Chapter One
Mason
I stare from the gun to his face and back again. “We both know you’re not going to shoot me.”
Jack points the gun directly at my chest, his cold and cruel smile never wavering. “Let me ask you again, boy, are you willing to die for her? Because I can end you right here and let her watch you bleed out before I take care of her.”
I fold my arms over my chest, and it takes every ounce of self-control I have not to lunge. “You are not going to lay a finger on her.”
A muscle ticks in Jack’s jaw. “I’m the one holding the gun.”
I spread my arms out on either side of me. “And yet here I am. If you wanted to shoot me, you would’ve already, but we both know you’re not going to.”
His expression tightens as he presses his lips together.
“Like it or not, you need me,” I add, in the same even tone of voice. “I’m the head of the Empire, remember?”
“Leaders can be removed.”
I draw myself up to my full height and meet his gaze. “Go ahead then. Do your worst.”
A part of me is wondering just how far I can push him before he cracks, but the other part knows it’s pointless.
My father is many things, but stupid isn’t one of them.
He knows that if he has any hope of winning the war, he needs me.
The bastard is just too proud to admit it.
My father can be cruel and dismissive, and he’s never hesitated to discipline us, but if there’s one thing I know, it’s that he always pulls himself back from the edge when it comes to us.
Even if I can’t understand why.
He’s never been the warm or fuzzy type, and he still thinks he’s God’s gift to man, but you know he’s more of a bully than anything.
Jack blinks, and his smile shifts and changes. In one quick move, he steps to the side and points the weapon at London. “There is more than one way to hurt you.”
Anger, hot and potent, erupts within me. “You are not going to shoot her.”
Jack laughs, and it sends another chill through me. “Or what, boy? Have I taught you nothing? Never make a statement you can’t fully back.”
He moves again and before I know what I’m doing, I react and knock the gun out of his hand. Jack barely has a chance to register his surprise before I throw myself at his middle. I throw him against the nearest wall, but my victory is short lived when a flash of silver catches my eye, and I jump backward.
A thin red welt forms on my arm and blood drips on the floor beneath me. “I see you brought a knife to a gun fight.”
Jack straightens his back and levels me with a look. “A Payne always comes prepared.”
I glance from London to the gun and back again. Slowly, I turn my attention back to my father. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her dive for it, her fingers trembling. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Jack holds the knife up to the light and makes a low humming sound. “What a disappointment you’ve turned out to be. All those years of teaching…such a waste.”
I spread my legs hip width apart and wait for him to strike.
He continues to circle me, his gaze occasionally darting over to London. “It is a shame to have to make her pay. Such a pretty face. Perhaps I’ll put her to work in the club when we’re done. With a body like that, our clients will pay good money.”
“Your fight is with me.”
Jack chuckles again and swings his gaze back to mine. “You stupid, ridiculous boy. What’s the first thing I told you about teaching a man a lesson?”
