Page 23 of Brutal King

I scowl, but my annoyance doesn’t faze her. She’s right. I’d never kill her even though she gives me plenty reasons to. She’s also right when she says that no one knows this house better than she does.Ididn’t have to hide for days at a time.Ididn’t have to stick to the shadows or hidden halls. If she really wanted to disappear in this house, she could.

Deciding it’s futile to keep it from her, I relent. “It’s Sofia Sinacore.”

She lets out a cackle, but it dies instantly when she sees the seriousness in my eyes. “Tell me you’re lying.”

“Go hide in the walls and find out for yourself,” I say dismissively, hoping she’ll leave.

“Oh my God.” She blinks at me several times. “Luca Sinacore’s sister?”

“Yes.” I continue riffling through the papers she handed me.

“No.” She shakes her head. “What? How? Why?”

“We need leverage. Something to hold over Luca’s head if he insists on being a thorn in my side. I saw an opportunity and took it.”

Her exaggerated gasp has me glancing at her once more. “Did you kidnap her?”

“Since I actually wanted her to come, yes. I doubt she would have accepted an outright invitation.”

Scarlet is still shaking her head, as if she’s attempting to wrap her mind around it. Then, she points at my face. “Is she the one that bit you? You kissed her?”

“She made a deal with me. The kiss was what she bargained with. She lost.”

“What didyouput on the table?”

“Her freedom. I told her that if she reached the door, I would let her go.”

“Would you have?” Her brows furrow as she studies me carefully.

I abruptly stand and go to the wet bar to serve myself a drink. Just like the house, no one knows me better than Scarlet does, and I can’t stand the scrutiny.

“Gideon,” she says after a few minutes of silence. “You already had leverage. You didn’t need the girl for that.”

“Maybe I want to have a bit of insurance when it comes to the men threatening my plans.” I throw back a shot of whiskey, then turn to her and grin. “Or maybe, I just wanted her.”

6

SOFIA

It’s been a long while since I heard Gideon’s footsteps fade down the hall. I’ve remained sitting with my back to the door, my knees tight against my chest.

Don’t cry. Don’t cry. I recite the words over and over in my head, burying the sobs threatening to escape, forcing them down into the recesses of my lungs.

What have I done?

I went against Luca’s wishes just to spite him and ended up in the claws of the man he was trying to protect me from.

I’m a smart woman. I hate that my father selected not only the school I would go to, but the subjects I’d study. Even so, I’ve pushed myself to get excellent grades. Sure, it was mostly to maintain the small level of freedom that allowed me to escape and have some actual fun. A party here and there.

It wasn’t until Luca that I’ve had to up the ante. He erected far more walls around my cage than I ever had, and my reaction was to smash them down.

The problem was, I couldn’t see what was on the other side. If Luca had been clear of the threat, I might have listened. Then again, I might not have.

I’m a smart woman that sometimes makes catastrophically stupid choices. This is one of them.

Okay, Sofe. You’re here now. You made a bad choice. Now make a good one. A clear headed one. Get yourself out of this mess.

I shut my eyes and take several deep calming breaths. My muscles loosen and some of the sheer terror of my situation releases its grip on me.

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