Page 12 of Vicious Rule

My heart sinks at that thought, but I don’t have a choice. If Sasha’s here, Gideon will know. What are the chances he won’t act like a complete tool about this whole thing?

Slim, fat, and none, I imagine.

I spy him as the gold elevator doors open and he steps out. Dressed in his usual dark Italian suit and looking like some kind of upright businessman, he sees me and frowns.

At least the hate doesn’t only run one way with Helix Rule’s sons.

The two of us cross the lobby like we’re both walking to our deaths. I’m sure the expression on my face isn’t any better than his grimace, but I don’t give a damn. He’s got something I want back, and I intend on making him do just that.

We meet in the middle and size one another up before he speaks first. “Alex, I’m surprised to see you tonight.”

“No, you’re not, so stop pretending like you haven’t expected me for hours. Where is she?”

“Nice to see you too. Still working on being the best Cro-Magnon you can be?” Gideon asks with that sneer I’ve always hated.

I swear he’s made that face since he was a fucking baby. I’ve never heard of an infant sneering, but I would bet my life on the fact that he did. My father should have beat that attitude out of him when he was a child.

“I’m not interested in making small talk with you, baby brother. Where is she?”

He grins and looks around like he doesn’t know what I’m talking about. “Do you mean Aria? She’s upstairs. She’s not supposed to be upset, so I don’t think it would be a good idea for her to see you. I’ll be sure to tell her you asked about her, though.”

This is why I hate this sibling. My sister Autumn can be annoying, but Gideon is downright insufferable.

“A, you know I’m not asking about Aria, and B, why the fuck would she be upset to see me? I sent her a million things for the baby, for Christ’s sake.”

“Yeah, thank you, but I think we all know Sasha picked out all of that. Why are you here? This hotel isn’t part of the family business anymore, or did you conveniently forget that? You can’t just walk in here and expect to have your own way.”

I tilt my head back and close my eyes to stop myself from exploding right here in the middle of his fucking lobby. Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly before answering him. “Still not understanding your job in the hospitality industry, I see. When people come to your precious hotel, they expect to have their own way. So much for the customer being right. But you know damn well why I’m here. I’ve come to take Sasha back home with me, so where the fuck is she?”

“Let’s go into my office to have this discussion,” he says in that smug way I hate.

“I’m not interested in going to your office or anywhere else in this fucking hotel, unless that’s where she is. Is she in there?”

Glaring at me, he loses all his cool and in a low voice says, “I’m not having this discussion with you in the middle of my fucking lobby. Now if you want to talk, I’ll be in my office. If not, get the fuck out of my hotel.”

I watch him turn his back to me and slowly walk toward his office as rage begins to build inside me again. My father should have nipped this bullshit attitude of my brother’s in the bud when he was small.

As I follow him, I have an even better idea. My parents should have stopped after they had me. Then I’d never have to deal with either of my siblings and their bullshit.

By the time I slam his office door behind me, I’m ready to put my fist through my brother’s face if he doesn’t tell me what I want to know. He has no idea how pissed off I am. I spent the entire drive here cursing out him, Sasha, and everything about this fucking hotel.

He takes a seat behind his desk and then stands up again to walk over to the bar. “Drink?”

I watch him pour himself a scotch and wonder if I should have some to calm myself down. But I don’t want to be calm. Sasha needs to see she’s gone too far this time.

“No, now answer my question. Where is she?”

Gideon doesn’t say a word and simply sits down again. After taking the slowest sip of a drink in the history of drinking, he sets his glass down and sighs.

“Why don’t you sit down and relax?” he says, completely dodging my question.

“I don’t want to fucking sit down! Have you forgotten Sasha works for me now, not you?”

“Alex, I didn’t forget anything. I just prefer not to have my guests’ vacations ruined by their enraged bosses. Just give her a few days. She’ll calm down and come back to you. She just needs some time off.”

Now he sounds like her, which infuriates me even more. Fed up with his bullshit, I turn around and head toward the door to go search for her.

“Thanks for nothing, little brother. Let’s hope your precious guests don’t mind someone bothering them in the middle of the night because I’m going to knock on every motherfucking door until I find her. You should have just brought her to me.”

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