Page 40 of Wilt

Actually, no, I wouldn’t. I’d fucking kill whoever took me. I’d slice that bastard’s throat straight through. I didn’t lie when I told her I was a fucking monster. Rose, on the other hand, is young and soft. There’s a part of me that doesn’t want her to be so soft and sweet. There’s a part that wants her rotten, the stink of her father radiating from every pore. Then again, if that were the case, I’d have to force myself to touch her, no matter how gorgeous she may be.

It’s more than enough that she looks like him. I can see her parentage in her; it’s a death sentence of its own. I rub my hand over my face as the door to my study opens.

“One of these days, Rush, I’m going to put a bullet in your brain.”

He sits down opposite me and I glance at him, giving him the kind of look that make others shit themselves and back the fuck out. He doesn’t seem bothered in the least. I narrow my eyes at his impertinence.

He shrugs with a smile. “I’m your favorite relative.”

“You’re my only relative.” I push at my computer. “I’m beginning to see the upside of being alone in the world.”

He just laughs, but otherwise says nothing.

“What’s up, Rush?” I sigh. “I thought you were in Queenstown’s city district?”

He scoffs. “Yeah, I was. I was going to go to New York, but I changed my mind. Figured you might need me, dude.” I roll my eyes at the hated nickname. “I was hoping for some action, ya know?”

I roll my eyes harder. “No, I don’t. Girls? Business? If it’s the first, I think you have that in hand. If it’s the latter, there’s always business for you to deal with, if you want extra.” I pause. “So, I ask you again: what do you need, Rush?”

“Yeah, okay.” This time, he sighs. “Shit’s going to get real, and you know it. What on Earth were you thinking, parading her around naked? Right after you fucked her?”

A jolt of dark pleasure shoots through me. “I didn’t fuck her. We… talked. She needed to learn her place.”

“You don’t share toys, Niko.”

I letthatnickname slide. It’s better than dude. “I didn’t share. No one touched her but me.”

He sits back and crosses his arms. “How’s that getting back at her father? In your grand scheme?”

His stare almost has me laughing. “Wheels are always greased, Rush. Her presence was a message.”

Rush furrows his brows. “Looking like you fucked her was a message?”

“Absolutely.” I smile. “Finnegan will hear about it.”

He nods like he has something to say but isn’t sure how to voice it. “Nikolai, you can turn this around.”

“You don’t want revenge?” I raise my brows. I don’t believe that for a moment. He was young then, but… this is something else. I wait, but he doesn’t answer. Instead, he glances at the bottle of whiskey on my desk.

“I don’t want you to let it consume you.”

I almost tell him it’s too late for that, but I don’t. “Well, someone has to.” I push my computer away from me, my lunch still sitting where it was placed hours ago. “You were young, and—”

He doesn’t let me finish. “You were too. Young enough.”

“I remember,” I say softly. “I remember everything. I’m cold, cruel, brutal. I know that, but in terms of monstrosities, Finnegan’s worse. He has no loyalty to the rules of the game, and he’ll hurt the innocent to make a point, sometimes just because he can, with no point at all.”

“Which is a point.” Rush stands and goes to the wet bar, fetching himself a glass. “And your pet?” He pours a healthy drink, holding the bottle toward me, but I shake my head. “Are you going to hurt her to make a point?”

“I already told you.”

He swallows deeply from his glass. “You didn’t answer, not really.”

I did, but he wasn’t listening. “She’s his daughter.” I flick my eyes at him. “Don’t worry, I’m not killing anyone tonight. In fact, you can do whatever you want. I’m not planning anything at all.”

“Where is she?”

“Keep your hands off her,” I spit without warning.

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