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“There were two Bosses, and they were working together, which may explain why they’ve been able to pick off your clientele so quickly. The second calls herself The Princess.”
The Beast’s jaw clenches, and his smile vanishes. His entire demeanor turns cold as frost, and he turns away from me to move toward his fireplace. He clutches the mantel before he slams a fist down atop it.
I flinch but force myself to remain calm.
The Beast adjusts his tie, loosening it a bit around his neck, then looks back to me. “I apologize, Zora. That is…well, I had suspicions but I hoped they were only that. Two Bosses working together is unheard of, as you well know, and it won’t be something I can defeat as simply as I thought.”
I nod in agreement. “Shall I pick up a new job from you then?”
“Yes.” The Beast steps to me and extends his palm. He uses his other hand to twist out two full threads. “But first, your payment.”
“We agreed upon one,” I say, unable to hide the surprise riddling its way over my features.
“But your dress cost a full thread, did it not?” he asks.
My brows lift further.But, of course, he’s had me followed. I nod.
“Then this is only fair,” he says and extends his hand to offer the threads to me.
I find my small pouch tied several times around the top loop of my trousers and open it before I accept his payment and stuff the threads inside. I cinch it closed and set my shoulders. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.” He walks to his chair and settles into it, running his fingers over his chin in contemplation. “I pay my employees well, Zora. Is that not why you came to me to begin with?”
“It was,” I lie. Really, he was one of my leads on my brother. I heard whispers that The Beast is one of the only Bosses that moves people and offers protection to the wanted. After inspection of his dens, however, I found the truth to be more unsettling. Hesellspeople, not protects them.
The Beast surveys me for a moment. “Your specialties include seduction.”
It’s not really a question, but I nod anyway.
“Then our access point will be whichever one of the Bosses you can get into bed. Prince or Princess, I do not care.” He trains his eyes on the fire. “I want to know what they’re offering my clients.”
“Done,” I say confidently. Seduction isn’t my strongest skill, but a tighter corset and red lipstick can get me far enough. “Do you have any leads on where they’ll be next?”
“No, you’ll need to find them yourself.”
“Not a problem.”
The Beast flicks his dark gaze to mine and offers me a smile. “For this, I won’t pay in threads, however.”
I frown. “Then I cannot accept the assignment.”
He chuckles. “Don’t be so hasty, Zora. I have information you want that is far more valuable than your ability to pay your rent.”
I straighten. “What information?”
“A name that can lead you to the murderers of your parents.”
My heart rate picks up. “How do you know —”
“Being top Boss gets you things the other Bosses are denied. One of those things is access to the Gallery of Threads’exclusivearchive.” The Beast crosses his legs. “Did you know you don’t exist in the Gallery, not even in the archive?”
“Yes,” I breathe. It was the first place I checked when I began looking for more information about my past. It seemed everyone in the entirety of Estal Kingdom had a crystal box filled with threadsexceptme.
“It’s impossible for you not to have a past, Zora,” The Beast explains. “Someone has your box and is collecting your threads to deposit within. That someone has a name, and I know who it is.”
“And you’ll tell me as soon as I get the information you want?” I confirm.
“Yes.” The Beast reaches to a side table and rings a small bell.
