Page 67 of The Killer Who Kept Me

“Don’t know.”

I grabbed my jacket, stormed out of my study, and headed down to the basement. Frazee was asleep on a shitty mattress in the cage, three of my guys watching over him.

“Frazee!” I kicked the bars, jolting him awake.

The left side of his face was swollen, and he had an arm clutched around his stomach.

“What?”

“Explain to me why the governor’s son is being reported kidnapped?”

His one good eye widened. “Are you sure?”

“No, I like wasting my own time. Answer me.”

“He said he wasn’t doing it. After Brandi…” Frazee ran his fingers through his hair. “He originally contacted Lionel Cummings for info on Dre—he wanted the option to take him and threaten the governor if he ever found himself in trouble. But I don’t know why he’s doing this now.”

“Unless he wants the governor to help him get you out of the picture,” Cosmo added.

“How would he do that?”

“Unfortunately, I think we’ll find out.” Cosmo pulled out his phone. “Dafni needs me.”

“Go.”

When Cos left, I glared at Frazee. “It never had to be this way.”

He sniggered maliciously. “It was always going to be this way, Saros. One of us was going to be in the cage and the other outside of it.”

“You’re in there because that’s what you believe. I’d have worked with you.”

He shrugged.

“What were the warehouses for?” It was the one question he’d refused to answer last night as if he knew that once he did, I’d kill him.

“Not your business.”

I gripped the bar and sneered. “It’s all my business now, Barrett.”

Regardless of what many people thought about me, this broke my heart. One thing Uncle Andrew had taught me as I’d grown into this position was that this business worked when everyone’s strengths and knowledge melded together. Sure, I was on the top of the heap right now, but who wanted to rule over a broken kingdom? If they thrived, I thrived.

Frazee was always just out of the circle because he couldn’t be trusted. He wanted to take and never grow. And that truth was never more proved than right now.

“Fuck off.” He rolled away from me.

I spun on my heel and left the basement. I’d finish dealing with him later. Right now I had a governor to call.

“Hey.”Em bounced into my study with a dish in his hand.

“You’re the best thing I’ve seen all day.”

“That’s sweet. I came bearing sustenance. Martha told me you haven’t really eaten, and I remember someone—you—telling me that we needed to stay strong.”

I motioned for him to give me the meal. “I’m clearly a genius.”

He chuckled and placed the plate down. Martha had made me chicken salad, broccoli cheese soup, and sourdough bread. My stomach growled.

“Mmhmm.” He moved to the couch and watched me until I took a bite.

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