As if he didn’t have half a dozen men ready to murder him, my uncle continues his disrespectful tirade, “Well, I recognize every man in this room. So, unless you’re telling me one of you staged a coup and killed your own boss and my brother so one of you imbeciles could take over?—”
Cyrus seethes. “How dare you. I will have you ki?—”
“Or perhaps you’ve been lying to us this entire time. Keeping Naser’s heir disguised as a Commander?—
“You willnotquestion the loyalty or character of our former boss!” Cyrus stands up from his chair and charges at my uncle, who meets him right in the middle.
“I’ll do whatever the fuck I want until one of you decides to stop wasting my time and telling me and my nephew the truth.”
Everyone stays silent. Unsurprising, given my uncle doesn’t have the authority or frankly the respect to be throwing out demands. He huffs at me as if that will bring me to his side. As if he hadn’t spent the entire morning testing my limits, pushing me closer and closer to turning him into a target for my shooting practice. I ignore him, no doubt furthering his irritation, and take the time to look at everyone sitting at the table one by one.
Every face is known to me. Every face but the woman sat next to me. Except the more I look at her, the more familiar she becomes. Her eyes are a deep shade of brown I’ve seen before…The curve of her nose and her high cheekbones…I can’t shake the feeling in my gut that I know her somehow. She catches me looking, narrows her eyes, and flares her nostrils.
Holy shit.
I’ve seen that exact expression a dozen times before.It can’t be, can it?It has to be. Why else would she be in his seat?Myheart starts racing in realization. No wonder Naser wanted to keep his heir’s identity hidden.
“Naser’s heir is present in the room with us, Uncle. No need to throw a fit.” I pick a piece of lint off my suit and flick it off, hoping everyone believes my facade of calm and composed.
“Oh, so this is all one big joke to you all? Trying to push me until I snap. I will not be treated like this!” My uncle slams a fist on the table to assert his dominance. No one is moved.
“There’s no need to throw a tantrum, Uncle. If you took a moment to think instead of letting your rage take over, you would come to realize what I have.” I give him a pointed look that forces him to sit back in his seat.
“And what, darling nephew, would that be?” he seethes.
“Naser’s heir. The new boss of the Persian Empire. Hisdaughterhas been sitting next to me this whole time.” My words fall over the room as I turn my gaze to the stunning woman sitting next to me. She gives me a small nod followed by a smirk that screams‘Took you long enough to figure out.’
“A woman? You think Naser would let a woman take over his legacy?” my uncle spits vehemently, shaking his head.
“Allow me to make a few things clear, Lorkan. The first is that my father didn’tletme do anything. I earned my keep. I always do,” Naser’s daughter finally speaks, her voice so melodic it sends a jolt through my body. “Second, my father never cared about where you come from or who you are. He cared about loyalty, intelligence, and work ethic. All three things I possess in spades. All three things make me an excellent boss.”
Well said.
My uncle is less convinced. “You can’t be serious? Sweetheart, I appreciate you wanting to step up and take over for your father, but this job is not for the frail or faint of heart.”
Her eyes narrow to slits. “I’m aware. I’m neither of those things.”
I look at every member of Naser’s former cavalry.
Every man looked at Naser’s daughter with nothing but respect and care. It was clear she had their unconditional support. And if Naser wanted her at the helm, then so did I. It was that simple.
“Declan, are you going to say something?” My uncle looks to me as ifI’mthe one who’s making a fool of himself.
“Naser has made his choice. And I respect that fully.”
An unsettling silence comes over the room, the only noise coming from the grandfather clock sitting at the other side of the room. The hands tick as I wait for whatever pending explosion is bound to come. If my uncle were smart, he would know better than to push the Persians. Know better than to push me. But intelligence and self-restraint were never my uncle’s forte, which is why I have no doubts my father put me in charge of babysitting his petulant younger brother.
If my uncle had seemed pissed before, he’s now reaching a level of outrage and distress that matches that of a hungry, screaming toddler. “You. Cannot. Be. Serious,” he snaps. “If you want to ruin your reputation, go ahead, but you are our strongest allies. Your decisions impactusas well. And I won’t be made a laughing stock because you want to impose your feminist values on us.”
The entire room shakes as every man at the table stands up in rage and moves to draw their weapons. On my left, I see Naser’s daughter, still seated, raise a hand to stop her soldiers. She turns to me, cocking an eyebrow, her expression screaming,‘Fix this before I have to do it myself.’
“Uncle, the only one embarrassing us is you. Now sit down before I get an?—”
“You can fuck right off, Declan. I was your father’s secondhand when you were in diapers. I won’t be pushed around by you, and I sure as shit won’t work with some bitch who doesn’t know what she’s doing.” He leans over me to yell right in her face. I will have none of that.
A second goes by before I pull out my Glock, aim it at my uncle’s knee, and pull the trigger.
2
