Page 86 of You Don’t Kiss Your Brother's Best Friends

Roman grinned, showing off his alligator-like teeth. “You’re still onthat?All these years later?” He waved his hand dismissively. “That was nothing. A few too many rebels. Your men were green, untested. They didn’t know what to do, and it showed. If I hadn’t—”

Andre struck, fast as a viper. He punched the man square in the jaw, so hard that the huge mercenary actually fell down.

Holy shit.

He got up again quickly though, and returned to the same spot, refusing to budge an inch. Bishop, I could see, was practically vibrating with the need to hit him as well. Roman saw it too.

“Easy,” he growled, wiping the blood from his mouth. “You only get one of those.”

Bishop gnashed his teeth and looked away in frustration, and for a brief instant our eyes met. In that moment, I didn’t convey anything. I couldn’t have robbed him of his vengeance even had I wanted to, and I didn’t want to.

Eventually, the fist Bishop was clenching opened ever so slowly. Sensing an opening, Roman chose to address the room directly.

“Is this what you want?” he boomed, flinging his arms open. “To be led by cowards? To let Blight shatter into a thousand pieces, all because the rest of you were too weak to hold it together?”

More silence. More stares. No one budged an inch, though.

“Victor Knox is dead,” Roman went on. “He and Foley’s men are gone. It’s up to you, now. You get to choose what happens next.”

One by one he stared them down, but not one man lowered his rifle. There were, however, multiple clicks of safeties being switched off.

“Looks to me like theyhavechosen,” smirked Morris.

Roman hissed and spat again. To his credit, there still wasn’t a hint of fear or panic in his stark blue eyes. But his skin was turning red now, like some giant demon.

“What you still don’t realize,” added Andre, “is that your own shit choices have put you in the situation you’re in right now.”

“And what situation would that be?” growled Roman.

Casually, Bishop took the barrel of Andre’s shotgun and guided it just beneath the mercenary captain’s chin.

“This one.”

Roman gritted his teeth, and held his breath for a moment. The barrel remained there even after Bishop let go of it, jutting into the underside of the man’s jaw.

“The dildo of consequences rarely arrives lubed,” Bishop grinned.

For a long moment, the entire room remained uncomfortably frozen. I found myself inching closer to Kayden, who slid his arm around me. I could tell he was just as shocked as I was.

“You’re stupid,” Bishop went on. “I mean you’ve alwaysbeenstupid, but over the years I think you’ve gotten worse.”

“Stupid?” Roman repeated disdainfully. “You think—”

“Yes,” Bishop cut in, acidly. “You’re stupid, Roman. Radical, but dumb. Immoral and callous, but totally unthinking.”

“It’s a bad combo,” Andre agreed.

I noticed his finger was still on the weapon’s trigger. Roman’s nostrils flared wildly.

“In the end, you don’t inspire loyalty,” said Bishop. He pointed around the ballroom. “As you can plainly see.”

Roman’s eyes shifted around the room once again. This time though, he laughed.

“Don’t pretend to take the high ground on loyalty,” he scoffed, the underside of his chin flexing uncomfortably around the shotgun’s barrel. “You’re all mercenaries. Your loyalty is bought and paid for.”

“To the client, yes,” Morris spoke up. “But true loyalty —brotherlyloyalty… well, that kind of loyalty doesn’t need to be bought.” He curled his lip in disgust. “You wouldn’t know about that, though. It’s the sort of concept you’ll never grasp.”

For once, Roman Wynter had nothing to say. He inhaled deeply, then let out a long, heated breath.

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