Page 54 of Ruthless God

“I’m taking that as a yes.” I step closer, tilting my head slightly, studying him. “What is the Brotherhood?”

Nothing. No reaction. Except for the slight clenching of his jaw. My mind races, piecing things together faster than I probably should.

My father. The Brotherhood. Claudius. And then there’s the man who looks like his dead brother—the one who wants me dead. The one who I fucked…

“Is that why someone who looks like your brother wants me dead?”

Claudius finally turns. His gaze pins me in place, dark and unreadable. For a moment, I wonder if I just made a mistake. A big one. But then, he smirks. It’s slow and calculated, like he expected this. Like he was waiting for me to put the pieces together.

“Yes.”

“So, what exactly is the Brotherhood?” I ask again, pushing forward, my curiosity outweighing common sense. “Some secret society?”

Claudius doesn’t break stride. Doesn’t flinch.

Instead, he just says, “If it’s a secret, do you really think I can speak about it?”

I hum, pretending to consider that.

“To be fair,” I say, keeping my voice casual, “Lili only knows about it because of her ex.” I glance at him, watching his reaction. “She said Dimitri wasn’t pleased when he found out that she knew about it.”

Claudius looks at me again. But I see it. The tiniest flicker of something behind his eyes. Interest? Annoyance? A warning? It’s there, but it’s gone before I can pin it down. Which means I just confirmed something.

He mutters something under his breath and starts walking. I follow, lost in my thoughts.

The Brotherhood isn’t just some underground group. It’s something more. Something they don’t want people knowing about. And the fact that Dimitri cared about Lili knowing? That means it’s dangerous. And I just dragged myself right into the middle of it. Well, to be more specific, my mother did when she decided to hook up with my father.

Something else Lili said drifts back to me, a memory pricking at the edges of my mind. She mentioned that Dimitri was high-ranking in the Brotherhood. Not just a member, but something more. What was it she called him? An Elite Member.

The words click into place, and before I can stop myself, I ask, “Is my sperm donor an Elite Member?”

Claudius stops. Just like that, the jungle disappears. It’s just him and me. He turns slowly, his expression unreadable and calculated. When he speaks, his voice is low, deliberate.

“Your father is the Head of the Defiant God Brotherhood.”

I swallow hard. Before I can process what that means, he moves closer.

“He is the most powerful man in the world.”

Closer.

“That is why you’re in danger.”

Closer.

“That is why you’re here,” he murmurs, his breath warm against my skin, “on my island. The one no one else in the world knows about.”

My breath catches. He’s so close, I can feel the heat of his body.

I shouldn’t find him attractive.

I shouldn’t!

But his little power speech?

Yeah, huge turn-on.

Still, I force myself to focus, because something doesn’t add up. I tilt my head up at him, keeping my voice steady.

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