“She looks like shit in that dress,” Felix said. “It totally clashes with her fake tanner and her patchy highlights.”
Jericho smiled at his brother’s observation. It wasn’t true. She looked flawless physically. Despite her callousness, her coldness, and devious nature, she was…conventionally attractive, he supposed. If one was into the ice princess type. Which he wasn’t.
“Now, now, kitten,” Avi chided, teasingly. “No need to mock the less fortunate. Imagine having to fuck that decrepit old dude just to pay for that ugly ass dress.”
“She’ll be lucky if Adam doesn’t find her,” Asa murmured. “He’s wanted to kill her from day one.”
“It’s weird how possessive of Atticus Adam is,” Zane noted. “Like, he pretends he hates him, but he really hates her.”
Adam and Atticus had a strange relationship, it was true. It was only to be expected. The oldest and the youngest in any family were bound to clash, especially two who were so different personality-wise. Adam was a true psychopath, lacking in any empathy or remorse. If not for Thomas, Adam would have no qualms about taking out people who even slightly inconvenienced him, starting with Kendra.
Atticus, on the other hand, was a slightly more complicated creature. Prickly, narcissistic, a little sulky, some underlying psychopathy for sure, but if not for Thomas, Atticus would have never been a murderer. It just wasn’t in his nature. But heprobably would never have had the chance to be the success he was either. Not where he started in life.
“I’m not going to lie,” Felix said, leaning his back against Avi’s chest, “I would pay a lot of money to watch Adam go up against Kendra.”
“Same,” Zane and Asa said at the same time.
Jericho tried to tamp down the irrational fury pouring through him. It was only a matter of time before they came face to face. They’d dodged so many bullets with fundraisers and galas and silent auctions. They all moved in the same circles, after all, whether Jericho liked it or not.
He scanned the room, looking for the shock of red hair that usually stood out in a sea of gray. He found Atticus standing in a circle of people with his father. But he wasn’t paying attention to them. He was giving Jericho a quizzical look, like he could sense something was wrong but couldn’t figure out what.
There was no way he could see Kendra from where he stood in the crowd. The only reason they could see her was because the bar was raised in the center of the room, giving them all a bird’s eye view.
Jericho gave him a nod and a dirty smile, hoping it reassured him that everything was fine. Atticus shifted uncomfortably, his hands jamming into his pants pockets. He was always so easily riled. God, that was hot. Jericho could feel himself hardening behind his zipper.
“You good?” Felix asked. “Asa, Avi, and I have a”—he looked around cautiously—“thing.”
“Zane’s not going?” Jericho asked absently.
It was rare for the four of them to separate for any real length of time. His gaze drifted back to Kendra, who suddenly looked in his direction, her gaze snagging, then catching and holding, like she just realized who he was. He didn’t break eye contact. Let her squirm.
Felix shook his head, looking to Zane, who said, “No, I have to edit my latest video highlighting the ‘mysterious vigilante’s’ latest suspected victims. Besides, the last time I went on a job with them, someone shot an arrow dangerously close to my face.” He turned and glared at Avi.
“It was nowhere near your pretty little face,” Avi teased. “As if I’d risk my brother’s wrath by damaging his precious little chew toy.”
“It’s Felix’s wrath you should be concerned with,” Asa murmured. “I’d just kill you. He’d play with you first.”
Jericho ignored their banter but did ask, “Do you need a ride home?”
“No, August and Lucas are going to drop me at the apartment when they head out,” Zane said.
Jericho nodded, still glowering at Kendra.
Felix put a hand on Jericho’s shoulder. “Don’t waste your energy on her. She lost. You won.”
“I’m good,” Jericho murmured. “Be safe.”
He felt the others drift off, only then breaking contact with Kendra to turn towards the bar and flag down the bartender with a look, pointing to his glass. The man hurried over, refilling his whiskey before darting away to a woman in a red dress who was snapping her fingers impatiently.
“So, you’re him, huh?”
Jericho sighed. He hadn’t expected her to approach him and was tempted to ignore her, but, instead, he turned, placing an elbow on the bar, giving her another dismissive once-over. “Him?”
She gave a coy smile, like she knew what he was doing. “The grease monkey who snagged the heir to the Mulvaney throne. That’s like hitting the lottery. He’s going to inherit everything. But I suppose you know that.”
She took a sip of her champagne, her overly long nails curling around the stem, like diamond-covered claws. She was wrong. Totally wrong. Atticus wasn’t going to inherit everything. Thomas’s money would be split among all his children and grandchildren equally, which would leave every one of them with more money than any single person could spend in ten lifetimes.
None of that mattered. They would continue to spend the money on exactly what Thomas wanted—ridding the world of monsters. But he wasn’t about to tell her that. “I didn’t marry him for his money.”
