Page 43 of Savage Reign

I didn’t say anything. He wasn’t telling me anything new. Dear old uncle had been pissed when we got into the business and managed to turn a bigger profit than he ever had. And when we were able to get into contact with our father’s men and their heirs, we began to build our army.

It now far surpassed anything the Las Vegas family could even dream of.

“He’s meeting with some interesting people,” Finley added.

I tensed, getting a bad feeling. “What interesting people?”

“A man who hates your guts more than anything in this world. And all for the girl in there.” I didn’t miss the hint of curiosity in his voice. My brothers and I weren’t exactly known for commitment or monogamy. That all changed now with her. But I wasn’t going to explain myself to anyone, not even my cousin.

“Sebastian Cline?” I guessed.

Finley nodded. “Sebastian Cline. He really wants your girl, and he’ll stop at nothing to get her.”

“Why?” I mused out loud.

It didn’t fucking make sense. I could understand the man becoming obsessed with Mila and wanting her to be his. Fuck, did I understand it. But it didn’t align with what I knew about Sebastian Cline. He should be focused on getting the club back to its glory days. And to go against us when he no longer had the manpower to do so? Hell, his men had died trying to get Mila back.

I turned to Finley. He had been quiet. I narrowed my eyes on him and waited.

The fucker offered a small smile I wanted to punch off his face.

“Why?” I asked, this time to him, and I expected a direct answer.

“Your girl is made of gold. She’s worthbillions.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Have you ever heard of Gunnar Rhinelander?”

“No.”

“Figures. He was before our time. But my dad knows who he is. He was Daniel Hayes’ father-in-law. Also the sole owner of Stocken Isle for the last fifty years until the old man kicked the bucket and left everything to his only granddaughter. Mila Hayes.”

I opened my mouth, but when nothing came out, I shut it and took in Finley. The fucker was enjoying my shock, but he was serious. He was fucking serious. “Fuck.”

Finley laughed. “Isn’t it ironic? That you guys spent so much time combing through the billionaires of Chicago, hoping to find the owner of Stocken Isle, and she ended up falling right into your lap.”

“Does she know?” I asked.

I didn’t think so, and Finley confirmed it when he shook his head. “No, her granddad died when she was seven, and Daniel Hayes had been determined to keep this from her. But there is a stipulation to the will.”

“And that is?”

“It doesn’t go to her until her twenty-fifth birthday. Right now, it’s being managed by a lawyer. But no one knows who that lawyer is. And she must remain unmarried until then. Because if she married before her twenty-fifth birthday, then that fortune would go to her husband.”

Had I been a weaker man, I might have staggered back. I remained standing, but fuck if all the blood didn’t move up to my ears, making it hard to hear.

“That’s why Sebastian Cline wanted her so badly.”

Finley smiled, but it wasn’t one with any humor. “And that’s why my father wants to help him. I came here as an ally, Killian. I’ll ignore the fact that you pulled a gun on me earlier since you were probably trying to protect her.”

I didn’t say anything to that. “And what would you get out of this?”

He laughed. “Can’t I just say I am doing this for my family?”

Maybe so, but he wanted something as well. Otherwise, the heir to the Las Vegas Tiernan Syndicate wouldn’t have risked his father’s wrath and traveled to Chicago.

He shot me an amused look when I didn’t say anything before he straightened, his face turning serious. “I want my father gone.”

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