Page 9 of Deadly Rival

What the hell?

For a single, blissful moment, I’m sure I’m wrong. I must have mixed his voice up with someone else, because there’s no way the man I’m looking at is Maggie’s brother.

His dark blond hair is styled into a preppy sweep. He must have taken the time to fix it after he pulled off the balaclava. Piercing blue eyes glare at me from a sharp, defined face. His jawline could cut glass.

The image of the scruffy boy I’ve carried in my head shimmers, dissolving into the man looming over me. Then someone gasps, and I tear my eyes away. We’re not alone.

A group of people is watching us. I straighten my spine as best I can and mumble through the gag. If they realize who I am, maybe they’ll let me go. Maybe they’ll—

Maggie’s brother speaks, and the words brand themselves into my soul.

“This is the woman I’m taking as my Ward. I’m claiming her now, and she’s seen the Compound, so she can’t leave. By the ancient law of the Brotherhood, she’s mine.”

Four

Sebastian

This is it. WillKendrick honor the terms of the Brotherhood’s ancient laws? I haven’t broken any of them. Ophelia is twenty-four and unmarried and has no children. She meets all the requirements for a Ward.

Of course, practical man that he is, Kendrick might order her delivered immediately back to her father and throw me in detention. Or have me shot right in the middle of my stupid forehead.

I glance at my friends, registering their confusion. They don’t know the woman at my feet is a hand grenade lobbed right into the heart of their home. I’ve endangered not just them, but their Wards too. Will they forgive me once they understand what I’ve done?

I force myself to meet Kendrick’s gaze. His mouth hangs open, all his usual poise destroyed. “Sebastian. What have you done?”

The words stick in my throat, but I force them out anyway. “I’m sorry. It was the only way. She’s the one I want.”

Kendrick doesn’t speak, only steps closer, staring at Ophelia as though she might disappear if he wishes for it hard enough.Even Ophelia stops her mumbling. Only the screech of a bird in the forest interrupts the taut silence.

When Kendrick tears his gaze away from Ophelia, his jaw tightens and his eyes lazer into me. “Are you insane? Do you understand what this means? That’s Ophelia Calder. This is going to start a war.”

At the distant edge of my hearing, Jacob mutters, “Fuck’s sake,” at the same time Quinn whispers, “Who?”

I’ve practiced this over and over, until the words burned themselves into my brain. Kendrick values traditional values, history, and logic. I clear my throat. “Sir, if you—”

“Don’t you fucking dare, Sebastian.” Kendrick’s voice is a hard, unfamiliar rasp. He gestures to a waiting Gilda soldier. “Sedate the girl and take her to Medical.”

The guard salutes, then pulls a box from a kit bag at his feet. Do they just walk around with fully loaded syringes? Seems excessive.

Focus.

Apparently they do, though, because he pulls out a syringe filled with clear liquid. Ophelia’s eyes widen, and she tries to shuffle away. She unbalances, and I crouch out of reflex, steadying her before she hits the floor. Our eyes meet, hers wide, gray, and full of tears. Does she know about the Brotherhood? Has she realized what this means for her yet?

She mumbles and gives a sad little shake of her head as the Gilda soldier grips her shoulder, holding her still as he sinks the needle into her neck. She flinches, and I keep my arms wrapped around her as the drug hits and her eyes droop. Her body becomes a limp weight in my hands.

“I’ll take her from here, sir.” The Gilda soldier grips her under the arms and hoists her up, draped over his shoulder. She’s on the tall side for a woman, but slim, and he gets to his feet asthough she’s no encumbrance at all. For a mad instant, I want to follow him. Then Kendrick’s voice snaps me back to the real world.

“Inform Medical to keep her under until I reach a decision. Sebastian, my office. Now.”

No one has shot me yet. That has to be a good sign. Maybe I’ll get to use my carefully prepared arguments after all, if Kendrick calms down enough to listen once he has a glass of whiskey in hand. He’s already striding off, so I trail after him.

Jacob and Gabriel flank me.

“Are you fuckin’ mental, mate?” Jacob’s accent is as strong as it ever gets, a sure sign he’s stressed. “This is why you’ve been all shifty? Plotting to steal the mafia princess like some bad fuckin’ movie? You realize people could die over this.”

“Why did you have to have her in particular?” Gabriel cuts right to the heart of the matter. He gets it. Eve was a dangerous choice, too, though the only person it endangered was himself. “Do you already know her, or…”

He lets the question hang. Now that the deed is done, the urge to spill my guts is overwhelming. I’ve been holding it all in for so long that the pressure has built up to the point where it has to blow. Kendrick, though. Kendrick first, and I can tell the guys everything once I’m sure I’m not going to die.

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