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He messed with his cufflink. “We allied ourselves with the royal family. They gave us lucrative priorities with zoning and properties and turned a blind eye to our less than savory business decisions. It was disappointing to me when King Frederick learned the truth about his son—his legacy. We worked so very well together.”
“We can still keep Augustus in power and maintain the same leverage we had before. We just need to get rid of Lord Nathan, first.”
My father shrugged. “Lord Nathan is nothing. I’m not concerned about him, and I don’t understand why you’re so focused on finding him.” He glared at me before continuing. “There will always be someone on the fringe who wants what we have. Everyone is looking for a new puppet now that King Frederick is out of the picture. And if things for our DuPont prince fail, then we will need to ally ourselves with the next people in power to maintain our position.”
“What about Augustus?” I asked.
“What about him? If he isn’t worthy of wearing the crown, the DuPonts will work with someone who is. I encouraged your friendship because I knew that you’re the next generation. But at the end of the day, we survive. We thrive.” He paused to stare at me. “But I suppose if you’re determined to deal with Lord Nathan, you can go investigate.”
I nodded. “Of course.” The truth was out there, I just needed to find it.
He clicked his tongue and gestured at Rupert. “And clean that mess up before your mother sees. You know she doesn’t have the stomach for our line of work.” And with those words, he left the room.
I’d always known I couldn’t trust my father. Eventually, I’d have to overthrow him. The only way out of this was with a crown on Augustus’s head. I refused to work with anyone but him.
We just had to secure his position as king.
Chapter Seven
CHRISTINE
I was lying in bed, bored out of my mind, when Atticus came storming into my bedroom. Though it was dark, I still saw the splatters of blood on his skin. Could see the weight of the world bearing down on his broad shoulders. He glanced at me before walking into the bathroom. When I heard him turn on the water, I shoved the thick covers off of me and softly padded toward him.
“Where have you been?” I asked.
He stripped out of his shirt, and under the light in the bathroom, I saw gore painted across his neck, covering his tattoos as if the carnage was burned into his skin.
“Getting information,” he replied before shoving his pants down over his hips. I leaned against the doorframe and watched him step under the steamy spray of water.
“What kind of information?” I asked as he lathered soap over his chest.
“The kind that doesn’t really help me,” he responded, scrubbing between his shoulder blades. He leaned forward, cupping his hands under the water, running it over his face. I watched him, my morbid curiosity peaking.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I just got done having a conversation with one of Lord Nathan’s comrades.”
I felt my body go cold. I wanted to be in that room. I had some answers I wanted, too.
“What did you talk about?” I asked, but my voice was small.
“He gave me riddles and a half-assed solution to finding Lord Nathan. I have a hacker working on it now and should have an answer within the hour. I’ll be leaving soon,” he finally said after he’d rinsed his face. He turned the water off and stepped out, wrapping a fluffy towel around his middle before moving to the sink.
“Leaving?” I croaked. “I want to come with you.”
“No.”
He scrubbed his hands down his face before turning to look at me. “Atticus. What am I supposed to do? Just wait here until you return?”
He walked past me toward his closet, and after throwing on some sweats and a shirt, he grabbed a duffel bag and started shoving clothes inside of it. “That’s exactly what I expect you to do.”
“Atticus. I don’t want to just wait here,” I said, whining.
He tilted his head to the side and looked at me. The look on his face told me he was done with the conversation. “This is what you’re going to do. You are going to get your ass in that bed and sleep.”
“But—”
“No buts, Christine. Get in the bed!” he yelled, making me flinch. I felt tears well up in my eyes.
