“What the fuck did you give her?” he demands.
The guy isn’t the only one frowning in confusion until Stryker’s gaze flits between him and me, fury and concern raging in his eyes, and the breath wooshes from my lungs. In this dress? There’s no hiding the black veins streaking up my hands to nearly my elbows.
“Who hired you?” The electricity he subdued the guy with ebbs and he drops his left hand, but keeps a gun trained on him.
With a groan, the guy rolls over, and I see it the same time he does. The three other men he stormed the place with are all dead, bodies littered around the foyer. Two with bullet holes in the head, pools of blood spreading around them in a vibrant splash against the white and gold marble, the other with a broken neck. They never even made it into the ballroom. Four against one, and still, they didn’t stand a chance against Stryker.
Lip curling in a sneer, he rasps, “Fuck off.”
Stryker fires a warning shot two inches from his head into the floor. “Last chance. I don’t have to make this quick.”
That sneer slowly morphs into a smug smile that has my stomach turning worse than the pain from the backlash racing through my veins like acid. “Do you worst, it won’t matter anyway. You’re too late, Sparky. Checkmate.”
Stryker frowns, studying the guy’s face closely, before he comes to some horrified realization. With a quick bullet between his eyes, Stryker neutralizes the threat, picks me up, and racesback to the ballroom. We only make it past the threshold when the screams start, everyone scrambling to get out of the way as Sebastian tackles a man to the ground, knocking him out cold with a fist to the temple and tying the man’s bloodstained hands behind his back with zip ties to secure him.
But there’s no saving Stryker’s client, his throat torn out and lying on the floor with glassy, unseeing eyes.
Voice ragged, Stryker tightens his hold on me and breathes, “Fuck.”
Chapter 27
Stryker
“What the hell is wrong with you!? Do you have any idea the damage you’ve done? The clients we’ll lose after word gets out? This entire business is built on people trusting us to protect them, so how the fuck are we supposed to do that ifthe owner’s sonfails in front of dozens of wealthy families? There’s no burying this, Stryker. A hundred of the most powerful families in the tri-state area witnessed you abandoning your bodyguard duties, and Sinclair being brutally murdered because of it.” Neck red and chest heaving, my father takes a few deep breaths and runs a hand through his salt and pepper hair.
“It was a set up, Dad. They knew exactly what they were doing, going after my mate to-”
“Mate? When did that happen?” His attention flits down to my blank wrist, frowning.
I swallow. “We haven’t cemented the bond yet.”
“That’s why you’ve been so distracted lately?” he demands.
My stomach twists. I can’t tell him about the power glitch; not now on top of everything else. “Yeah.”
His gaze hardens. “And you thought it’d be a good idea to bring her around that dangerous crowd when you were too busy working to keep an eye on her?” If there’s one thing Dad drilled into us growing up, it was that your mate’s safety came above all else. If you couldn’t be there, you hired someone else to ensure she was protected in your absence.
“Of course not!” I snap back. “I had no idea she was going at all, she showed up as her brother’s plus one. I know it was a shitshow, but don’t pretend like you wouldn’t have done the same damn thing if Mom was in danger when you were working and you had to choose.”
Taking a seat behind his desk, he rubs his temples. Composing himself after a few minutes of tense silence, he sucks in a breath and says calmly, “I’ve made my decision.”
My heart drops to my stomach. “Dad, no. Please, I swear, I-”
“Sebastian will take over leadership of the company,” he declares, voice firm and leaving no room for debate. “I tried to be fair and give you both a chance, but if these past few weeks have shown me anything, it’s that the business is no longer your top priority. Which is fine; your mateshouldbe your primary concern. But clearly, you’re struggling to balance the two, and I can’t have that sort of instability during the transition of leadership.”
“You’re making a mistake,” I whisper, nails biting into my palms. “I mean it, Dad. Give it to someone else;anyoneelse. Marcus, maybe, or River.” When his forehead scrunches, I press on, “I don’t know what’s going on with Sebastian, but youcan’tgive him control of the company. Did you even look into the people he’s been hanging around with I told you about? Most of them have rap sheets a mile long, and several with ties to the myst trafficking industry. He’s… he’s not a good person, Dad. As much as we both desperately want to believe otherwise.”
Dad’s face hardens. “You’re accusing your brother of human trafficking.Seriously?That’s a low fucking blow, Stryker. Your brother knows firsthand how ruthless those criminals are. He’dneverbecome like them after what he went through.”
As I stare at the tense jawline of my father, I realize… he’s never going to listen. By the time he sees that I was telling the truth? It’ll be too late.
“You want to give him control of the company? Fine. Let him have it.” With a shake of my head, I turn to leave. “But you’re going to regret it.”
“Jealousy doesn’t suit you, Stryker.”
“And willful ignorance is going to ruin your legacy. I’d sell your stock while you can still salvage your retirement; I sure as hell am.”
Frustrated, I stalk down the hall and smash the button for the elevator. By the time the silver doors slide shut, all that helpless anger melts away until I’m just left feeling disappointed. So godsdamned disappointed by the men in my family. I’ve never given him a reason not to trust me, but the first time I fuck up, he writes me off? Sebastian spentyearsgetting into trouble, and all our parents did was make excuses for him, praise him when he started channeling that anger into something positive at work. They give him so much leeway, but I spend my entire life training to take over the family business, and my first mistake, that’s it. I fail, full stop. No second chances.
