“Sorry, friend-o. I’ve got somewhere to be. Perhaps we can schedule a meeting?”
He turns his head toward the exit. Fucking Clarence, in the shadows, leaning against the bookshelf like the annoying poltergeist he is.
“I insist,” Henry says.
We use an empty conference room down the hall. I’ve been waiting to get my hands on Clarence, though. As soon as we’re through the door, I grab him by the throat and throw him onto the hard wooden table.
Crack.“Oof!”
I wouldn’t want to be his back later. Or his face when I’m done with it.
He scrambles to get up, my arm’s already cranked back.Crack!My knuckles meet his cheekbone. Again. Again. Then his nose andspray… Fucking goddammit. Blood all over my favorite fucking suit jacket. A hand lands on my shoulder. It makes a sorry attempt to pull me back. Henry wants a turn? Fine. Spin. Swing.Crack.More blood. They can both have black eyes and bloody faces.
“Fuck.Okay.Stop you fucking psychopath,” Clarence pleads from behind me.
He needs to lose some of his teeth and have his tongue shoved down his throat. I turn in his direction. Clarence holds his hands over his face. “No, please. Would you just fucking listen to us?”
“You’re lucky I came to this event unarmed, or you’d both be dead right now.”
“If you’d shoot us in the middle of a conference meeting, you’re stupider than I thought,” Henry says.
Iwouldn’tshoot them now, but only because of all the witnesses in the building. But I would shoot them both without losing sleep over it, and that’s my point. I wish it could be now,because while I don’t know the specifics they’ve chosen, it’s obvious they’ve teamed up—a couple of wannabe villains with complementary goals.
Clarence wants revenge.
Henry wants his heir back.
I’m not negotiating with either of them.
“I have nothing but violence on offer, so if you’ll excuse me.”
“You’re not getting that commissioner position, VanCourt,” Henry says. “Once I tell James about your wedding to my son, he’ll never recommend you. Without his recommendation, you’re sunk.”
That only delays things. Ryan will be devastated, but I’m sure I can come up with another solution in the meantime. I do an exaggerated, fake yawn.
“Great, anything else?”
“You don’t think I’ll do it, do you, Tate?” Clarence says, voice thick and nasal from the blood clogging his sinuses.
The tingle of intuition happens again, but this time, well, maybe there is just the tiniest bit of dread.
“Jasper always said your arrogance would be your downfall; maybe this will be that moment.”
I turn, glaring at the little dick weasel. I could crush his windpipe with my bare hands. I should have done that a long time ago. The will was the only thing protecting him. With that done, he’s fair game.
Clarence reaches for his pocket. I move, but Henry grabs me from behind. I snap my head back. It connects with his nose. I just need to break one more for the hat-trick. If I snap Clarence’s in two places, does that count?
But Clarence has already done what he intended, pulled his phone out, and placed a call. “Hello, Luke.”
Motherfucker.I don’t say that out loud. Luke is about the only button other than Ryan they could push. I can’t let them seethat they got it right. It’s not the first time anyone’s found one of my pressure points, it just doesn’t happen often.
He puts Luke on speaker. “Clarence? Everything okay? Something wrong with the will?”
“Nothing you need to worry about for now. I’ve been trying to get in touch with Tate. You wouldn’t happen to know about his affiliation with White Fox Brewery, would you?”
My heart races.
Well, that’s not my fucking usual.
