Page 17 of Cross’s Reckoning

"You don't know that."

He pulls on his jeans and looks at me. "Yeah. I do."

I dress quickly, the warmth of the last hour disappearing beneath something much colder. My father has finally decided what he wants from Kingdom Come.

CHAPTER 4

CROSS

Lola comes out of my room behind me, and I don't look at her until we reach the end of the hallway. If I do, I'm going to think about what just happened in that bed instead of why Judge sounded like he wanted us downstairs immediately.

She catches up beside me. "You could be wrong."

"About Cyrus?"

"Yes."

"I'm not."

"You're irritatingly confident for a man who turned up here asking for a conversation with Kingdom Come and had absolutely no plan beyond that."

"Worked out all right so far." Her look tells me she has several opinions about that, but we reach the common room before she can share them.

Kane is standing near the bar with Judge. The clubhouse isn't empty, but the rest of the brothers have been pushed far enough away to give them privacy. Judge looks at Lola, then at me.

"Cyrus called."

I feel Lola go still beside me.

Kane holds up his phone. "He's calling back in two minutes."

"You tell him she's here?" I ask.

"Didn't have to. He already knows."

Lola says nothing.

Kane's eyes stay on me. "He wants to talk terms. You need to hear them."

"Put him on speaker."

Lola folds her arms. "I'm staying."

I turn toward her. "Maybe you shouldn't."

Her expression could strip paint and I know immediately that was the wrong thing to say.

Kane saves me from making it worse. "Her father. Her call."

I don't like it, but I nod and the phone rings before anyone says anything else.

Kane answers and puts it on speaker. "Cyrus."

"You ready to stop wasting my time?" My jaw tightens at the sound of his voice.

Kane doesn't react. "Depends what you're selling."

"I'm not selling anything. You have something that belongs to Perdition."