Harvey smiles. “Good to see you, Ares.”
I sigh. “Can’t really say the same.”
Soledad interjects, “I did it!”
Harvey’s snakelike eyes flick in her direction. “You did. Now wait outside.”
“What? No! I want to have my say first.”
“Business first.” He signals the man to his left, who immediately steps forward and takes her arm.
“Let me go!” She turns to me. “Ares, you aren’t going to let them manhandle me, are you? I’m the love of your life!”
She could be the salvation of humanity, but I’d still let them. She’s the one who set me up. “Get her out of here,” I say to the man.
“You asshole!” she screams. “You know why I hired that other Ares? Because he would’ve defended me!”
“For a fee,” I mutter.
“You’re such a shit!” She kicks so hard, her silver heels fly off. The man drags her out. She resists, but she might as well be resisting a rhino.
As soon as the door closes behind them, the room plunges into silence. Harvey gestures at the seat opposite him. “Please.”
The last thing I want is to sit with him. But my ass is already lowering itself into the armchair. I’m sure Soledad’s “love potion” came from him.
He pours the Hibiki into the two glasses. “To our family.”
“We aren’t family,” I say, raising my glass. Thankfully I have enough self-control to avoid going along with his unspoken suggestion and drinking it. What the fuck did he have Soledad feed me?
“Sure we are. Pietas et unitas, and all that.”
“Loyalty and unity extend to the Huxleys. Not a Dunkel.”
“Don’t tell me you’re still upset about your mother.”
“She should’ve gone to jail,” I seethe. “Or better yet get, locked up in a dungeon. I know you have a couple in your compound.”
He shoots me a hooded look over the glass. “She’s too fragile for it.”
Recalling her wild expression, I snort. “Right. Fragile. She single-handedly kidnapped me, drove me to some godforsaken place in Oregon, then left me to die.”
“The fire was an accident.” He sighs, full of a regret I don’t buy. “She paid a heavy price for it.”
“By having somebody else take the fall for her?” I sneer.
“She’s been confined.”
“Did she get tied to a chair and fed drugged food? It seems like the family thing—drugging people.”
“You refused to take my calls, and I don’t want to hurt you, not the way your mother did. I care about you and our familial bond. No matter how much you deny it, the Dunkel blood flows in your veins. That makes you one of us.”
“I’ll never be one of you.”
His lazy smile says,We’ll see about that. The man to his right places a black leather folio in front of me and opens it. It’s a standard retainer agreement on official Huxley & Webber stationery.Motherfucker.He came prepared.
His goon puts a pen in my hand.
“Sign it.”
