Page 10 of Thorns of Malice

We step out into the cold air, and I breathe deeply, feeling alive for the first time in years. I escort Avery to my SUV and the driver opens the door.

She slides in, and I follow, putting the divider wall up and hitting the record button I had installed. The last thing I'm going to be is unprepared for this conversation.

When it's shut, she fumes, "What have you done, Dax?"

"Created a trillion-dollar empire," I state.

She hisses, "You snake!"

"Snake? I'm not the snake, Avery. I don't have to drug up my sexual partners."

She stares at me and then her expression slowly turns into a smirk.

My chest tightens. I hate it when she acts like she has one over on me. She usually does, but I won't give her the satisfaction. I keep my haughty gaze pinned on her.

She breaks the silence first, claiming, "You know damn well Bobby slipped Ivy Trance the night of your foursome."

"Yeah. He admitted it to me in a text the day after. I had no idea. I'm not to blame," I declare, but guilt still hits me.

Avery scoffs. "You're not to blame? You manipulated Ivy just like the rest of us."

Regret tries to annihilate me, but I push past it, claiming, "I didn't drug her. Bobby did, and I didn't know, or I'd have never let her do anything."

"Don't act so high and mighty, Dax," Avery seethes.

"What's wrong, little sister? Worried some of your actions might come back to bite you?" I taunt.

Red anger flares on her cheeks. Her eyes turn to slits. She shakes her head. "Destroy the drugs, Dax."

I chuckle. "You wish."

"I mean it. You're taking things too far. At least destroy TimeMarker," she orders.

All the time and money to develop the drugs were worth this moment. And more wins are coming.

I lean closer and study my sister, wanting to hold on to this rare occasion.

Avery's never scared. Right now, there's fear swirling with her rage.

My grin grows until my cheeks hurt.

"I mean it!" she snarls.

A high I've not felt in a long time hits me. It's the rush of the game I've refused to play with Avery for ten years. It's the same game I mastered and then regretted teaching my sister.

Now, I'm all in again.

There's no way I'm tapping out.

She accuses, "You've let Ivy turn you soft. All these years and you still can't get her out from under your skin."

"Keep thinking that," I state, but I know my sister is right.

"You're letting her win!" Avery scolds.

Maybe so, but I don't care. Ivy can win all day if Avery goes down. So I chuckle.

"This isn't funny! Destroy it," Avery repeats.

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