Page 83 of Pride: Kneel Before None

I ran my hand down over my face, a piss-poor attempt to wipe away the flare-up of my temper. The scruff on my face I hadn’t bothered shaving off this morning after realizing that my Little Spade had gone missing scratched my palm. It served as a reminder of just how much I’d lost myself in her absence.

A moment of weakness that I couldn’t let happen again.

Hearing Eve shift restlessly behind me, I finally pulled my shit together and turned to face her.

“I don’t see why it’s a big deal,” she said, softer than expected.

A bitter laugh huffed out of me. “You don’t see why it’s a big deal, Eve? All those visions in your head and you don’t fucking understand why any of this is a big deal?”

“That’s not what I said, and you know it.” Her voice grew harder again, regaining some of the edge from earlier.

“The same damn demon who got your brother locked up, who is looking to seize control over everything that’s mine—which includes you—is out there playing fucking games with some unknown puppet master. And you thought that going out behind my back for coffee with your mother was smart?”

I shook my head, frustration warring for dominance with my anger.

Eve folded her arms in front of her. “She’s my mother, not one of Rip’s men. Do you really believe that she would let anything happen to me? She was able to tell me more about my abilities than Val or you.”

“That’s not the point, Eve!” I roared back at her. “You don’t get to run off without saying anything and go advertising to all of Superbia that you can echo my powers!”

Her expression hardened. “I didn’t advertise it! But maybe I should. Then everybody would know how powerful the great Ace Reynard is, collecting a rare object to show off to all the elites in the city!”

The threat landed hard, but not as hard as hearing her refer to herself that way, like she was something to be put on display. It shattered the last of my restraint.

“Don’t you fucking dare, Eve! Don’t mistake my mark or my pride in what I have for something cheap.” I gestured with sharp movements as my volume continued to grow louder. “You want to compare yourself to an object? Fine, let’s go with that.”

I watched as she bristled, her fingers digging into her arms as she stood there looking self-righteous and flushed. In any other situation, I’d have called it foreplay.

But not after that two-way insult.

“Let’s at least be honest here. I take care of what’s mine, I worship and protect what belongs to me. You are the crown jewel, not the scraps a starving man finds in a dumpster.”

The analogy was vicious, but I didn’t care.

Reaching out, I gripped her chin between my finger and thumb. “I didn’t wait over seven hundred days for some trinket to come into my casino. I didn’t jerk off to the vision of something to show off when it suits me. I built an empire worthy of its crown.”

My voice dropped to a harsh whisper. “And guess what, Genevieve? You’re the fucking crown.”

I didn’t wait for a reaction. I released her before I said anything more damning. When I turned to leave the room, Ignatius stood in the doorway. The look on his face said he had overheard more than he should have.

“I came to check if everything was alright,” he admitted with a hint of sheepishness.

Heading to where he stood, I straightened out the front of my dress shirt in an attempt to regain composure.

“See to it she makes it back up to the penthouse.”

I looked at Ignatius with eyes that betrayed the weariness I felt after the initial blast of adrenaline faded, leaving me with the ghost of my words and actions.

He saw it, I knew he did. But he didn’t comment. He merely nodded and walked past me, offering a hand to Eve.

“Come, I have just the thing to share with you. These imbeciles shipped me the wrong shade of…”

Ignatius’s voice faded as he led Eve out of the room and down the hall back towards the elevators.

Once they were long gone, I let out a long breath as I sagged back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling as I was left with my thoughts.

Fucking hell, she had gone to see her mother without me. Nothing good would come of that. Mirra Bechette was a known force, but more so, she was an unknown variable.

That made her dangerous.