Page 8 of Lady Killer

Everest lurched forward in his seat with a growl. “No one touches her!”

Any other man who made such demands of me would have paid with his life, in addition to hers. Everest got away with more than most because of who he was to me.

“You forget that I give the orders here,” I said. “If I say the girl dies, she dies. And, if I say she dies at your hands, you will cut her heart out and give it to me yourself.”

He shot me a devasting glare. It was a point of pride for him that he never disobeyed a direct order from me, although he was a master of twisting my words.

“Am I clear, Everest?”

Alister’s knuckles had turned white as he gripped the back of the chair hard enough to stretch the leather. Nixon had started pacing.

The girl merely uncrossed, then recrossed her ankles, her expression unchanging, as she waited for me to hand down her sentence.

“If she dies, I die, and I’ll take the rest of the world down in flames with us,” the psychopath said resolutely.

The girl rolled her eyes.

Everest Collins, arguably the most prolific killer in North America, was threatening to end a lifetime of loyalty to my family, a lifetime of loyalty to me, all for her, and she remained unimpressed.

I turned my attention to my youngest brother.

“And you, Alister, what will you do if I deny the obvious reason the three of you brought her to me and order you to kill the girl?”

His face betraying nothing, he took his time to respond. “I believe killing her would be premature—‍”

“That’s not what I asked you.”

Alister’s jaw twitched.

“I’ll do it,” Nixon piped up, his false bravado at odds with his earlier behavior.

“Of course you would.” I scoffed.

Nixon’s offer was more about Alister than the girl, though I was certain it would cost him more than he cared to admit.

“No one is killing her.” seethed Everest, his body shaking with building rage. “If you’re that pressed by her, Lucian, then give her to me and no one will ever see her again.”

That provoked a reaction from both the girl and Alister.

“I would rather die than be your prisoner,” she said, turning to cut Ever a poisonous look and earning one in return.

“Careful, darling,” Everest gritted out quietly. “Your death is still very much on the table and you’re not helping.”

“She’d be better off dead than your plaything,” said Alister.

“Agreed,” muttered Nixon.

Letting out a long sigh, I sat back in my chair.

My brothers and Everest worked faithfully under my command, and despite the harsh veneer of leadership that I was forced to adopt, I appreciated what they did for our family . . . for me. Still, they had no idea the things I’d done to protect our legacy. To protect them. If I did my job properly, they never would.

Heavy was the head that wore the crown, indeed.

“What would you do then, Alister, if you were in my shoes?” I asked as the air grew nearly suffocating with tension.

“We know that Luz is being targeted by the serial killer, and she’s the second link we’ve found between the drug ring and whoever is killing the girls. She has information about Aaron and his friends. Keeping her alive is the best way to draw out the killer and take down whoever has been selling drugs on campus.”

“We’re not using her as bait!” Everest protested.

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