"That speaks to your value. If nobody's looking out for you, then you obviously ain't worth shit."
His sentiments landed and clung to me in a way that made me feel small and insignificant, not just in his life but in life as a whole.
Had I fucked so many people over that nobody saw me as an asset to their life?
The thought grew legs and took off, dragging me into a spiral of negative thoughts. In this world, the world I saw myself being the queen of… I was nothing. I thought Honor might've been playing into our back and forth to appease Lucian, but now I wasn't sure. The murderous glint he held in his darkened browns could have easily been for Talon, Lucian, or me.
"I hope the two of you are done with whateverthatwas. I did not bring the two of you together for pissing matches. Now, if it's alright with both of you, I'd like to express my reason for asking you both here."
We stayed silent; our eyes locked onto Lucian's menacing ones.
"As I've stated before and hope never to say again, Talon is not built for the life I've forged from my blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifices. Lucky for me, I have the next best thing in the two of you. Choyce, you're a woman in every way a woman is expected to be. Feminine in your stride, beauty in your aura, and commanding in a room full of horny men. I was not fond of you becoming a part of my family. However, seeing how things turned out, I'm pleased that it was you and not Chosyn." He gleamed, almost seeming happy.
"Really?" The word slipped, drenched in a nauseating need for approval.
"Yes. Chosyn is too bullheaded and too self-assured. She would never have fallen in line the way you did. Chosyn needed to be broken and even then?—"
"Enough!" Honor snipped.
"Okay, okay." Lucian held his hands up in mock surrender. "What I'm trying to say is the task of sculpting you into the woman who stands before me was easy, and because of that, I'm able to hand my entire organization over to you with Honor's protection, of course."
"Lucian, why are we here?" Honor grumbled visibly over the game Lucian was playing.
Lucian slowly backed away until Honor and I were both in his direct line of sight. He tilted his head, eyes glowering ominously like a predator studying its prey.
"Choyce was right about one thing. Three months have been wasted on a job that should have been completed in a week, and a week is me being generous. This kind of wasted time is a stain to the Mancinelli name."
"How, when no one outside of us three is expecting his death?" Honor asked, only it wasn't a question in search of an answer.
"It's a stain because I'll know. I will know the man who needed months is someone I shaped, molded with my own hands if you will," Lucian snarled, moving quietly toward Honor. He stopped once they were toe to toe and tapped his knuckles against Honor's chest, baiting him for a reaction.
Honor's fist clenched, brows narrowed, and his jaw locked, but outside of those small triggers, he stayed still, eyes leveled and unblinking above Lucian's head.
"Forget again what I have taught you, and I'll make you watch everyone you love be taken from you until there's nothingleft but a hollow man," Lucian threatened low, as if it were a promise.
Honor snapped. Without a word, he snatched Lucian, hands gripping his coat, ready to toss him into the water.
"I'm tired of your fucking threats," Honor forced out through clenched teeth. "If you gon' make a move, then fucking make one, but be ready for the consequences that follow."
Lucian smirked, his eyes glimmering under the dock's lights. He was enjoying this.
"Honor." Lucian laughed Honor's name, low and cruel like murder wasn't already tipping the scales of his sanity. "I know you hate me. I get that. However, it's time you're honest with yourself. You are the very man you hate. Anger sparks your tone every time I'm in your vicinity. Your threats might not be as direct as mine, but they're woven into your voice when you speak. We've both made empty threats toward the other, but eventually the boy did see a wolf."
Honor's jaw flexed.
"Only one question." Honor's voice slithered out in a venomous whisper, sounding just like the man he held. "Whose wolf will bite first, yours or mine?"
My stomach was in knots because this was a test, not for Honor but for me. With shaky hands, I grabbed my gun from my waist, aiming it at Honor. I hated what I was about to do, but I had no choice. My heels clicked against the board until I was a breath away. Honor didn't flinch or even bother looking at the gun. He thrust Lucian hard enough to send him crashing against the boards. Lucian laughed as he rose and dusted himself off.
"You two have until the new year to kill Talon," Lucian commanded, his voice flat. "After that, I'll have no choice but to do it myself and clean house. In the meantime, you'll wipe out the Lynx's parents. Crown killing Lynx the way he did created an issue for me. The parents are asking too many questions."
"I'm not killing innocent people," Honor snapped.
"I respect that," Lucian replied and turned away. The expensiveclicksof his shoes faded across the planks, leaving a cold that pressed against my ribs.
"Are you fucking insane?" I barked, placing my gun back in its rightful place.
Honor turned to me, eyes blazing, fists still tight at his sides. "Stay the fuck away from me, Choyce," he snarled.
