Page 48 of Brutal Empire

That was the thing I wasn’t ready for, and the more I thought about it, the more doubts crept into my head, and that was dangerous. I needed my A game now more than ever.

“Patience, my little angel. I need to get some things straight before we head over there.”

I told myself it was necessary and that I wasn’t stalling. I hadn’t lied to Cam last night. My heart was just there, a muscle I needed to function. I was alive, but I wasn’t living, so dying was another thing I was going to do sooner rather than later.

“Now that we got all those boring details out of the way, we can talk about last night.”

I bit back my smile as she quickly became uncomfortable. Death and murder didn’t do that, but the mere talk of our shared kiss did, and I found it amusing.

As my chair pulled back, she watched avidly to see what my next move would be. She could start to run, and I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t chase after her. If my time was limited, I was ready to push to see just how much I could get out of this.

Cam pushed her chair away, prepared to run, but something stopped her.

“It’s terrifying how much I don’t want to run the other way whenever you’re around.”

My chest swelled.

“Everything is new, and for the first time, I don’t want to run away from thesefeelings.”

“Aren’t you glad you came for me, Angel?” I teased, and she glared at me.

“Let’s practice,” she said as she stood up.

“My lips are yours,” I told her.

“I meant combat practice.”

Damn, so that was that.

* * *

For the last few years,I had been all over the world, just not at a board meeting of my family’s company. Perhaps I had been running too, but now that the end was near, all my affairs had to be in order.

Even if I wasn’t present, I knew everything that went in and out of my company. Maybe that’s why my father left me alone. Because of me, we were always one step ahead of the game.

I used Sekten’s resources to get every bit of information so my company could thrive. I was sure to be on top of the deals, hacking, and even whispers. The board meeting had already begun when I paused at the door before opening it.

When I walked into the building, it was as if everyone had seen a fucking ghost. Their stares followed as they tried to gauge if they could approach me or not. The media was going to love this, and Sekten would hate it, as well as other government agencies.

That made me smile.

I pulled open the door, and I stepped a foot inside.

Everyone at the oval table turned to look at me. I couldn’t help but smile as I stepped forward until I got to the head, and my father’s eyes widened.

“Sorry I’m late,” I told them, even though no one here expected to see me. I made a note to myself to play back the feed from this meeting later so I could laugh at their faces.

I didn’t stop until I was next to Jack, the man sitting at my father’s right. He thought that because I was gone, it would mean he could take my place. I admit I respected his ambition, but just because I wasn’t present, it didn’t mean I had no idea what was going on or how he planned to take over this company once my father stepped down because he thought I was too spoiled and broken to step it up.

Because, at the end of the day, that’s what I wanted the media to think. I wanted them to think Katia’s death had broken me. That I was not reliable and had spiraled down a depressing path so they would pity me, so, when I went AWOL, they would expect it. I wanted to become a memory and an afterthought. I wanted to be nothing like I had been before. To them, I wanted to be pathetic so that if they ever caught on, they wouldn’t think I was capable of staining my hands with blood.

Everyone was too busy dealing with their own demons. No one would want to deal with mine, and that was my surprise attack.

“Jack.” My smile was lethal, that of a predator. “You’re in my seat.”

His eyes burned with anger, and I fucking relished it.

“Mr. Kingsley, you have been gone for almost a decade.”

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