“You have to admit, you’re a danger to your own company,” Lydia said. “You refuse to behave and have openly admitted if you ever get out of here, you’ll kill everyone involved in running it. You’re the biggest threat to the most profitable energy company on earth.”
“I see.” Lucien nodded with a low chuckle. “So what you’rereallysaying is, whoever has my child first will be the one who inherits my company? That they’ll rule my birthright through whatever spawn I give you?”
Lydia balled her hands but nodded bravely. “Basically, yes.”
Lucien shifted to look at Evelyn. “And you? I don’t believe you’ve suddenly decided to switch teams from killing me to fucking me.”
Evelyn climbed to her feet, trembling a little. “You’re just going to kill me anyway. What does it matter what I say?”
“That’s true.” Lucien nodded. “But won’t it feel good to tell me what you really think before you die?”
I sucked in a breath, my heart palpitating.
Even though they’d hurt me, I couldn’t sit by and watch. I couldn’t witness this man I hadfeelingsfor kill in burning blood.
“Lucien...” I coughed, another rush of sickness flooding my mouth. “Stop it.”
He didn’t even turn to look at me. “Well?” he asked quietly. “Will you speak, or should I end you now?”
Evelyn went white. She shifted on the spot as if she wanted to run but...where to? If Lucien had decided to kill her, nowhere was safe.
As if she’d reached the same conclusion, she raised her chin and smiled coldly. “Fine. You want the truth?” Her entire facetwisted into something evil and crazed. “I’ll tell you. You’re right that it will feel good to tell youexactlywhat I feel.”
“Go on then.” Lucien sighed with scathing sarcasm. “I’m positively dying with anticipation.”
“Fuck you.” Marching forward as if she heard the ticking clock of her own demise, she spat, “Fuck you and fuck your fucking company. You want to know the truth? FINE.” Tears ran down her cheeks as she gave in to insanity. “I still want to kill you but...after all this time and watching you pick us off one by one, I now have a sick fascination of knowing what it would feel like to trick the most powerful man alive into bed, then kill you when you’re at your most vulnerable. To do to you what you’ve done to all these women. To destroy youandyour company. You’re nothing more than a cageddogandfuck,I want to put you down.”
Lucien sucked in a breath.
My temper surged.
Howdareshe say that? How dare she refer to him as a—
“And while I’m being honest.” Evelyn’s eyes darted to Lydia. “I’ll tell you what I really think of you too.”
“Me?” Lydia scowled. “What the hell did I do?”
“You’re an idiot, that’s what.” Evelyn’s mask well and truly came off. “I can’t stand you. Listening to you these past weeks has been torture. If you truly believe you can rule Brimstone Industries through this bastard’s children, you’re a fucking fool.”
“Hey!” Lydia stomped toward Evelyn. “I thought we were a team—”
“Shut up.” Evelyn spun back to Lucien and hissed, “I’m so done with all of this. I’m done living in a world where your existence is a threat to everything and everyone. You and that fucking blood inside you is an apocalypse waiting to happen.” She laughed with a brittle edge. “You should’ve been put down the moment you were born, and one day, when someone finallydoesmanage to kill you, Brimstone Industries will die with you. The world will celebrate because you’ll no longer be around to destroy it.”
Silence fell as Lucien locked gazes with her. They stared at each other, wrapped in death and anticipation.
In a flash of black hair and black leggings, Evelyn screeched and launched herself at him.
Her dagger flashed.
Lucien planted himself in place as if begging the knife to land true—
Whisper snarled and surged forward. Pure muscle and shadow as he flew through the air and knocked Evelyn aside before she came close to stabbing him.
She moaned as the panther slammed her to the ground.
Whisper planted his giant paws on her chest, towered over her, and with a savage roar, ripped out her throat.
Lydia screamed and ran—
