Page 91 of Alpha-Ex Wedding Ruse
He shuffled to the minibar, pouring himself a drink with unbothered arrogance.
“Drink?” he asked.
“I didn’t come here to drink with you,” I said flatly.
“No?” He poured another glass anyway, shrugged. “Okay, then.”
He downed the first one, then the second, wincing as it burneddown his throat. “Whew. That’s some damn good stuff. Shipped it in from Mexico. Want me to send you a crate? It’ll change your life.”
I didn’t blink. Just checked my watch.
Seven minutes in.
Cassius turned, settling into the chair across from me. “I don’t believe I’ve crossed your business, Alpha Vaughn,” he said smoothly. “So, to what do I owe this…unpleasant visit?”
“That would’ve been better,” I said, my voice low and lethal. “If you’d double-crossed my business, we could’ve handled this like businessmen. But you did worse.”
His eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“Leila Carter. Ring any bells?”
A few seconds of silence went by. Then recognition flashed in his eyes, followed by the kind of smirk that made my wolf rise.
“Oh, the half breed? With that drunk joke of a father?” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Shame. Beautiful woman like her, and that’s the kind of man she comes from.”
My pulse thundered. My wolf surged forward. He wanted blood. Wanted to end the man who dared to speak her name with those filthy lips. He wasn’t allowed to say a word about her. Wasn’t allowed to see her. Leila belonged to me. Only me.
“Don’t you ever talk about her like that again.”
The air shifted. Cassius’ smirk vanished like it had never been there. My voice had dropped an octave lower. That dangerous quiet before the snap.
Cassius straightened instantly, clearing his throat, a flicker of something like fear in his eyes.
“What do you want with Leila Carter?”
I checked my watch. Thirteen minutes. I stalled. “I want you to wipe her debt clean. I’ll offer you double what she owes.”
One of his brows hooked up. “Why are you so concerned about the half breed’s debt?”
“That’s none of your concern,” I snapped. “Double. Do we have a deal?”
He looked at me too long. Greedy men like Cassius Kane alwayssmelled opportunity, and I knew that look. He wanted more. He’d just seen a crack in my armor and was planning to rip it wide open.
“Oh, Alpha…” he drawled, smirking. “Double won’t cut it now. Not when I know you’re desperate. What is she to you—your mistress? Your side piece? I mean, I won’t judge. She’s way hotter than the woman you’re supposed to be marrying.”
My wolf pressed against me, itching to tear out his throat. It took everything in me to stay in control. To keep sitting there, waiting for Grant’s message, when every instinct screamed to end this man where he stood.
“Access to Manhattan’s underground tunnels,” he said. “ Complete access. Zero interference. That’s what I want. That’s what will clear Leila’s debt.”
He wanted me to enable his drug trafficking operation? He must be out of his goddamn mind to think he could make demands of me.
My phone buzzed. A text from Grant.
Grant: I’m in.
That did it.
I lunged. I slammed him into the wall by the throat. “Here’s what’s going to happen,” I growled, my voice pure steel. “You’re going to cancel her debt. Wipe it clean. No loopholes. No secret collectors. No ghosts crawling out of dark corners later. Nothing.”
