“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
As soon as he touched his upper chest involuntarily, I grabbed his hand, bending his wrist back until I sensed he was in significant pain. He gritted his teeth, his eyes darting back and forth. I stuck the fingers of my other hand under his collar, yanking out the chain.
“This one.” I didn’t release my hold on his other hand. With a single snap I could break all four fingers or his wrist. Maybe I’d do both.
“Please. Sinclair.” His words were spit from clenched teeth, beads of sweat already forming across his forehead.
“Please what? Show you some mercy after all the fucking years you’ve been lying to me? After playing ball for the Brotherhood?”
“I didn’t lie to you. Their operation didn’t affect you.”
“Until now. That’s why you acted so insecure the other day. I should have put two and two together.” I added pressure until he was gasping for air. Then I let him go, sitting back and glaring at the dagger with diamonds.
He rubbed his hand, panting before darting a glance toward the door.
“Don’t worry. This is between you and me. For now. But you’re going to tell me what the fuck is going on.”
“There’s nothing to tell. I’m not involved with them. I mean not really.”
Not really.
I was already losing my patience. I also had a date I didn’t intend on missing. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out four photographs, laying them out one at time. Without saying a word, I offered him a choice.
As he peered down at his wife photographed at the grocery store, he sucked in his breath. When his eyes flitted to his black lab, Lucy, who was at the doggy day care, that single bead of sweat finally trickled down the side of his face. But when he shifted his gaze from the picture of his daughter in elementary school on the playground and his son in junior high running track and field, he slipped further down in the booth.
“You fucking monster,” he hissed. “You’d hurt my family?”
“I’d do what it takes to protect mine, including the woman who you discovered recently became important to me, the one you also were made aware had escaped from a previous life. Away from the clutches of the Brotherhood, namely Zane Emmett.Now, I was curious when she told me all about the Brotherhood, so I did my research. You know how thorough I’ve been in my life. That’s kept me alive.”
He took a gulp of his drink and I noticed his hand was shaking. As if I cared. “What do you want from me?”
“Well, it’s simple really. In exchange for the life of your family, you’re going to take these papers to the Johnsons and tell them to sign them. In turn, you’re going to contact all the people involved with the proposed transaction, which includes Marcus Jeffries, Walter Emmett, and poor Mark Zuckerberg, the lamb to this slaughter, and you’re going to tell them that the deal is done, the paperwork signed, and you want to present it at the Strathmore location for a celebration.”
From what I could tell, the Brotherhood had plans on using Mark as a scapegoat.
“They won’t buy that.”
His insistence made me laugh. “You’re going to ensure they come to the meeting.”
“You don’t know these people, Sin. They’re dangerous. I mean, fuck. They almost killed you.”
His admittance spread a smile across my face since he shouldn’t have discovered the news. “And apparently, you conveniently forgot how powerful and dangerous the Prince family is.” I toyed with the photographs. “Would you prefer I offer you a lesson in challenging me?”
“Don’t you dare hurt them. They have nothing to do with this.” He was sweating like a pig.
“You have me curious. From which family did you find your wife? I mean you told me you were madly in love. Was it all an arrangement with your father and her father maybe right after you were born?”
“I’m not part of the Elite.”
“Which means?”
He glanced over his shoulder, extremely nervous. Leaning over the table, he lowered his voice. “If you know anything about the Brotherhood, you know there are tiers. The Elite has had their entire life planned out for them, but they don’t care. Because they own the fucking world. They can do whatever they want as long as certain protocols are followed. I’m second tier. Second class. That means I’m allowed to make choices.”
“Ah, but that makes you their lackey.”
He nodded, more nervous than ever.
“Doesn’t that piss you off?”
