Page 73 of Wilde and Deadly

“With what? A cocktail fork?”

“It can be done.”

“Messy.” Frost scoffed. “Give me a little credit. Poison is much more economical in these situations.”

Instinct won. Before he could stop himself, his gaze flicked—just a fraction of a second, just a breath—to the champagne glass he’d set down on the table.

He caught himself, but it was too late.

Frost’s wicked smile widened. “Tell me, David. How much do you really trust them? How loyal are they?”

Davey wanted to hit him. Just to wipe that smug fucking smile off his face.

He’d been so goddamn sure that Frost’s weakness was his arrogance. That he looked straight past the people who weren’t important to him.

But that was the thing about grandmasters.

They always saw every piece on the board.

“See, loyalty’s such a fragile thing,” Frost mused. “So easily bought, so easily broken. And sometimes, it’s simply… misplaced.” He let that sit for a beat, then smiled like he’d just let Davey in on a private joke. “The threat, my friend, isn’t coming fromme.”

Davey’s jaw clenched.

Frost swirled his champagne lazily. He was enjoying the hell out of this.“As I said, I like you. Any contract that may or may not have come through my company?” He shrugged. “Just business.”

Casually—too fucking casually—his gaze slid back toward Sabin. “If you want to find the real threat, I’d start looking inward if I were you.”

Davey’s stomach went ice cold.

This was the real move. The real play.

Frost had been toying with him up until now. Testing him, waiting.

But this?

This was the moment he tipped the king.

The threat was coming from inside Wilde Security.

Someone inhis house.

His jaw locked down hard. His breath came a little too sharp. He gritted his teeth, fought to keep his voice steady. “You really expect me to believe that?”

“Believe whatever you want,” Frost said dismissively and checked his cufflinks, adjusting them with careful precision. Then, finally, he met Davey’s gaze one last time and smiled.

Checkmate.

“But not everyone you love is safe tonight.”

Every nerve in Davey’s body went tight. A spike of heat shot through his limbs, then something colder—something that sank deep, coiled tight in his ribs. Adrenaline surged, his body tensing before his brain could catch up.

His jaw clenched so hard it ached. His hands itched for a weapon that wasn’t there.

His throat felt too tight, his breath just a little too sharp.

Rowan. Rue.

His gaze snapped to the hallway and there they were—Rue stepping back into the ballroom, Rowan stalking after her, anger in every line of her body.

---