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Tears began to fall down her face and she swirled towards me, angry. "What did you do to him?" She turned her gaze to Knight, betrayal in her expression. "You did this."
I stepped forward and squat down in front of her. “Sweetheart,” I gave her a comforting smile, "James did this to himself."
"Liar!" She was practically spitting fire, her blue eyes blazing. Apparently, their fiery personality was genetic.
I shook my head. "I'm not." I loosened my tie, then began to undo the top buttons of my shirt.
"Coulter," Dante growled, but I ignored him.
Reaching forward, I took Raven's hand, and, pulling my shirt apart so she could see the wounds on my chest, I led her hand to them.
"See this, Raven? James did this to me."
At the first touch on my chest, she yanked her hand back, like it'd scalded her. I didn't force her to look or touch but, at my encouraging nod, she tentatively reached forward again and softly ran her fingers over the wounds on my chest. Her eyes were wary as she looked at me. "He did this to you?"
I nodded.
She frowned, a snark to her tone. “Did you deserve it?"
I chuckled. "Probably." I stood up, fixing my shirt and tie. "Knight."
Knight stood and, wrapping his fingers around Raven's arm, he pulled her towards the door, despite her loud protest. The last sound we heard before the door closed was Knight reassuring her that her brother would be okay.
“Now," I said, standing between James and his line of sight to the door, where he was still staring, “you’ll determine what happens to her next.”
This time, when James looked at me, there was no defiance, no anger, only pure and utter defeat. "You win."
“I don't want to win, James, I want information."
"What do you want to know?"
"Why didn't you tell my father that Aster was with me?"
"Because she stepped in between me and the gun you were pointing at my head."
I shook my head, wondering how on earth meddling, spirited Aster could gain his loyalty so quickly.
She was impulsive and reckless. Yet, she still managed to quickly worm her way into people’s hearts.
Even cold, dead, mafioso hearts.
"Tell me where the notebook is." I didn't need it anymore. I knew why my father had taken Bourbon's blood but, if my father had gone to the trouble of getting that notebook, it must be worth something.
“It's in his room, at your house, in the safe under the floor in his closet. The code to get in is 8405690."
"What's in the notebook?"
A beefy shoulder came up. "I don't know."
I believed him. If it was that valuable, my father wouldn't trust anyone with the information inside it.
I was done with James, except for one more thing. I stepped forward and pressed the nuzzle of the gun to his forehead.
He stared straight into my eyes with zero fear. It was admirable, the way he stared down death. “I have one favor to ask. Take care of Raven. Please. Don't let her get dragged into this world. She doesn’t have anyone else."
I hesitated, my finger on the trigger.
"Please, Coulter. I’m begging you. If you want, I'll get down on my knees and beg."
