinsley will always be top priority to me. The girl is under my skin, which is why I blew off hours of paperwork to spend time with her. And look how that turned out. I’m more pissed than usual because the woman has fucked up my time with Kinsley.

I rub at my chest as my mind wanders back to the car when I told her what my mother had done. It still hurts after all these years. At the look on Kinsley’s face when I made that confession, I wanted to pull her across the divide and into my arms.

Things are becoming complicated, and I’m distracted when I can’t afford to be. I shouldn’t be distracted by a seventeen-year-old, anyway. She’ll be eighteen in a week. Legal.

Kinsley comes into view down on the dock, and I watch as the wind rustles her hair. She is so fucking gorgeous that I find myself more on edge than I should be. Normally, nothing gets to me. I do it all without emotion. Kinsley is different and she’s in my heart, which makes me deadly to her enemy.

Cannon Edge is not a man I ever want Kinsley to meet. I’ve seen his basement. I’ve seen his cruelty. He is far worse than his father ever was, and that is saying a lot. Cannon Edge is an evil bastard, and I know he would torture the fuck out of her for fun.

“I think I will head down to the dock too. The water looks nice and fresh.” Veronica stands. “Join me.” Her eyes stray to Kinsley before she holds my gaze. The woman is not stupid. She also doesn’t know the truth about Kinsley’s parentage, or does she?

I stroll behind Veronica with my hands in my pockets, debating what to do about her. Her father wanted to pass her off onto me. He knew I wouldn’t be able to say no because I wanted to stay in his favor. It has become more of an issue than it was when I agreed to it.

My eyes narrow as Veronica picks up her stride as we reach the dock. She heads straight for Kinsley, who has her back to us. In the next breath, Kinsley flaps her arms and splashes into the lake. I run to the end and jump in after her. I wrap an arm around her waist to keep her afloat. My anger is ready to boil over.

Kinsley clings to me as I move us toward the dock. Salem leans down and grabs Kinsley from me, hauling her up onto dry land. I pull myself out and focus on Veronica. Her face looks panicked, and so it should.

“You bitch!” I shout.

“Um, boss. I think you need to calm down.” Salem knows everything about why I put up with Veronica.

I ignore him as I prowl toward the woman. “You pushed her in.”

“I patted her on the back. It’s not my fault she lost her balance.”

“I saw exactly what you did. You pushed Kinsley into the lake when she can’t fucking swim,” I shout the last words and watch Veronica bristle.

Fuck this!

I grab the woman by her arms and toss her into the lake. She surfaces, splashing and screaming about the cost of her outfit.

I turn my back on her and address Salem. “Shove that bitch back in her car and tell her driver never to bring her here again.” My friend’s mouth hangs open.

The blanket he grabbed from the equipment box and wrapped around Kinsley is falling loose, so I grab hold and make sure she’s wrapped warmly. Tears fall from her eyes. I swallow hard and wrap an arm around her shoulders.

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