Page 80 of Vow To The Devil

"Fancy seeing you here," he sneers.

"Cut the crap, Felix. Where's Solana?" I demand.

He raises an eyebrow and shrugs. "Couldn't say. Do you have what I asked for?"

Felix turns at the scuff of my boot, eyes widening. His cronies turn as one, hands sliding under coats.

"You'll get it when I'm ready to give it to you." I square my shoulders and meet his gaze. "Where is she, Felix?"

He bares his teeth, reaching beneath a newspaper for a silver handgun and sliding it into view.A raucous laugh comes from another table and makes me jumpy. I glare at my uncle.

"Don't drag this out, you pathetic excuse for a human."

Felix hesitates, cold calculation in his eyes. He also chose this meeting location carefully. He probably figures thatI'm not going to try anything in front of witnesses.

He figureswrong.

"Fuck you,"I sneer.

My palm slams on the table again. I lunge forward and shove his hand away from his weapon.

"I won't hesitate to strangle you. Just give me a fucking reason."

He smirks and rubs three fingers together.

"I need a signature from you first.”

"You'll get your signature, Felix. When you show me Solana,alive. There had better not a be fucking hair on her head that's out of place."

A snort of disgust is his only response as he shakes his head. He waves a dismissive hand.

"The girl? She's safe. For now." He smiles as he pushes a sheaf of papers across the table and nudges a pen toward me. "In exchange for that, she goes free. Refuse..." He draws a finger across his throat with a raspy chuckle.

My fist clenches on the documents signing away my birthright to a man who has never cared for me. The urge to grip his throat and bash his head into the bar in front of him is so strong, my blood thrums with it. How the fuck did it come down to this?

Burn's voice rasps in my ear, "You good, brother?”

I meet Felix's gaze again and see the truth all too clearly. Felix will never honor any bargain. Solana's life means nothing to him. She's merely a pawn in his game of power.

The papers crinkle in my grip. I need to pretend to have a moral struggle.

I think about the fact that all my life I've struggled to do right by the company. I think about the employees who depend on its success. I pull a long face, trying to tell Felix that I’m at war with myself.

If I am not convincing enough, he'll kill her without a second thought. I can't lose her. Not when I promised Talia that I would bring her back safe.

My kingdom or the girl who's become my family? There's only one choice.

I step forward, pulse pounding in my temples, and pick up the pen. It takes only seconds to scrawl my full name across the dotted line. Then I toss the pen onto the counter again.

"The company is yours," I declare. I try to seem defeated, to really sell this fiction.

Felix snatches the papers with a triumphant smirk. "At last. You've made the wise choice, nephew."

Nephew. The word curdles my stomach like sour milk.

He folds the documents and tucks them into his jacket, already counting his winnings. "The girl is being held at the old warehouse down by the docks. She'll be released within the hour."

"I’m not waiting an hour. I want to her out now. That’s how this works."

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