Page 98 of Daddy Sees Snakes

I know him all too well.

He’s trying to make me feel like absolute shit, but I will not give him the satisfaction.

"Let go of me, asshole," I hiss, trying to wrench free.

He just laughs, cruel and mocking. "Still got that fiery spirit, I see. No wonder a certain someone’s so hung up on you."

At the mention of Viper, my blood turns to ice in my veins.

Allegra doesn’t know and all of this could go to shit if she overhears him.

Panic claws at my throat, but I force it down, masking my face with an unbothered expression.

I can't let Lyon see he's gotten to me.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I say evenly. "Now let me go, before I make a scene."

Lyon's lips curl in a sneer, his eyes glittering with malice. "Go ahead, sweetheart. Scream your pretty little head off. No one's going to hear you over the music."

He's right, damn him.

The bass is so loud it vibrates in my bones, the strobe lights disorienting.

We're just two more bodies in the writhing throng, anonymous and insignificant.

But I'll be damned if I let this prick intimidate me.

Summoning every ounce of bravado I possess, I rear back and slap him across the face, putting all my strength behind it.

The crack of skin on skin is lost in the pounding beat, but the sting in my palm is satisfying as all hell.

Lyon's head snaps to the side, his eyes wide with shock.

"Don't you ever fucking touch me again," I spit, my voice dripping with venom.

For a moment, he just stares at me, his cheek reddening where I struck him.

Then, to my utter disbelief, he starts to laugh.

It's a harsh, grating sound, devoid of any real humor.

It sets my teeth on edge and my spine prickling, every instinct screaming danger.

"Oh, Iris," he chuckles, shaking his head. "You really are a piece of work, you know that? No wonder he’s so obsessed with you."

Shame and anger war within me, knotting my stomach and flushing my skin.

“Go to hell.”

Lyon's smile sharpens, his eyes glinting like chips of obsidian.

He leans in close, his breath hot and stale against my cheek. "Oh, I'm sure we'll both end up there eventually," he murmurs, his voice low and intimate. "But Viper's already in his own personal hell, thanks to you. And as for me..."

His hand slides down my arm, his fingers biting into my wrist.

I try to jerk away, but his grip is implacable.

"My brother isn't here to save you now," he says softly, almost gently. "And neither is that sick fuck Viper. It's just you and me, Iris. Just like old times."

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