Page 62 of Brutal King

Don’t hurt my sister. I need more time!she implores with hers.

The server returns with the bottle of wine I ordered earlier and proceeds to pour some. Arran’s eyes narrow into angry slits. When she comes to his glass, he stops her. “When was the last time you saw me drink wine?”

The waitress seems stunned for a moment. “Whiskey. You prefer whiskey. I’ll be right back with that, sir.”

“That was my bad,” I offer in apology. “I assumed you’d have good taste.”

“That’s because you’re an ass,” he informs me.

“What about you, my dear?” I ask Skye. “What do you prefer to drink?”

She looks between us, then says, “Water.”

I chuckle. “Is that what you prefer, or does your master have to tell you?”

Arran leans into her. He whispers something in her ear I can’t make out, but she nods, then with one last glance at me, gets up. “Please excuse me. I need to go to the ladies’ room.”

He watches her until she disappears down a hall.

When he turns back to me, I say, “She’s Thomas Cameron’s daughter, isn’t she?”

The question is left unanswered. Instead, he peers at me over the edge of his whiskey glass. I peer back.

We’re just two powerful men sizing each other up, playing some game of chicken. Though I know who will lose, I’m the sporting sort and play anyway.

“So tell me. How much money does a place like this bring in?” I finally ask.

“I’m sure you’ve already investigated that yourself.”

“Some.” Of course I have. Maxton House and Asta form a billion-dollar empire.

“Are you ever going to get to the point, Gideon? What are you doing here?”

My smile vanishes. “I’ve gotten to the point many times, actually. Didn’t you receive my letters? I want to know where Clive is.”

“You are out of your fucking mind if you believe I’d give him to you.” He takes a calm drink, though I know he’s anything but.

“Even when you know I have Devon?”

“No one is worth my father’s life, Gideon. You’re wasting your time.”

Amusement pulls at my lips. “Are you so sure about that?”

He frowns as he tries to understand what I’m insinuating. Perhaps Devon isn’t worth his father’s life. But there may be someone else.

Tapping a finger against his glass, he says, “Let’s say I did tell you where he is. Then what? You kill him, and let me live in peace?”

“Only if you agree to shut down all of Maxton’s underground operations. You can still keep Maxton Holdings, but I want Maxton House and Asta shut down.” I want all those millionsof dollars, tainted with the blood of my father, to sink into the bottom of Lake Michigan where they threw his body.

The lights dim overhead, letting everyone in the hall know that the bidding is about to begin. Time’s running out.

Something behind me catches Arran’s attention. His brother. I saw him too, when I first came in.

“Why me?” Arran sits back in his seat. “Landon is next in line. He’s right over there. Why not harass him over this and leave me alone?”

“He’s useless. That boy probably has no idea where his own dick is, much less his father.” That was determined early on, when I first learned about the families. Who is in control, who is just there to spend money.

“You should know, I’d burn down the entire Maxton empire before I shut down Maxton House and Asta,” he says, but his eyes are still on his brother, who has just gotten up and is heading in the same direction Skye went. Interesting.

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