Page 101 of Brutal King

“You needed to hide from me,” I finish. “Sit.”

Doing as she’s told, she asks, “How did you find out… You’re having me followed.”

“I had no choice, Scar. You weren’t yourself. I knew something was up. But what you’ve done is beyond betrayal.”

“Who followed me?” she demands.

“Itsuki.”

“Itsuki. Of course.” Her lips thin and turn white with how tight she’s pulling them. “How long?”

“Long enough that I know where Sinclair lives.” I flex my jaw, trying my best to remain calm. But it’s fucking hard when the person I’ve trusted the most has betrayed me. “Explain it to me, Scarlet. Explain to me why you’re rolling around in the muck with your fucking target? Why you disobeyed a direct order to kill him.”

“You never ordered me to kill Gunn!”

“I…” I trail off as I search my memory. “I’m sure my exact words were, ‘you have a new target. Gunn Sinclair.’”

“Gideon, he hasn’t done anything to warrant death.” She’s questioning my decisions again. “Is it true that your father murdered Sergio Ramos’s wife?”

I narrow my eyes on her. “Who told you this?”

“Sergio did.”

“You spoke with him?” Fuck me. No wonder she’s so bent out of shape. She talked with him and he got into her head, filling it with doubt based on half-truths.

“What you sent me to do… It was cold blooded murder, Gideon.” Her voice is tight. Accusing.

“It’s your job, Scarlet. It’s what you do.”

“What Idois trust that you’re not going to have me kill an innocent man!” She’s screaming at me now, angry tears rolling down her cheeks. “I’m not a murderer.”

And there it is. Her biggest fear that she’ll take another innocent life.

I let out a breath and run my hand down my face. “No, Scar. You’re not a murderer. And I’m not turning you into one. Anyone thatison that list, is there for a reason. There are no innocents.”

It hadn’t occurred to me to give her more information on Sergio because I always ordered, and she always obeyed. But I do now. I tell her how Fatherdidkill Sergio’s wife, but it hadn’t been intentional. She’d been at the home of her lover when a deal with my father went bad. She was collateral damage, and not even Sergio cared about it at the time. It wasn’t until my father was able to get a contract that took over fifty percent of his profits right from under him that he decided it was time for revenge.

“I’m sorry.” She curls in on herself, as if filled with shame. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like I’ve let you down.”

“You have.”

She turns away from me. “I didn’t mean to.”

“You questioned me on Sergio. Now you know he didn’t deserve your pity. Gunn Sinclair is just as much a criminal as Sergio was.”

“I know.”

“Do you love him?” I ask.

“What?” She glances at me. “No, of course not. We just have fun.”

“Good. That means you can still do what you must.”

“I don’t want to.”

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