Page 91 of Empire of Savages

This was it. My bargaining chip. My only leverage. My father had said there were people looking for me. It was clear that Maddox was more than who he was pretending to be. I had to hope that he had been looking for me, too. “Imagine howmuch more you could get for the daughter of the Devil’s Chaos president.”

His eyes narrowed. “Bullshit.”

Licking my dry lips, I said, “My real name is Alexis La Croix. Daughter to Talon La Croix. You could sell me back to the club—get double the money you’d get if you sold me to the Bratva or the Yakuza.”

Maddox’s dark eyes flickered from me to Reaver, then back again before he burst into laughter. “You expect me to believe you’re the estranged daughter of Talon La Croix?”

My jaw tightened as his laughter continued. I could feel Bliss’s eyes on me, but I couldn’t look at her—not until I secured her freedom. Releasing her hands and reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my phone and held it out to Maddox. “I’ll call him right now.”

Without hesitation, I found my father’s number and hit the call button. It rang twice before my father’s frantic voice barreled down the line. “Alex, thank Christ. Lawson told me about the text you sent him. We got out before they could hit. Tell me you’re okay. Tell me?—”

Maddox snatched up my phone, ended the call, and tucked it into his pocket. “Reaver, release the girl. We’re going to keepAlexisinstead,” he sneered.

Reaver took the knife blade from Bliss’s throat, and she pitched forward. In her desperation to get away from Reaver, she landed awkwardly onto the floor. Scrambling to her hands and knees, she attempted to come toward me, but Maddox pulled his gun and shoved it into her face.

“She just saved your life. Leave before I change my mind.”

Bliss shot me one last desperate look before she ran from the apartment and down the stairs. Now that it was just me, Maddox put away his gun and took a seat on my couch—casuallylounging there like he had all the time in the world—while I remained kneeled before him.

“So, you’re La Croix’s long-lost daughter?” he said, and I had the sense that the question was rhetorical. “I’ve been trying to get La Croix to play nice with me for a long time, and I knew the most powerful leverage I could gain over him would be to find his daughter. But by all accounts, she’d vanished almost ten years ago. There was even a rumor that you’d died. How strange thatIwould be the one to find you.” With lightning quick reflexes, he leaned forward, wrapped his strong fingers around my jaw, and yanked my face toward him. “How strange that I would be the one tobreak you.”

“You’re the one who’s been going after my father?” I asked, pulling back, trying to stop the wave of hot breath beating against my face.

Maddox dug his fingers in a little harder until my jaw ached. “No,” he replied. “If I had to guess, I’d say that was the Hunt, but their destruction has certainly been welcome. La Croix is fucking running scared, and when he finds out I have you, he’ll do whatever I tell him to.”

To have that sort of power over my father, he couldn’t be just a loan shark, or businessman as he’d told me he was. “Who are you?” I whispered.

“Who am I?” he asked loudly, looking to Reaver. “I guess it can’t hurt to tell you now. Who am I, Reaver?”

“Maddox Lynham. Bastard son of Killian Kavanaugh, head of the Kavanaugh Crime Family.” Reaver’s tone was monotone. Cold.

“Bastard son of Killian Kavanaugh,” Maddox repeated. “Bastard.” He punctuated the word with a shake of his hand, his grip tightening. “I’m the son my father barely recognizes. The son who was birthed by a whore. The son who has to prove he’s worthy of the Kavanaugh name. ButI’mthe son who will bringthe biggest distribution deal to dear old dad, and you’re going to help me do it. My father wants that Merida contract, the one currently held by the Devils, and I’m going to be the one to give it to him. Me! Not my fucking asshole half-brother, Aidan.Me!”

Maddox finally released my jaw, shoving me away from him and began pacing, scrubbing his hand over his face as he thought.

Striding forward, he hauled me up by my arm, torquing my shoulder into an unforgiving angle. Pain speared through the joint, but I held back the cry of agony. There would be no mercy from Maddox—not until he got what he came for.

“Reaver,” Maddox barked. “Let’s go.”

Reaver moved around the back of the couch, holstering his gun as he headed toward the apartment door.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

Tightening his fingers, he hissed into my ear, “You know I’ve been doing some digging into that limp-dicked asshole you’ve been spreading your legs for. And now it all makes perfect sense. The only reason he’s sniffing around you must be because he’s using you to get his revenge.” When I didn’t react, he shook me violently, making my teeth rattle. “Did you hear me, baby?” He sneered over the pet name he used to use with affection. “Nick is just another man using you for his own end. He knows your father pulled the trigger, firing the bullet that killed his brother. Heknowsthe only way to get back at La Croix is to take something that belongs to him. You’re a fucking convenience, and nothing more.”

“You’re wrong,” I whispered, conviction strong in my voice.

“What was that, bitch?”

“I said you’re wrong.” I refused to let Maddox’s words wound me. At one point in time, I was sure Nick’s motivations were destined to hurt me, but I also believed that actions spoke louder than words. He had chosen me over and over again. Protectedme when it was a choice between his club—hispresident—and my safety. He claimed me in front of everyone, and even though he hadn’t said the words, I knew.

And if I didn’t at least try to get away from Maddox right now, I couldn’t tell Nick myself what he’d come to mean to me.

Frantically, I looked around the room, looking for something that I could use as a weapon. Maddox shoved me ahead of him, and as I passed the kitchen island, I spotted the baseball bat propped up in its usual spot.

Two steps until I was within range.

One step.

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