Page 13 of Revenge

I raised my chin and met his glare for glare, “I’m not scared of you, Kai.” The slight tremble in my voice exposed me as a liar in a nanosecond. Only a fool would be unafraid of the personthisman had become.

Rumour had it, that he was more of a tyrant than his father had been. God ‘do not’ rest his soul. I’d heard from Anton that Gerard Kinlan had passed away in prison the previous year and now Kai, as his only son, fully ran the show. Good riddance to my not-so-sweet stepfather. Now my mother was free of that ogre forever.

I had shopped Gerard into the law behind his back two years prior and was partly responsible for him being sent to prison. After he’d appealed his sentencing, his legal team started to pick holes in the evidence I had provided. I still wasn’t sure if Kai had told his father before he died that I was the one who betrayed him, but either way, the thought of him being paroled had been a worry.

Now the fucker was six feet under, where he belonged. That, however, didn’t stop his son from coming to take a pound of flesh on his father’s behalf.

Kai narrowed his eyes as he watched me down that hawklike nose, “You’re not afraid of me?” he volleyed back, “Then you’re a bigger fool than I thought. You have ten minutes to pack a bag,” he replied sharply.

Raising my eyebrows, I leaned back against the kitchen counter. “Why on earth do I need to pack a bag?” My heart was in my throat as I knew exactly why.

I watched, waiting for his reply as he shoved my gun into the back of his tailored suit trousers. He was dressed impeccably in Brioni; the crisp white of his shirt contrasting with the tanned column of his thick neck. Kai’s ties were always blood red.

“You are to pack a bag as you’re coming with me. We’re going back to London.”

“I don’t want to go back. I don’t want anything to do with that life. I’d rather die.”

His lip curled into a sneer, “Oh no, my bloodthirsty little stepsister. Death is too easy. I have far better plans for you. Do you know what I do to people who betray me, Ava? Have you any clue how much trouble you are in?

“I can imagine.”

“So, be smart and get yourfuckingshit together.”

I swallowed at the threat in his words and my heartbeat thumped harder. “I’m not goinganywherewith you.”

“As I said, my patience ran out six months ago, so it will go better for you if you just do as you’re told.”

Kai dashed a hand through his hair, a sign of frustration as he attempted to keep control of his temper. And then in his usual high-handed alpha-hole way, he said, “Your refusal to do as I say used to be adorable, now it will just piss me off and so I would advise against testing me, Ava. You either come willingly without fuss or I carry you out. Your choice.”

Acting quickly, I reached behind my back and snatched a weapon from the knife rack, fisting it tightly in my hand. A dark twisted look crossed Kai’s God-like features; it was a cocktail of anger and elation, like he got somesickpleasure at the thought of doing battle with me.

“Put the knife down, before you hurt yourself,” Kai ordered with a patronising tone. One I was determined to wipe off his smug fucking face.

“Before I hurt myself indeed. Just because I’m small, doesn’t mean my brain is tiny. You’re on glue if you think I’m doing anything of the sort.”

“Do it now,” his voicedrippedwith threat but at that point, I realised that Iknewhe’d never really hurt me, not physically, anyway. We had too much history.

“Get out of my apartment and take whichever goon you have standing outside the front door with you,” I snapped, angry now he’d invaded my space.

Ignoring me, Kai stepped closer into the kitchen, the knife’s edge almost at his chest. If he were to fall forward, it would be game over.

Watching me with intelligence and severity, Kai glanced at the closed door before pinning his eyes on me. “How do you know I have a man outside,” he questioned with a head tilt.

Smirking, I stated, “Because you’reneveralone. You always have someone with you. Your protection detail. Everyone knows you can’t look after yourself.” I knew the words were risky, almost giving him an excuse to prove me wrong but I didn’t care. I wanted to fight with him. It was a suicidal choice considering I was five feet, four and my opponent was easily over six feet tall.

The way he was looking at me was borderline psycho; a sexy one, but a psycho all the same. Kai had always been the other side of sane and, from the looks of things, his dark side had matured with age.

I flexed my fingers around the knife’s handle, reminding him I was the one in control.

And then, I wasn’t.

He moved so fast. His wrist struck out and captured mine, the one that wielded the knife. He then grabbed my shoulder with his free hand and twisted my arm around and up my back. I flinched as the knife skimmed the cotton of my top, probably leaving a slash. Kai’s large chestpushedinto mine and my breasts were flattened against his hard torso. I was trapped. I panted trying to shove at his shoulder with my free hand, but it was like trying to move concrete.

“Let go of me you brute!”

The intensity in his eyes made my heart race. I gasped as he pushed my arm further up my back, painexplodingthrough the fragile bones there. My arms had always been skinny and I was sure it was close to breaking.

“A brute, am I? Drop thefuckingknife, Ava,” Kai growled against the cuff of my ear as my nose was squashed against his shirt. His breath was warm against my skin and was tinged with the scent of honeyed whisky.

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