Page 103 of Brutal King

I smile. “I can work with this.”

“Gideon, you should know we went to Luca first,” she admits.

My smile disappears as her words sink in. She didn’t come to me first. She didn’t trust me enough. “You should have kept that to yourself.”

“I was afraid you’d be angry.”

“Scarlet, I’m beyond angry. First, you question me. Then, you go against orders and fuck your target. Now you want my blessing in what is sure to turn out very poorly for you.”

“Youaremad,” she says.

Without asking for permission, I begin to pat her down for bugs. Perhaps I’m rougher than I should be, turning her briskly. She snarls, but I ignore her. I want to throttle her more than I ever have.

“Shecan check me,” Gunner hisses, when I go to do the same to him.

“If I trusted her, she could,” I retort, glancing toward Scarlet. She winces at my remark, and though I’m glad I hit a sore spot, it’s not enough to alleviate the sting of her betrayal.

I tug the Glock from the holster on Gunner’s belt, and tuck it into my own. No way I’m letting him remain armed.

“I don’t need a gun to kill you, Gideon,” he threatens, his hands rolling into fists at his side.

“That’s not why I’m taking it. Call it a gift for my willingness to listen to your ridiculous ideas about riding off into the sunset.” I glare at Scarlet and she shrinks a little. “Get in the fucking car. Both of you.”

The drive back to my penthouse isn’t long, but the tension in the car makes it seem eternal. Scarlet is sitting beside me, gazing out the window the entire time. Silent.

Through the rearview mirror, I watch Gunner glaring at me, angry that I stuffed him in the backseat. His discomfort brings me the smallest sense of joy, but I’ll take what I can get.

“Mr. Black,” the valet greets, when we arrive. “Miss Scarlet.”

They follow me in, whispering amongst themselves.

When we finally step into my apartment, Gunner whistles. “Nice place you have here. Pay for it with all the money you stole?”

I laugh. “Tell me, Gunner. How did you pay for your place? For that matter, how did you fund the purchase of the Keaton Orphanage? Because I know it wasn’t mortgaged.”

“Right.” He looks out the floor to ceiling windows. “Except, I didn’t kill people for it.”

“Didn’t you?” I go to the wet bar and pour three shots of whiskey. “Pot, don’t call the kettle black. Bad is bad.”

I hand them their drinks, but they both just stare at them as if they’re poisoned. Guess I would too, if I were in their shoes.

Scarlet clears her throat. “So, can we talk?”

Tossing my whiskey back, I say, “Sure. Give me your pitch. Why should I let my right-hand, the woman who knows enough about me to bring down my entire empire, run off with my enemy? And I assume you’ll want money too.”

Scarlet grabs Gunner’s hand and tugs him to one of the leather sofas placed in front of the large fireplace. I sit on the opposite side.

“We don’t need money,” Scarlet says. “Just the promise that you won’t come after us.”

My hold on the shot glass tightens.Promise that you won’t come after us. Her request, the insinuation that I would chase her down to harm her, is a knife to the gut.

“Where would you go?” I ask, my voice tight.

“New Orleans,” Scarlet says at the same time as Gunner says, “Costa Rica.”

They look at each other and I burst out laughing, though in reality I’m not amused one bit. “God, you two are so fucked. Even if I don’t go after you, Luca will. And he will find you.”

“Not if you tell him where Sofia is,” Gunner says.

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