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I flexed my knuckles, raising my eyebrow to warn him. I was tougher, bigger, and stronger and he was aware I could kick his ass.

“Watch your fucking mouth,” I said.

Petre shook his head. “Once I marry her, I’ll do whatever I like to her.” His tone was low, steady. Such a fucking creep. “Every night. Rough and cruel and bloody. She won’t walk or sit the same after I have my way with her. She’s my property, my whore. You have no say.” He pointed at me as he spoke. “And even though you think you’re the hot shit son who came back from our lesser relatives the all-conquering hero, you’re not. I have men, I have power. And soon, a royal title. I will fuck up the princess however I damned well please.”

His voice had grown thick and dangerous and it made me fucking crazy. The red haze of rage took over and before I knew it, I’d hit him right in the face.

His nose exploded in a spray of blood. And then all hell broke loose.

All at once, Petre’s hired thugs stepped in, restraining me from beating the ever-loving shit out of him.

“Get him out of here!” Petre screamed, clutching his face as blood poured from his nostrils.

I landed one more decent punch, leveling the biggest of his guards. Two others restrained me as I fought their grip. For a second that felt like an eternity, I hovered there, with fury coursing through my veins.

If I wanted to try to kill him, now might be the time.

But it was a gamble that had too great a risk; if I lost, if his men took me down, then there would be nobody between Valeria and my brother. And for the first time in my entire goddamned life, I decided not to take that bet.

So, I shoved the guards off of me and stepped back, seething. I needed to think this through, and I needed to get the fuck away from my brother in order to do it.

“First off, brother, you can throw me out of your own house all you want, if you had one. But this is our father’s house. And second, if you have a problem with me, I’ll fight you anytime you like. Just name the place. You and me, none of this chickenshit letting your hired muscle take care of things.”

I stormed out of his sight and straight to my father’s study.

“Can we make this quick?” I barked, watching him shuffle papers behind a carved walnut desk bigger than a small boat.

My father raised an eyebrow at me, and I felt the heat rise to my face.

“Sorry, father. It’s Petre, he—”

He waved a hand, nodding in understanding.

“I know there’s no love lost between the pair of you, but he has his uses. Particularly, his unfailing willingness to do anything it takes to bring further fortune to this family.”

“I’m loyal to you, father. Make no mistake…”

He gave me a tight smile. “I know. And I appreciate it. I also know that in the brains and brawn stakes you take after me.” I rolled my eyes when he turned to look into the fireplace, admiring his complete lack of modesty. “That’s why I asked you here. I want you to reconsider my offer.”

“No,” I said firmly, shaking my head when he turned my way. “No, father, I will not return to the family business. That’s all behind me. I’m legitimate, I’ve made my own way in the world and I no longer have any sleepless nights about the things we’ve done or the things we may be forced to do to hold onto power. You said that you know Petre’s strengths, and that’s one of his. He has no conscience.”

My father laughed. “He is a cold-hearted bastard, for sure. He can be your right hand, believe me it’s useful to have one. But what he can never be is the boss of an enterprise like this. Particularly with the plans I have.”

I turned away. “I don’t want to hear any more. The less I know about the family’s lawless dealings, the better.”

“Not lawless, son. Well, there are levels of lawlessness, this is true. But I want to move away from some of our ways of business. The way the laws of this land are heading, the profit is less and less. Our best men get arrested weekly these days, they serve sentences that mean they will never be of any use to us again. It’s getting harder and harder to buy our usual leniency. It’s unsustainable. I want you to help me to change things. It won’t happen overnight, but with you by my side I can—”

“The answer is still no.”

“Think on it.”

I let out a low growl. One thing that had made my father successful was his uncanny ability to refuse to take no for an answer until his opponent gave in. He could keep it up for years.

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