Page 19 of Brutal King

He inclines his head and leaves. I stare after the older man that’s been with me since shortly after my father died. It took a long time for him to fully gain my trust, my father had just been viciously murdered after all. But the manor was too big for me to care for on my own and everyone that had been here previously was suddenly suspect. Anyone of them could have betrayed Father.

As expected, Henry leaves the house without a sound to give him away.Quiet as a mouse in this very big house.It’s important on many levels, including remaining out of Sofia’s sight.

I take my seat behind the hideous mahogany desk Father loved so much because it was expensive, and wonder about Sofia. If I’ve come to know her at all over the weeks I’ve watched her, it’s that she’s predictably unpredictable. She’ll do something, that’s guaranteed. The question is, what? Will she stay in that room, or switch back? Will she try to run again?

Guessing games are fun, but the main goal is to win. The only way I’ll get to do that is to remain one step ahead. I must consider every possibility and be ready for it.

Sabotage. Rebellion. Vandalism. Escape. The chances that Sofia will try any of those are high.

There’s also the possibility that she’ll attempt to murder me in my sleep.

“Hmm.” I sit back and scratch at the scruff on my chin as I mull that over. I’m not sure if that’s a possibly or an eventuality.

That would be fun. Not as much as her punishment would be. And it won’t just be fun for me.

Some would call me arrogant. I call it knowing how other people perceive me. I know I’m attractive in a way that makes women lose their ability to breathe.

While at six foot five, my height and broad shoulders can be imposing, and my expensive suits show I’ve got money, I believe it’s my eyes that traps most of my prey.

Even as a young boy, ladies would croon about how mesmerizing my eyes were. I’d bat my lashes at them and they’d giggle and pinch my cheeks.

Now, I use my gaze to terrorize, intimidate or seduce.

In Sofia’s case, I’ve done all three. When she caught sight of me the first time at the bar, there was no mistaking the keen interest she took in me. The way she angled her body in her chair my way, or how her cobalt blue irises darkened as she took me in.

Sofia is afraid of me now, but before that, she wanted me. Her attraction was undeniable.

I pluck a photograph from my desk and study it. In it, she’s looking over her shoulder at something in the distance, one corner of her mouth quirked up. It must have been windy the day the photo was taken, because her dark hair is billowing wildly behind her. The sunlight catches tiny freckles on her cheeks and nose and her skin seems to glow. But it’s the cobalt in her eyes that nearly captured me. Like the sea during a storm,wild and inescapable. If I’m not careful, I could fall victim to them and drown.

The picture is a couple of months old, one of many taken by my spy the moment we discovered Tony Sinacore, Sofia’s eldest brother, was meddling, snooping, trying to figure out the connection between recent murders that had nothing to do with him.

Why can’t people just mind their fucking business?

He came very close to discovering I was behind the killings. It left me no choice but to learn about him and everyone that mattered in his life. Every detail is now contained in a heavy folder I’ve locked away in my safe,SINACOREwritten on it.

But this one photo… This one, I keep out.

“Sofia,” I whisper and run my thumb across her face.

She’s extraordinarily beautiful. But what has me coming back to the photo is the mischief in her eyes as she looks behind her. I don’t have context of what was happening, however, I followed her enough myself to imagine it. She was sneaking off campus, and had succeeded in evading her guards.

“You naughty girl,” I say and smile with amusement.

My phone buzzes and I tug it out of my pocket. It’s my right-hand woman.

“Scar,” I answer.

“Clive Maxton has been located,” she says.

“I want the details sent to me immediately.”

“Already on the way, boss.”

I set the phone down and sit back as I stare ahead. My smile has vanished, replaced by the hard set of my lips. There’s a grinding sound in my jaw as I tighten it until it seems my molars will crack.

There’s nothing amusing about revenge. So far, it hasn’t been sweet. It’s does nothing to appease the demons clawing at mydoorstep, waiting for me to die so they can drag me to Hell for my sins.

But revenge is all I have and nothing, not even a pretty little bird, can stop me.

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