Page 69 of Lethal King

That request confuses me, and I turn back around.

“You don’t want them to find it?”

“No, I do. It’s just… well, Maksim knows.”

Those big eyes look over to our uncle.

He just shrugs.

“The men I’ve tasked with finding the creature keep bringing strays back here,” he explains. “Some of them aren’t even black.”

“What the hell are we doing with all of those cats?” I ask, confused.

“They’re in the basement,” Mel tells me.

“It’s part of the hold-up with her studio,” Maksim confirms. “The place is crawling with furry four-legged creatures.”

I can only shake my head in disbelief and wipe a hand down my face.

“What kind of fucking organization am I running?”

“We could always expand into the animal patrol sector,” Maksim smirks.

But I’m quickly losing my patience.

“I don’t have time for this shit. Mel, if you can’t paint in your room, then I’ll give you something else to do. Figure out this cat problem. Take charge of your studio. You have my permission to order the men downstairs around, but only as it concerns this project. You’re still to stay here until I get everything under control. Understand?”

“Yeah, sure…” she mutters.

This time, when I turn around, I don’t let anything hold me back.

“I’ll let everyone know about Mel and the studio,” Maksim says when he catches up to my side.

“You can do that later,” I tell him. “Right now, you’re coming with me. We’re going to meet that bastard Sabatino.”

* * *

“This isn’t happening,” I growl. “Not right now. Not ever.”

Adriana Sabatino has hardly even opened his mouth yet, and I can already tell what’s going on.

He’s brought one of his daughters along with him. One of his clearly underage daughters.

And he’s trying to pawn her off on me.

I’m not having it.

“We didn’t mean any disrespect,” the greedy Italian cowers. “I just thought you might like to meet Adriana. Since you weren’t able to at the coronation. You know, because of—”

“Enough,” I roar.

But I quickly regret my outburst.

The teenage girl hiding behind her father was already terrified when I stormed down the stairs. Now, it looks like she’s on the verge of tears.

It makes me want to pin her father against the wall and pound some sense into him. But that would only make everything worse.

None of this is her fault. And she doesn’t deserve any of my ire. But her father is striking a fucking nerve—of course he named his daughter Adriana. The egotistical son-of-a-bitch.