Page 129 of Rise of the Siren Queen
And then he walked away—leaving that one sentence behind like a knife buried in bone.
It hit harder than I wanted. Not because it hurt.
Because itmattered.
I stayed on the balcony, nursing a glass of whiskey that did nothing to ease the burn in my chest, when Lorenzo found me again. Wine untouched. Smirk in place.
“Well, we both knew you’d win the bid,” he drawled, oozing false humility. “As much as it pains me, I can’t beat you politically. Your father would never allow it.”
I didn’t respond. He was baiting me.
“You’re alone tonight,” he noted, voice all knives and amusement.
Something within me went still.
Then he added, soft as venom, “Striking woman, that one. White silver-hair like the moon, eyes like deep green forests. Beautiful. Dangerous, striking like a blade. You outdid yourself, Adrian.”
The glass shattered before I knew it, and my hands were on him, fists clutching his lapels, our faces inches apart.
“If you came here to provoke me,” I said, voice low, lethal, “congratulations. I’mthisclose to snapping—and if you don’t get the hell out of my face, you’ll wake up in a hospital. Or maybe you won’twake up at all.”
He didn’t flinch. Just smiled wider.
“My, my. Such a temper.”
God, I hated that grin.
“You want that island so badly, you’re even playing nice with Daddy dearest. What I can’t quite pin down is…why?”
Fuck.
Exactly what I didn’t want: his curiosity.
“It’s a time-sensitive matter,” he went on, like a man admiring a chessboard he couldn’t yet beat. “And I’m here to make a deal.”
No.Not him. Not this.
“Not interested,” I growled, shoving him back.
He adjusted his suit. Calm. Calculating. “Or I drag this out. You’ll win the bid eventually, but how long are you willing to wait?”
I said nothing. But something inside me went cold.
He wasn’t wrong. I’d win, but a political war with Lorenzo could bleed for years. Decades. The Senate was a fickle, selfish beast, and he knew exactly how to slow its heart.
Bastard.
He had me. Let me with no choice.
A deal with the devil or a lifetime trapped in chaos.
Anything for her.
“I’m listening,” I said, barely above a whisper.
“One favor,” he said. “To be called in at a time of my choosing. No questions. In return, I step aside. No more interference. The island’s yours.”
I swallowed hard. A favor. His leash around my neck.
