AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mykie looked at Caspar.Didshe trust him enough? She'd taken responsibility and brought him to Chance to see if he approved, but did she trust him with these secrets? Secrets that pertained towhatshe did in the Cantil and who she was?
Mismatched eyes stared back at her with a warm amber. A blindlytrustingamber. She thought about those eyes on Sunday. Only for a second did they waver from her when she killed that man. He didn’t flinch away from following her, even if it was to the ends of the Earth. He already saw what she did and he deserved to hear the talk around it.
She nodded her head.
"I trust him."
Chance nodded. "All right. Now tell me, were you successful in collecting Porter’s debt?”
She shook her head. “Porter said he didn’t have the money. I checked it over, and he was telling me the truth. However, I think you knew that already, otherwise you would have asked me to come in sooner about this.”
Chance shifted until he was leaning his chin on his folded hands. “Am I becoming that easy to read to you?”
“Dexter caught on, as well,” Mykie supplied.
Chance rolled his eyes. “You youngins’ are getting too smart for your own good. Yes, I knew Porter didn’t have the money, which was a problem, but wasn’t one I was concerned about. I needed a man there that was close to Porter to witness you killing the man. He represents someone else. I’m assuming all eyes were on you?”
Mykie’s eyes widened. She wasn’t expecting him to say that he wasatthe table she was frightening. “Don’t you believe I should have been aware of who the true target of the night was?”
“No,” he said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. “I know you too well. Had you known that you were supposed to frighten a particular man that wasn’t the target I told you, you wouldn’t have been able to keep your eyes off him, and what will happen next wouldn’t have been as satisfying for either of us.”
Ah. The Snake King was playing with his prey. Why was she surprised?
“Why did it have to be me? I’ve been a messenger before, but don’t you think someone else could have done it better?” she pressed. If she could get information about this incident itself, she might be able to piece the clues together as to what Chance was really up to.
“No one else can scare a man in the way I needed than a beautiful blonde woman, Mykie.” He said it like it was a fact. Maybe it was, but it didn’t help her put the pieces together any more than she could before.
“I’m glad it was handled, however. Thank you, Mykie. Have you had time to look through the files? Adam told me that you got them Friday like I asked," Chance asked, changing the topic.
Mykie let go of Caspar’s hand so she could pull out the laptop she borrowed from her bag. Once the screen was booted up, she opened the Excel file containing her data. "I looked through everything and did my own research. Something suspicious is going on in their finances in the last decade, but otherwise, it's a profitable business."
"Enough that we'd benefit from acquiring it?" He quirked an eyebrow as he looked over her research.
"Yes. I don't think it would be smart to put our own people in there, as most of the success seems to have come from the couple's partnership itself. However, a strategic investment should work in our favor," Mykie explained.
"Great," Chance said, nodding after a moment once he was done reading her information. "If I set up a meeting for Friday, could you attend it?"
“Does she do this sort of thing for you all the time?” Caspar blurted. Both of them almost seemed to forget that he was in the room, if not for him speaking up. It seemed from his face that he regretted it, though. “I’m sorry if I talked out of turn, sir—"
"No, no." Chance held out a hand, a hard look on his face. "Ask your question."
"I thought she, as the Valkyrie, killed people when you needed it. I hadn’t read about any instances thatdirectlylinked her to the incident, but she’s been seen at different places. But..." He chuckled softly. "I guess she wouldn't have so many rumors about her if she only did that for you."
"I do a lot of business for the Cantil. Those rumors are from deals that didn’t work out or broken contracts." Mykie cracked her knuckles. "There's nothing I hate more than broken promises."
Caspar swallowed harshly, probably thinking of his own promise to her. "Duly noted."
"Will you be able to do it Friday, then?" Chance repeated.
Mykie nodded. "Set it up and let me know the exact time." She stood up and waited for Caspar to stand as well.
"Might as well make this public, while so many of us are here," Chance murmured. He came around his desk and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He guided them out of his office and stood just beyond his door as he waited for everyone to notice. It was a tactic that many corporate men and those in power used to show that they weren't going to beg for your attention.
It took a while for the sound the trickle out of the room, but once it did, Chance held up a hand.
"As Cantil, we swore long ago to not only protect our brother and sister snakes, but to watch out for their loved ones as well."
He lowered the hand he raised and set it on Caspar's shoulder. "Mykie has come forward and has claimed this boy as her responsibility. He will be considered safe and can be trusted within our walls. It is our responsibility to keep a watch out for him outside of these walls, just like with any other Hatchling. If there are any objections, speak now."
