Page 25 of The Torturer's Target

“One day after school, the bully gathered his friends and used a soldering iron to brand the boy’s back. They burned their artwork into his flesh. Practicing their art skills, they said. Finding all sorts of things to try out on their canvas of flesh, anything they could use to elicit bigger and better screams. They laughed at this boy’s pain. They tortured him for days just to listen to his scream.

He drew to a stop in front of her and began unbuttoning his shirt.

“What the hell are you doing?” Tesiera asked.

He shrugged out of the shirt, displaying his back to her. Words died in her throat as she took in the scars.

She recognized most of the tools that would cause those scars. Cigarette burns, iron burn, belt marks, knife trails and so much more she couldn’t make out before he turned again and faced her.

Tired, gray eyes held hers. “The name of the bullied boy was Maximilian Kingston, and the boy who bullied him was Maximus Kingston. The man you’re looking for is my half-brother.”

CHAPTER 11. DENIAL

Tesiera simply didn’t believe him. Her face told him exactly what she thought about his revelation.

“I didn’t kill your father,” he repeated.

“How can you look me in the eyes and tell such a bald-faced lie?” Her nose flared as she spat.

“I don’t lie, Tesiera Anderson. I have no reason to do so.”

“I don’t believe you,” she stated matter-of-factly.

Max shrugged. “Then I think we have reached an impasse. I told you the truth. There’s no point in lying to a woman who is completely at my mercy.” He reached for his discarded shirt and put it on again. “If I were the murderer you accused me of being, I’d kill you now and throw your body out to sea.”

That made sense, but she wasn’t backing down. It had to be a lie. There was no record of any half-brother. She did extensive research as she did for all her missions. She was meticulous with her information gathering, and Big Cat was worse.

The godfather worked with all kinds of people, both legit and not so much. He had all kinds of investigators looking for his brother’s killer. And after so many years, they finally identified the man who pulled the trigger. And she verified their findings, adding more detail to the file. She knew this man’s paper history, and his family’s, inside and out.

“There is no record of a half-brother,” she argued aloud.

“I know,” he admitted. “But that’s because it’s not in the public record. We might be public figures, Miss Tesiera, but we try to keep our private matters private.” He averted his eyes and muttered, “Not everyone likes being in the spotlight.”

She’d figured that he didn’t. A man of his wealth and status could be followed by the paparazzi, but as far as she knew, it was only his two strong-headed bodyguards shadowing him. Her cheek still hurt from where Bose had hit her. She bet that shit did some real damage.

“It’s simply not possible to hide something of this magnitude from the public, Mr. Kingston,” she retorted. “A new business idea, yes. A financial crisis, that’s possible. But a member of the family, a living human, for more than thirty years? Excuse the fucking hell outta me because I don’t believe you. Do you think you can make a fool out of me and I’ll let it go?”

Max sighed deeply, staring at the raging, gorgeous killer in front of him. The woman tried to kill him—twice—and he didn’t owe her any explanation. But somehow, he wanted her to believe him.

Maybe because he knew what it was like to be helpless while watching someone you love being hurt. It might be because he understood on a personal level the pain that lurked behind the deep-seated anger and hatred this woman wore as a cloak. He had the same demons. Only the mask was different.

“You probably know about my mother and father. My parent’s marriage wasn’t one of love but a marriage of convenience, for connection and the growth of business. A year after I was born, the problems in my parents’ marriage became intolerable and they separated.”

Tesiera didn’t understand why he was telling her more stories, but she would take advantage of his reverie. Her deft hands fiddled with the lock of the chains that bound her, looking for a way for her free herself.

“Now, my father was a dick. A bully in his own right. He never missed an opportunity to throw gasoline on a fire,” he stated. “The Kingstons and the Walkers have been enemies for generations. They fight for dominance in various aspects of the business world.

“During their separation, my father had an affair with a woman he met at the club. Her name is Lisa. And she was Walker’s fiancée.” Max shook his head. Until today, he hadn’t really understood how dramatic the story was. A soap opera storyline for sure. “My father insisted that he slept with her because he was attracted to her, but I know how manipulative my old man was. I always thought he seduced the woman to fan the flames of the family feud. Liking the woman was probably just icing. Anyway, she got pregnant during the affair.”

Tesiera stilled. She was getting interested against her better judgment, she admitted to herself.

“She insisted the child was Carter Walker’s. My old man knew it was his. Lisa was determined to keep the affair a secret from her fiancé, but one night, my father and Carter had one of their squabbles, and my father told him bluntly that he slept with Lisa, and it was his baby she was carrying.” Max winced, imagining what that might have felt like. “Carter confronted Lisa and she finally admitted it.

“Since the world didn’t yet know about Carter Walker’s engagement, or of his relationship with Lisa, the two families came to an agreement to bury the story and keep it away from the press. Walker broke off the engagement but still kept Lisa as his mistress. My hard-headed father agreed to all that only on the condition that when they confirmed that the child was his, he’d get to name the child. Including the last name.” Max snorted. Virgo Kingston had always had a mean streak.

“I take it that this Walker didn’t agree to this?” Tesiera asked reluctantly and resumed fidgeting with her locks.

“Not at all. In the end, they came to a compromise. They decided the child would take his mother’s last name. This would prevent anyone asking too many questions. So, he agreed to it…but only if the child’s middle name was Kingston.”

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