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“Spencer, obviously. And Christopher Trout,” I say, my entire face hardens as I recall the Killers Club’s bitter betrayal. “When they held Bram and me prisoner, I discovered that Alaric had been working with Trout for years. It turns out I even killed for him, without knowing it. They worked with him, even though they knew what he did to Daisy.”
“How did you find out?” Freddie asks.
“Bram helped me hack into their system to prove a point,” I reply. “He’s some kind of computer genius.”
Freddie rubs his chin, forgetting he’s supposed to hate me. “That explains a lot.”
“So, you can see why I won’t go back to them,” I say. “They’ve been manipulating me for years, treating me like a killer fucking puppet! Alaric kept telling me it wasn’t the right time to work through my hit list when really, he didn’t want me to kill any of his precious clients.”
“Spencer was at the Collingsbrook Ball. Why didn’t you kill him when you had the chance?” he asks. “For someone so highly trained, it shouldn’t have been difficult.”
I huff. If I was a dragon, I’d be breathing fire and burning him to a crisp. Sure, I could have killed him, but I’m no fucking amateur.
“I already had my hands full with Baldwin that night,” I say. “And besides, when I kill him, I’m going to take my time. It won’t be a rush job at a party. I want Spencer to know who brought him to his knees. I’ll make him beg for his life, and when he pleads for death, I’ll keep him alive until I drain every drop of blood from his body.”
Our eyes meet, and we share a look of understanding. He knows what losing the people you love the most is like. It changes you forever. You get used to carrying the heavy weight of grief and being perpetually caught in a dark fog that never lifts. Killing Spencer is my only glimmer of light.
Freddie clears his throat and asks, “How do I know you’re telling me the truth?”
“You don’t,” I reply bluntly. “But you can ask Bram, and he’ll tell you the same story. Although you should know better than to trust anyone, Freddie. Trusting people only leads to someone getting hurt.”
“The Dukes trust each other,” he says.
“And you’ll all be dead as soon as the Killers Club find you,” I say. “Do you want them to die? Seb and Callen? You’ve already lost your family.”
“Don’t talk about them,” he spits through gritted teeth.
“So it’s fine for you to bring up my past trauma, but I can’t do the same?” I snipe.
“I’m sorry for saying what I did,” he murmurs, having the decency to look apologetic. “I shouldn’t have—”
I wave my hand to silence him. “How about we make a deal? I’ll help you take down the Killers Club and keep the people you love alive if you help me kill Trout and Spencer.”
Freddie arches one eyebrow. “We don’t negotiate with our prisoners.”
“You’re a businessman, and this ‘prisoner’ is your best chance of surviving,” I say. “We share a common enemy now. I'd have done anything if someone gave me a chance to save Daisy that night. If I listened to Daisy when she told me Spencer was bad news, she might still be alive. Don’t make the same mistake I did. You might hate me, but I’m the Dukes best chance at getting through this. Now, do we have a deal?”
He thinks on it for a few seconds, then holds out his hand like we’re concluding a board meeting. “We have a deal.”
I shake it.
My skin tingles as his fingers clasp mine. His gaze involuntarily strays to my lips, and his pupils dilate as they linger for a little too long. Then he steps back, pulling us out of the moment. I thought whatever connection we shared was over, but now, I’m not so sure…
CHAPTER 24
SEB
Ipress my ear against the door to listen for any signs of trouble. They haven’t thrown any furniture so far, which is promising.
“Shit!” I jump as my phone vibrates in my pocket, drawing me away from eavesdropping.
I take a few steps down the corridor to take the call, reluctant to leave Freddie and Ivy unsupervised, but Ralph may have information that could be useful.
“What do you want?” I ask as I pick up, skipping past any pleasantries. We have to keep up appearances for the rest of the world, but, between us, we could be as blunt as we liked.
“Have you seen the papers?” he asks.
“I’ve been trying to avoid them,” I say. That’s usually best whenever there’s a new scandal, especially one involving me. “Why?”
