Page 41 of King of Deception

Killian is our muscle.

I am the face. And by that I mean, I shake the hands, I negotiate at bars, and on the golf course.

I use a combination of charm, intelligence, a will made of iron to seal any deal I set my mind to closing. My lack of emotional involvement, however, makes it all possible.

It’s part of why what happened with Mason Kincaid pisses me off so much. I never lose like that.

Then again, losing has brought Arabella into my arms.

I give my head a little shake. What has gotten into me?

My phone rings, Luke’s name flashing on the screen. “What’s up?”

“What the fuck is going on between you and my sister?”

“What did she say?” I flex my fingers on the wheel. Even asking that question is a tell that there are secrets.

“She said to talk to you.”

So. She’s keeping our deal of mutual destruction. She didn’t rat me out. “There’s nothing to say.”

“She also said I’m no better than Mason by sending a playboy to manipulate her.”

Those words hurt more than they should. Granted, that was completely my intent, and I made her break it off with Preston.

“Listen. I am not manipulating your sister. I am about to speak with my family because…” I rarely misstep when it comes to a negotiation. But I cannot decide if I should tell Luke I’m considering marrying Arabella myself.

I can’t see the path. Will he be relieved or livid? I never misstep like this and, as if I need more evidence, I am getting emotionally entangled and it’s clouding my judgment.

But maybe that’s because I shouldn’t talk to Luke at all. Arabella is the person I should speak with first.

“Because?”

I sigh. “Because Arabella broke it off with Preston.”

“I know. She told me. Right after she accused me of being no better than Mason.” I can hear the hurt in his voice. Luke is chill. Nothing bothers him. But Arabella’s anger clearly has him riled.

She’s like that, I guess. Able to get under the thickest skin. “She is pissed at you.”

“You weren’t supposed to tell her we were friends.”

“I…” I swallow down a lump. “I quickly realized that lies were not going to get us where we needed to go.”

Luke lets out a long breath. “At least she broke up with that complete piece of shit. She doesn’t need to get married if shedoesn’t want. Mason is not pushing her into that. If it’s the last thing I ever do for her, I’ll give her that freedom.”

I frown. There are a million reasons for me to tense at his words. But one of the biggest… it puts me and Luke on a crash course of interests. Not to mention, if Arabella doesn’t take over the shares, Mason just has more power. “Look, Luke…” I don’t want to lie to him. I think I’m tired of playing the sides against each other.

Which might be the craziest thing I’ve ever thought. I love this game.

“Yeah?”

“Arabella is drowning. She’s not meant to be in the middle of all this. It’s not her nature.”

I’ve known some women who are titans of the industry. I admire the fuck out of them. But that’s just not my girl. And it doesn’t matter to me, I’m a guy with enough drive for both of us. I like how she’s soft enough to temper all my hard edges.

“I know it,” he says, in a tired voice. “I swear that Mason is doing all of this to force me back in the company.”

The light bulb goes off. That’s exactly what Mason is doing. From involving Arabella to backing Preston, Mason wants Luke back in the fold and Arabella is Luke’s weak point. I smile as I pull into a spot.

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