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“And you have the girl?” Chalen asked.
The feed from his mercenary’s tablet turned. Former Sergeant Major Simon Roan nodded shortly, his manner as crisp as his clothing. Chalen doubted the man would get dirty even in the middle of a war. “Her Highness is secured, though I will say, sir, she has quite the mouth on her for a royal.”
“Yeah, well, she’s a cut-rate royal at best,” Chalen shot back. “The twins had to make do with a human. Ever since Torin shut the borders, finding a consort has been difficult at best. Once the twins are dead and Torin reopens our trade routes, I’ll be a hero.”
And his stock would be up.
And his brother would be avenged.
The truth of the matter was he wasn’t sure if Beck and Cian Finn had a direct hand in Kinsey’s death, but they were undoubtedly the reason his brother was dead. Chalen didn’t need to see a body to know that his only brother was gone. Kinsey had understood the obligations of family and business. He would never have walked away.
Chalen still remembered the last time he’d seen his brother. Kinsey had been filled with hope. He’d promised to bring back a beautiful consort named Meg. He’d never returned.
The fact that the Finns had not accepted their place—that was what had really caused Kinsey’s death. If they had accepted the stronger man as their king, there would have been no need for his brother to seek out a consort. Kinsey would have done what should have been his right. He would have purchased the finest consort money could buy. He wouldn’t have died trying to marry himself off to a disgusting human.
“Well, if you need to, feel free to slap Her Highness around. I’m sure she’s used to it,” Chalen said. Everyone knew the warrior king was a barbarian. He couldn’t help it. Beck Finn lacked half his soul. He and his twin were freaks of nature. The planes would be a better place when they were gone.
The sergeant’s eyes narrowed. “I believe I shall forgo torturing Her Highness. I think Beck Finn will turn himself in much more readily if he believes his wife is in good shape. He could be dangerous otherwise. If he believes no harm has come to her yet, he will be more amenable to keeping her from it.”
Chalen didn’t care how it happened. He had no intention of giving up the woman who had tempted his brother. The sergeant could play it any way he wished, but Chalen intended to have that bitch’s head.
“Just make sure you keep tabs on her after you let her go,” Chalen said with a nod. He didn’t betray his true intentions. This was the best team he could buy for the situation. He wasn’t going to lose them due to their leader’s outmoded morality when it came to consorts. Vampires were taught to treat consorts with gentleness. But he doubted his brother had been shown any. “We wouldn’t want her to be left behind with no one to aid her.”
The very British mercenary bowed slightly. “I would never leave a woman out in these woods alone, much less a consort. She will bring a mighty price, sir.”
Yes, she would if Chalen intended to sell her. He had no doubt that Megan Finn would be sought after by every available vampire, but that wouldn’t be her fate.
Meg Finn was going to pay.
And so would Dante Dellacourt.
“Is he dead?” Chalen asked.
Dante hadn’t moved. He just lay there like the lazy, good-for-nothing slug he was. Gods, he didn’t want the asshole to be dead. There was no way Dante had paid yet. More pain. That was required.
The sergeant shook his head. “I assure you, he’s alive. He’s merely unconscious. He received a very large jolt of electricity. I had to take him down that way. The original plan was to create so much chaos we merely had to pluck our targets from the crowd. The ogre created the chaos needed, but I was rather surprised that Dellacourt was actually able to bring the bugger down.”
Chalen felt his mouth drop open. “What are you talking about? What did Dante do? Fuck the ogre to death? It’s about all he’s good for.”
And that bastard had been fucking his mistress for months. That rankled as well. It wasn’t fair. Chalen knew it. He’d been the one to put Ashley in Dante’s bed, but he couldn’t stand the thought of touching her now. At one point, he’d really considered offering her a permanent position, but now he had to consider getting rid of her permanently. She knew far too much.
“I’m still not sure how he did it,” the sergeant replied. “But he wasn’t at all what I expected. From the report you had given me, I rather thought he would be huddling down with the women. Instead, he saved the village. The ogre still did what we needed. The village has been emptied, and my men are going to ensure it stays that way until we can negotiate the terms of Their Highnesses’ surrender.”
“Torch it when you leave,” Chalen said.
The sergeant stopped, his face becoming a blank mask. “As you wish.”
“Keep me informed. I want to know the instant you have those twins in custody.” Chalen turned off the monitor, and his of
fice sank back into gloom. He didn’t bother with the lights nor did he open the blinds. He liked the dark. It suited him.
A wave of stock numbers began to crawl across the bottom of his monitor. The Dellacorp symbol flowed by, along with a ridiculously huge number attached to it. Chalen felt his fists clench. Palgrave Industries was in the toilet stock wise, and it had been since the day his brother had walked into the arena. The press had gotten word that Kinsey Palgrave was fighting Beck Finn, and the company’s stock had taken a dive because no one believed Kinsey could best the Fae warrior king. The stock dove even further when news of Kinsey’s disappearance had made the press.
No one believed he could handle the company the way his brother had.
Well, he would prove them wrong. He would bring Palgrave Industries back to its rightful place, and he would bring Dellacorp to its knees.
Starting with Dante.
