Page 53 of King of Depravity

Rush shakes his head. “That’s a tricky question. It started ten years ago?—”

“Ten years!” I stop painting again.

“Well, that’s how long the Kincaids and the Italians have been at odds. The Russians are a new addition.”

“I think I might need to take notes and create a chart,” I mutter as I start painting again.

Rush chuckles. “Too true.”

Silence falls again. I won’t ask Rush how long Killian plans on having me stay, it’s a question I’ll ask Killian myself. He said a few weeks, but this seems like a much bigger problem than a few weeks will solve.

But it’s only quiet for a few minutes before Rush breaks it. “So. How serious are things with you and my brother?”

I stop painting again. Looking around my canvas, my gaze meets Rush’s. “My own history would require notes and a timeline too.”

He quirks a smile. “Okay.”

“Which means, I have never done anything like what I’m doing with Killian, so I have no idea how to gauge…seriousness.”

His eyes light with understanding. “I understand. Killian doesn’t do much dating either, which is why we’re all curious.”

It’s not like I didn’t know that, but hearing Rush say it fills me with satisfaction. Rush is classically handsome, polished like Triston is polished, and my guess is he does loads of dating. “It’s not like we’ve even been out on a real date,” I mutter, starting again. “But he did tell me that I make him feel seen.”

“What do you see when you look at Kill?”

“I don’t think you should call him that,” I answer. “He thinks he’s a dark void. But I think he’s like space. It appears dark at first, until you start to see all the beautiful specks of light.”

Rush doesn’t answer. Maybe it’s presumptuous of me to tell him about his own brother, though he did ask.

“He talk about our family? Our parents?”

I’ve always got the sense that there is some real serious shit in Killian’s past, but he’s been silent about it. I shake my head. “No. Only a few cryptic comments.”

“Mmm,” Rush mumbles. “Too bad.”

This is starting to feel like an interrogation. “Did Killian send you to dig into my head?”

“No,” Rush quickly says. “In fact, he’d probably be pissed. But he’s not acting like himself and?—”

“How is he different?”

“Well, in some ways, he seems more present than he’s been for a long time. But then he goes off and just whacks Preston, and then I start to worry he’s fallen deeper into his hole.”

Some cold dread washes down my spine. “Whacks Preston? What does that mean?”

CHAPTERTWENTY

Killian

Triston tapshis finger on the desk in front of him. “So we’re in agreement? It’s time to sit down with the Russians?”

I glare at my brother. If he thinks I’m going to civilly sit at a table with the Russians and look at Alexander after the way he treated Chloe, he’s the crazy one. “I won’t be there.”

Triston glares right back. “Yes, you will.”

“No.”

“And what’s more, you’re going to growl and spit and play bad cop.”

---