Page 35 of Indecent Villain

“My brother raised her as his. Cannon had Jude and Anna killed. Kinsley is my family. She is not negotiable.”

Cannon growls but doesn’t say anything.

“You will do as I say!” Rossi shouts.

This is getting out of hand, but there is no way I am handing my girl over to that sociopath.

I take a deep breath, then slowly exhale and look Rossi in the eye. “The girl stays with me.”

“That is not good enough,” Cannon hisses. “She belongs with my family. She is an Edge, and nothing you or anyone else can do will change that.” Cannon opens his mouth to continue, but Rossi cuts him off.

“You will hold an eighteenth birthday party for Kinsley. We will attend. She can meet Cannon, Xavier, and Cleo. Decide for herself if she wants to spend time with them. This,” he says firmly, “is a compromise. Yes?”

Cannon’s eyes gleam with malice as he glares my way. “I agree.”

“Beckett? I need your answer,” Rossi demands.

I unclench my teeth and reply, “I agree.”

“That wasn’t so difficult, now, was it?”

He has no fucking idea just how difficult it was to say those two words. I want to kill the evil bastard.

“Are we done here?” I snarl.

“We are,” Rossi says.

Cannon shoots to the door. “My family eagerly awaits the invitation.”

I exit the room, anger rolling from every part of my body. I vaguely hear Rossi call out to me, but I pretend otherwise.

He has chosen his side, and it isn’t mine.

Spotting Veronica, I head her way. I grab her hand and remove the engagement ring. “Consider the engagement null and void.”

I leave a spitting mad woman behind and weave my way toward the exit.

Outside, Nine takes one look at my face and winces.

“In the car,” I say.

As we drive home, I open the window and toss out the ring. At least that is one problem solved, even if more have sprung up.

14

KINSLEY

There isa chill this morning even though the sun is out. I prefer it this way. Seated on the large landing on the first floor, I look out over the lake in the distance. It’s my favorite place to sit and read or think. Currently, I’m deep in thought, wondering how the dinner Tiberius was summoned to went last night. He returned home late and in a foul mood, judging by the way he slammed the doors.

There is something about the man that draws me to him. The intensity with which he looks at me has something to do with it. I like that look. It makes me feel warm and maybe a little reckless. I was certainly reckless when I watched Tiberius jerk himself off in the shower. His cock felt like silk in my hand. He’s beautiful naked.

I stand and move closer to the window. I rest my forehead against the cold glass and cast my eyes over the lawn at the rear of the property. It extends all the way to the lake, where a three-jetty marina is situated, with forest flanking the property on either side. The private forest stretches for miles in each direction and is part of the estate, making it my property. There are a couple of fire roads around, but they’re probably overgrown by now. I wouldn’t know for sure, as I haven’t gone out there in a while.

There is so much that I don’t know, so much that I thought I knew, only to discover I know nothing. Deep down, I know my parents had only wanted to protect me, but I hate that they hadn’t trusted me with the truth. Surely if my father had known something was going to happen to him and Mom, he’d have been honest with me.

I swipe at a wayward tear and inhale deeply as I pull away from the window. No one else is up and about yet, so I head downstairs to the kitchen.

Marie pauses and glances at the large clock on the wall as I appear.

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