Page 94 of Fortress of the King

I run a hand over my face. “You know how I am.” I’m possessive when something’s mine. There is no argument. I own them. They say you can’t buy people, which is a load of shit; I buy people every day. Police. Politicians. Businesspeople. Everyone.Except her.

Then I add, “If another man touches her, I will literally cut off his fucking hand and every single finger that’s burned her skin, and then I’ll ram them down his fucking throat.”

“Save that rage for finding out who’s behind this, we need all the help we can get because these guys know about covering their tracks. Like I said, our hacker is having a hard time getting any kind of trace. Whoever it is, has gone to an extensive amount of trouble to encrypt everything.”

I’ve always had targets on my back doing what I do, that’s nothing new but never like this. This is something else.

“Look, I’ve got a plan if you wanna hear it,” he continues.

I nod at him, resigned to the fact that I don’t see what choice I have in the matter.

I’m still digesting the information and working out what to do with it. More to the point, being able to look her in the face again and not flinch.

Having to act like I know nothing will be a testament to how much Mario has trained me to remain composed over the years. To show nothing, not even contempt, that’ll be the biggest test of all.

I need to put my mask back in place.

I need to play the game.

“Let’s do what needs to be done.” I run my fingers through my hair. At least that statement is spoken like a leader, I can’t say much else for the rest.

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